Vacation at Home: Master Shower

By Kate Riley August 30, 2009

For the last few years, my entire family of five has been sharing one small shower/bath combo in the hall bathroom.  Even though we added on to the house in 2006, we still only had only a partially completed master bathroom.  For years, the master shower was nothing more than a storage closet.  Not any more!  I’m talking about 35 square feet of pure bliss that we just finished tiling last week.

And my dream for just a bit of Oceanside glass tile finally came true.

Hello gorgeous.

oceanside glass tile up close

Two weeks ago, the shower was in a very raw state, having only waterproofed sheetrock and a tar floor.  We started byhaving to resolve some plumbing issues and mortar the floor.  As much as I would have loved to DIY, this massive space was out of my league.  It took an entire week for our professional tile installer to cut all of the tile, mount it, grout it, seal it, and trim out the plumbing. 

Choosing the tile was challenging as well.  It’s a big decision.  My personal style is all about classic design with a modern twist, and all of my inspiration files led me back to traditional white ceramic tile.  I love spa blue and white in a bath.  And since the cabinetry is all dark walnut stain, the white is a nice contrast.

In the end, I chose bright white field tile applied in a brick pattern.  But for modern color and drama, I splurged and mixed in that stunningly beautiful Oceanside glass tile. The installed selections are from five different manufacturers and four different tile vendors.  Take a peek inside.  

Before:

shower before 

After:

master shower after

I can tell you this right now.  I don’t think I need to go on vacation for quite some time.  I’ll just camp out right here in this 35 square foot space.  I honestly feel like I just hit the lottery. 

Check out this stripe that wraps around the wall.  And I just want to reach out and touch these white ceramic deco tiles.

wall stripe

ceramic in wall stripe

This floor includes a non-slip 100% recycled glass tile by Vidrepur made especially for shower floors.  It is trimmed in glass mosaic ‘Aquamist’ by ADEX, the same tile that I used to trim my master bathtub. 

floor tile

We designed a sit down bench for resting and enjoying the steam function.

bench

In the original plan, we made space for both a traditional shower head, and a rain shower over the bench.  Yes, I said a rain showerhead over the bench. 

If I’ve gone missing, you can find me right here. 

shower two rain

I love the extra storage we receive with the shampoo bottle squares inset into the wall and trimmed with more glass mosaic.  I’ll squeeze out extra storage wherever I can find it. 

shampoo inset 

This third handheld showerhead is for rinsing off our little bundles of joy.  But they’re not quite allowed inside yet. 

handheld

And I’m keeping it real, so take a look at what we’ve been tripping over for three years in the narrow hall shower. 

 kids narrow shower

But this tile more than makes up for three years of plastic toys between the toes.   I am loving the iridescent quality in even the softest evening light. 

oceanside glass 

 Someday soon, we will install a shower door, so that the steam unit can do it’s job to transport me to a faraway place.  But for now, just having a grown up shower is vacation enough. 

6×8 field tile: Daltile from Home Depot;  Stripe: Oceanside Glass tile custom blend; Floor tile: white anti-slip by Vidrepur; Floor trim tile: ADEX ‘Aquamist’.

22 comments

  1. At the risk of sounding like a complete psycho…I have a huge bloggy crush on you. I have spent hours on your site and love your ideas. We just moved and I have a budget of ZERO dollars. Literally. You’ve inspired me so much and helped me decorate my house with no money just by thinking out of the box a little. Thank you. My husband thanks you. Our budget thanks you.

  2. Excuse the language – but HOLY CRAP!!!!
    I’m am in total shower envy. I love the bench and the little shelves. How wonderful. I even like the multi use bench that would be great for shaving ones legs ;) My favorite tile ever has to be glass mosaics. I used them in my own powder room and the backsplash in the kitchen. Maybe one day I will have a wonderful shower stall like yours.

    take care,
    Lisa

  3. Oh I love this! perfect combination of the colours and white. I look forward to creating an amazing room like this soon.
    thanks, Flick

  4. I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Susan

    http://dclottery.info

  5. Whoa!!! Thats an amzing shower … I am bookmarking this page and someday there will be one EXACTLY LIKE IT IN Southern California. Just wanted you to know.

  6. shower looks great!!!!!! I did tile for 10 years and have had to fix other peoples glass tile nightmares, so I know that that job was not an easy one. It took some time, SAY about 3 weeks or so. RIGHT.

    enjoy your shower I have a crazy mountain scene mural wall that I’m whipping up on paper to do in my own home in the next year or so. but great job on your shower.

  7. This shower looks wonderful and totally what I would love down to every last detail! Beautiful! You did an awesome job! :-)

  8. Drool!

    I love the way you mixed the budget-friendly field tiles with the spendy accent tiles.

  9. Fantastic! Where did you get the white-on-white bas relief art deco accent tiles?

  10. I love that accent tile in the “hello gorgeous” photo. Where can I find it?
    Great job!

  11. I put this exact tile in my kitchen. I find that you and I seem to be drawn to the same style. My counter top is black granite and the blue iridescent tile really pops; however, my cabinets are natural which is not my first choice. If you were to paint them, what color would you choose. I live in a little coastal cottage and its predominately gray and blues. Please suggest.

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