55 Stunning Walk-In Shower Ideas for Small Bathrooms
55 Stunning Walk-In Shower Ideas You'll Want to Steal
A walk-in shower can add function and a sense of luxury to your bathroom. Fortunately, you don't need a huge space to make it work. These small bathroom walk-in shower ideas demonstrate how to stretch a bathroom's footprint and amplify its good looks. Whether you have to remodel the whole bathroom or just incorporate a few aesthetic tweaks, there are ideas to inspire any walk-in shower design.
Walk-In Shower Bench in Small Bathroom
John Granen
A shower bench, far from wasting space, adds function to a small shower. Having a space to sit makes shaving and exfoliating easier, and it makes the shower more accessible.
Decorative Shower Niches
Stacey Brandford
Niches save space in a small shower, and their small size allows you to splurge on special details, such as this large-scale toile tile that brings depth and delicacy to the otherwise simple shower.
Patterned Tile Floor
Julie Soefer
Take the attention away from your bathroom being small by adding a focal point, like patterned floor tile. Bold tile that creates a striking pattern acts as a work of art on your bathroom floor. You can carry it from the walk-in shower floor to the rest of the room and even partially up the walls. Use one of the colors in the pattern in other parts of the room like the vanity to tie the space together.
Install Built-In Storage
Annie Schlechter
It can be tough to find extra storage for towels and toiletries in a small bathroom. If you're able to, adding open shelves to the wall nearest the shower will provide storage and make the room feel bigger. Plus, it makes grabbing these items even easier for you or your guests when hopping in the shower.
Walk-In Shower Tile for Small Bathrooms
Better Homes & Gardens
Decking the shower in a unique tile helps it feel like a destination, even if the footprint is small. Another trick: The narrow herringbone lay of this tile moves your eye up and down, expanding the perceived height of the shower.
Doorless Walk-In Shower Design
Forego the door to make a small bathroom's walk-in shower feel even more spacious. A fixed glass panel separates this shower from the rest of the bathroom. The open door design allows users to come and go freely. To waterproof the shower stall, cover the surfaces with tile, then mount the showerhead and controls on the wall opposite the opening to limit splashing.
Cozy Neutral Walk-In Shower
Brie Williams
If you're working with limited space, an airy palette with a touch of warmth can make a small bathroom feel cozy and inviting. Off-white walls and shower tile lend a modern look without feeling too dull, while brass hardware and a dark wood vanity and mirror frame add rustic charm and earthy contrast to round out the space.
No-Door Walk-In Shower Design
Edmund Barr
Open-entry showers are having a moment: The wet room concept, inspired by spas, uses an open-flow concept where everything in the bathroom is designed to get wet. If you have a small bathroom, this can be a way to save space. Here, a glass partition separates the shower from the vanity to minimize splash, but the entry to the shower is open.
Bright Walk-In Shower with Window
Julie Soefer
If you're drawn to minimalism, this walk-in shower design might be your perfect match. Crisp white walls, black-and-white floor tile, and sleek chrome fixtures create an airy, streamlined feel. A small window above the shower brings in natural light, enhancing the brightness of the space. Clear glass shower walls and doors complete the look with a modern touch.
Walk-In Shower with Bold Fixtures
Stacy Zarin Goldberg
Create a sense of escape by using one tile all over the shower. Choose plumbing fixtures that match (polished nickel would work here) or stand out, like these brass fixtures do.
Walk-In Shower Door for Small Bathrooms
Stacey Brandford
Shop around for shower door options that are best suited to your style. A frosted glass door with black metal framing matches the no-frills, vintage-inspired design scheme of this bathroom.
Walk-In Shower Mural Tile Design
Werner Straube
A tiny shower becomes a jewel box when you add beautiful, decorative tile. In fact, a small shower may make such tile more affordable to buy, as you’ll need a small quantity. Use the tile on one wall for a mural effect or all over to create an immersive experience.
Walk-In Shower Niche Designs
Marty Baldwin
Niches are perfect for small showers, as they use the negative space between wall studs, commanding none of the shower’s square footage. They’re also a great place to incorporate personality: An arch shape and stone shelves make this shower niche extra special.
Glass Shower Partition
Better Homes & Gardens
A slim partition takes up almost no floor space, so it’s a smart choice for small bathrooms. A glass partition is also great for allowing light to pass throughout the room.
Walk-In Shower Design with Skylight
Julie Soefer
Tiny bathrooms may not have room for a window on the wall. Installing a skylight will brighten the space and lift the ceiling, casting lovely natural light and increasing a spacious feeling.
Contrasting Fixtures in Walk-In Shower
WERNER STRAUBE
Even in a small shower, you can experiment with interesting plumbing fixtures. This unlacquered brass shower head is based on historic versions and would perk up even the tiniest of spaces.
Use Shower Curtains
Finish a walk-in shower in a simple, budget-friendly fashion with curtain panels rather than glass doors. This small bathroom walk-in shower idea uses a wooden support beam to mount curtain rods across the two open sides. A slightly raised step around the shower pan keeps water contained.
Tile for a Small Bathroom Walk-In Shower
Anne D. Schlechter
Use tile to cleverly expand your space. This all-white shower appears to expand endlessly into space. The decorative pink stripe makes the space around it look even larger.
Walk-In Shower Design with Penny Tile
KIM CORNELISON
Get clever with affordable materials, such as penny tile. The high contrast of black and white tiles allows you to make patterns and even spell words. A cheeky greeting is a fun surprise in a kids or guest bathroom.
Shared Shower Wall
Ellie Lillstrom
Utilizing one wall for two purposes is the perfect solution for a small bathroom. Use one side of the wall for a walk-in shower and the other side for a sink or small vanity. Install the same tile all over the bathroom so that the multipurpose wall looks cohesive no matter which side you're standing on.
Glass Shower Surround for Small Bathroom
Neil Landino
This efficient bathroom fits a vintage tub and a walk-in shower. The appearance of the shower is minimal, thanks to a frameless glass surround. A minimalist design like this expands the perceived space in the bathroom and allows more room to play with other design elements, such as the floor tile.
Warm Color Bathroom Design
Better Homes & Gardens
Large brown tile offers an earthy warmth to this walk-in shower. Warm tones—often overlooked in bathroom design—are cozy and inviting in what can often feel like a cold space.
Use an Overhead Showerhead
Robert Brinson
Installing an overhead shower can help avoid any dead space, making full use of a small shower. If you have room, a shower bench enhances a luxury feel and increases function.
Bold Shower Tile for Small Bathrooms
Julie Soefer
Make even a small shower feel luxurious with a bold color choice. This juicy turquoise is inviting, energizing, and it perfectly contrasts the pink wallpaper and trim.
Walk-In Shower Design with Glass Shower
Spacecrafting Photography
This glass shower door has no framing, making it almost invisible. Framing divides bathrooms visually, which can make a space look smaller.
Walk-In Shower Tile Designs
Ed Gohlich
Get the most from a decorative tile by pairing it with a glass shower door. This way, the tile becomes a decorative element for the whole bathroom, not just the shower.
River Rock Shower Design
Werner Segarra
A small walk-in shower is an opportunity to do something special with tile, such as this river rock which lines the walls and floors of this walk-in shower. A removable shower bench provides storage and a place to sit.
Modern Shower Design for Small Bathrooms
Ryan Garvin
Geometric shapes and a grayscale color palette are the foundation for this simple, modern shower design. The brick-shaped tile, often laid in an offset pattern, looks more modern in a herringbone arrangement. Stacked bonds are another way to lay tiles in a modern fashion.
Colorful Shower Design for Small Bathrooms
Patrick Biller
Beautiful clay tiles in a spectrum of teal-blue glaze pair with gray accents for a sophisticated and timeless shower design. A glass shower surround or door not only makes the room feel bigger, but it also allows special tile like this to be seen.
Patterned Accent Tile for Small Bathrooms
Better Homes & Gardens
Framed in stone, these patches of accent tile become almost like art. While we often think of accent tile in terms of color, it can also be a way to incorporate pattern into your shower. The patterned tile matches the soothing white color scheme but adds some interest.
Enclosed Shower Design for Small Bathroom
Julie Soefer
While small in square footage, this shower is anything but minimal. Grand French doors and vented transom windows create a cozy enclosure covered in a unique stone tile pattern.
Simplify Bathroom Tile Choices
JOHN GRANEN
Keep a small bathroom simple by repeating the same tile in multiple places. However, that doesn’t mean you have to choose a simple tile. Here, Moroccan-inspired tiles add starry glamour to the floor and shower wall.
Add a Wooden Bench
Anthony Masterson
If you don't have the space for a tub in your small bathroom, adding a bench to your walk-in shower is a great way to add comfort and safety to your bathing experience. Consider one made of teak, which is water- and slip-resistant. Continue the wood tones in other parts of the bathroom like shelving or the vanity.
Unexpected Shower Door Design
Karyn Millet
Add contrast to your small bathroom with a walk-in shower door in an unexpected shape. Whether it's arched or keyhole-shaped, anything other than a rectangular shower doorway will draw attention, while the glass material keeps the small room spacious.
Colorful Tile Accent
KERRY KIRK
The colorful tile creates a strong contrast against the white tile. A block of color or a mosaic of different tiles in an all-white bathroom is an eye-catching focal point. Glass shower doors allow the accent tile wall to be the highlight of the room.
Tiled Wall and Walk-In Shower
Furnish your small bathroom with a wall-mounted or pedestal sink to open up space for a walk-in shower. In this bathroom, a tiled partial wall separates the small walk-in shower from the sink area. Choosing a wall mounted sink instead of a full vanity allows space for a garbage can and small storage stool that can tuck behind the sink, as well as towel hooks or a towel bar just outside the shower door.
Utilize Space Efficiently
Consider the other amenities you'll want when making space for a walk-in shower in a small bathroom. This small walk-in shower's simple glass door allows for wall space for showcasing a double vanity. A narrow glass panel on the wall adjacent to the door helps carry light from nearby windows into the shower's interior, while a cutout on the door allows steam to escape.
Get Extra Light with a Window
Position your walk-in shower near a window or below a skylight, so that you can enjoy both sunlight and stars. This walk-in shower's clerestory window and glass door allow natural light to flow in and out of the bathroom. Thanks to its placement, the shower becomes a separate room that doesn't clutter up the small bathroom's sight lines or impede traffic flow.
Shiplap Knee Wall
Expand a small bathroom's utility by designing a walk-in shower that provides wall space for placing vanities or tubs. Seemingly an extension of the bathroom's shiplap-clad walls, this knee wall accommodates a shallow vanity with a mirrored door. White painted walls, the walk-in shower's glass enclosure and tiled walls, along with reflective surfaces, encourage light to move around the space, causing the small bathroom to appear roomier.
Use Bright Colors
Walls painted white or a light color make a room feel larger. Create the illusion of space in your small bathroom design by choosing light paint and tile colors. If using all white tiles in your walk-in shower strikes you as too sterile, consider marble tiles, or add accent color tiles to offset the white. With limited wall space available, opt for a towel hook instead of a towel bar.
Extend Walk-In Shower Tile to Walls
A glass shower wall is a great way to make a small bathroom feel large. This bathroom takes it a step further by continuing its black and white striped wall pattern into the shower. This technique eliminates the shower/bathroom barrier to make it feel like one big space.
Small Bathroom with Soaking Tub and Shower
You don't have to sacrifice a bathtub to accommodate a walk-in shower in a small bathroom. Instead, opt for a small soaking tub that doesn't take up too much square footage. This spa-like small bathroom features a neutral color palette and natural textures, including a linen window treatment, faux wood floor tiles, and a muted river-rock shower wall. Glass enclosure walls keep the room open and airy.
Make Your Small Bathroom Luxurious with Marble Frame
Even the smallest bathroom designs can achieve grand style with these walk-in shower ideas. Despite its small size, this shower makes an impact, thanks to its marble door frame and tiled interior, both of which are highlighted by charcoal walls. Bathroom floor tiles repeat inside the shower to visually link the two areas.
Contrasting Tile
In this small bathroom, stone floor tile repeats throughout the shower and toilet area for a cohesive look. Classic white subway tile contrasts with a black tile accent wall for a bold look. A glass shower door and built-in niche for incidentals maintain the bathroom's modern clean lines.
Walk-In Shower with an Eave
Design a doorless walk-in shower that takes advantage of your small bathroom's architectural oddities. Tucking a shower beneath an eave allowed these homeowners to fit a walk-in shower into their small bathroom. Maximizing this tight space made room for a separate toilet compartment, a luxury usually reserved for larger bathrooms.
Walk-In Shower with Built-In Bench
Add a walk-in shower that enhances a small bathroom's usefulness and beauty. This shower stands out in a simply furnished bathroom, thanks to its distinctively tiled walls and river rock tiled floor, both of which are easily seen through a frameless glass enclosure. The glass enclosure is fitted around the shower's marble tiled bench and small toiletry shelf, ending simply below the bathroom's beaded-board wainscoting.
Make Space for a Walk-In Shower and Tub
Utilizing a tight corner, this small walk-in shower made room for a petite stand-alone tub. The blue tile on the shower floor and recessed shelf bring a touch of color to the white bathroom. Use a garden stool as a petite perch near the tub.
Small Bathroom Walk-In Shower Ideas for Corners
Walk-in shower designs for small bathrooms require careful space planning. Set the shower into a corner, but expand its space by extending an angled base and glass enclosure into the main bathroom area. This walk-in shower's angled design enhanced the square footage, giving the homeowners space for adding a built-in bench.
Marbled Walls Walk-In Shower Ideas
Stretching across a bathroom's shortest wall, this shower provides plenty of room for pampering without overwhelming the small bathroom. Continuing the bathroom's marble walls and tiled flooring into the shower creates a cohesive scene with the perception of a larger space.
Small Bathroom Walk-In Shower with Glass Walls
Design a small walk-in shower that blends into the background. Although this shower's seamless glass enclosure is visible, it fades in importance, thanks to brightly hued, striped wainscoting that wraps the bathroom's lower walls. Without solid walls, the glass walk-in shower appears at one with its surroundings rather than as a separate room.
Use Longest Wall to Fit a Walk-In Shower and a Tub
Align bathing and showering stations along a small bathroom's longest wall. By placing the tub against the walk-in shower's knee wall, the homeowners created a compact bathroom arrangement that left the opposite wall open for other fittings. A shared palette of neutral colors and materials furthers the connection between the shower and tub.
Use Glass to Minimize Visual Space
Enclose a walk-in shower with a seamless glass enclosure. The transparent barriers take up little visual space and let natural light flow between the bathroom and shower, which in turn makes a small bathroom live larger than its dimensions. This bathroom's neutral tiled walls continue into the walk-in shower to further the space-stretching illusion.
Keep It Simple
Accommodate your getting-ready needs with downsized fixtures that don't take up too much floor space. This handsomely profiled pedestal sink and narrow toiletry ledge replace a more cumbersome vanity in style. Marble-tiled walls and ceiling elevate this simply furnished small bathroom into elegance.
Small Bathroom with Tub and Shower Combined
When space for a walk-in shower is at a premium, consider placing bathing and showering stations within one enclosure. The homeowners combined a small soaking tub and a shower to maximize a minimal amount of floor space. Advantageously, the two-in-one design keeps splashing water and wet footprints away from the commode and vanity areas.
Small Bathroom Tub and Shower Idea Using Glass and Tile
Rethink available bathroom space until you are able to fit in every one of your desired amenities. This small bathroom design tucks a bathtub between the window wall and a compact walk-in shower. The bath extends behind the shower to supply a full-out bathing experience. The tub, shower, and vanity share the natural light streaming through the undressed window. Use a single bath rug to serve both the shower and the tub.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Walk-in showers should be no less than 32x32 inches, but ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) recommendations suggest a minimum of 36x36 inches for a square-shaped shower and 60x30 for a rectangular shower.
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In general, adding a walk-in shower will enhance the value of your home—unless adding one eliminates the only bathtub. Some buyers (particularly those with children) may prefer to have at least one bathtub in the home.
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While water can splash out of a walk-in shower, proper design and careful planning (like a sloped shower pan, a properly placed showerhead, and waterproof surroundings) can all but eliminate the issue. Of course, if you opt for a doorless shower, there is an increased chance of splashed water. For this reason, doorless showers are often designed with a designated “splash zone” (anywhere from 24 to 72 inches surrounding) where anything inside the area is likely to get wet.
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