Advice & Tips

12 Amazing Shower Niche Ideas For Your Bathroom

Your bathroom build or renovation is finally happening! You’ve decided on the overall logistics and aesthetics and researched bathroom sink designs and bathtub designs. But something is missing. Something that could avoid you having to fumble around for your body wash, or worse, have to step out of your shower with wet hair to access your conditioner. Hello, shower niche!

A shower niche is a recessed shelf built into your shower wall or on a wall near your bathtub, and it is designed to house all of your favourite pamper products within easy reach. So whether you are after a coastal, industrial or contemporary bathroom design, here are 12 amazing shower niche ideas.

This is a stunning example of a carefully considered design statement and in oh-so-many wonderful ways. On the practical side, the top shower niche is bigger-than-average in size, so there is plenty of room for taller shower products and the bottom one is perfectly sized for dainty ones.

The colour palette is neutral yet variegated, blending seamlessly with the marble-look large format tiles, which exude a bold, modern appearance. But the hero of this shower niche design is undoubtedly the choice of subway-look tiling and its stacked placement. Each tile’s non-uniform appearance — in colour, pattern and shape — offers three-dimensional texture and signifies uniqueness and non-conformity. This design puts the “niche” in shower niche!

This is another breathtaking example of how a shower niche can take centre stage. Its horizontal design hints at the enormity of the shower itself and evokes a feeling of glorious spaciousness as the eye moves from one end to the other. Its positioning beautifully frames the sleek, contemporary tapware, and it is also highly functional, providing coveted storage for a multitude of often-used bathing products.

Texturally, it is a bold contrast to the glossy large-format tiling that allows the mosaic tiling to really pop. The choice of tile colours — from white to cream to grey to beige — adds visual interest, and the subdued lighting above the tiling frames this shower niche as a recessed, but certainly not shy, work of art. This is tiling boldness at its best.

This bathroom is an art-deco-lover’s dream and a kaleidoscope of texture, pattern and contrast. In terms of colour scheme, black is a popular choice for high-end bathrooms, projecting a sense of luxury and quality. But here, the design has been enhanced with geometric “chevron” tiling reminiscent of the glorious 1920s design period. The choice of pink mirrors a later period — the 1940s — where bathrooms across the world embraced this blushing hue.

In terms of the shower niche, it is subtle, mirroring the tiling in the shower. However, in this case, it is a nod to understated chic. The placement is ideal (just a short lunge to reach your toiletry of choice), and its width creates a seamless visual and enough room for products aplenty. Backlighting ensures this shower niche doesn’t recede but stands fashionably proud.

We can imagine an emotive, audible sigh as the first reaction when entering this bathroom. It is simply divine. Evoking a blissfully “zen” day spa feel, its colour palette is neutral with the right elements of colour and pattern contrast, particularly in the tiling and flooring. The entire room is also light-filled and unrestrained (the absence of window coverings will do that!)

The “his and hers” shower niches are amply sized — and the same size — which mirrors the designer’s nod to uniformity. Their horizontal shape is a lovely contrast to the vertical tiling, which is again contrasted by the large-format square tiling on the back wall. But its most inspiring feature? The blonde timber-look interior matches back to the stunning flooring and offers some visual relief from the expanses of tiling and glass. Lighting again enhances these shower niches as can’t-ignore-me focal points.

So … there are big bathrooms, and then there are huge bathrooms and this is most certainly the latter. This bathroom is an oasis of pampering potential from the double-vessel-sink vanity and wall-hung toilet and bidet (bonjour!) to the massive shower, large format tiling and expansive mirror. Do we also spot the hint of a spa in the corner?

The shower niches (yes, of course, there is more than one), are wide and deep and offer plenty of space for products and potted prettiness. Colour-wise, they effortlessly complement the vanity, drawers and splashback with their rich timber accents, and the slate-grey tiling gives them ample opportunity to make a contemporary yet “organic” statement. Backlighting completes their design statement as shower niches to take notice of.

OK, we are de-robed and ready to step into this super-sumptuous scenario. Nothing quite compares to a bath, particularly one sprinkled with rose petals and surrounded by flickering candles. This is subtlety in its finest form, particularly with the gentle colour and ample size of the no-grout tiling that extends from the walls to the flooring.

The absence of contrasting design colours offers a perfect base palette for the addition of other accents. In this case, it offers an opportunity to fully feature the shower (in this case, bath) niche. And it’s glorious. Wide, tall and deeply inset, it is not only a perfectly reachable distance from the bath, it allows the tub user to display all their favourite products and bathing-inspired trinkets.

Simple, yet sensational! This shower design is the ultimate in no-fuss, minimalistic design. The tiles are the obvious feature here. Their marble-look “veined” effect adds an instant touch of elegance and refinement and creates texture and depth. And the combination of white and grey gives the illusion of a free-form and more expansive space, reflecting light and giving the illusion of the walls receding. The contrasting grouting also ensures the design isn’t too stark and highlights the tiles’ graphic quality.

In terms of the shower niche, it is certainly not an attention seeker, which is an intrinsic part of its beauty. It is stylish without being distracting, but having said that, so is this entire shower! With a spacious, easy-to-reach design, this is a wonderful example of “less is more”.

There is an unashamedly masculine vibe to this bathroom, with clutter and possibly even colour banished from its design depths. Sleek, modern, and some might even say “edgy”, texture is key in this instance, which allows the architectural materials, and here we are predominately talking about the tiling on the shower niche and surrounding wall, to retain prominence.

These are often referred to as “stacked” tiles, where rectangular tiles are arranged horizontally in a brick-like pattern. In this instance, they take a detour from the ever-popular “subway” design with their thinner and longer shape. Visual interest is enhanced by each tile’s variegated pattern, and each looks unique as though they have been hand-picked. The shower niche is an extension of this amazing visual effect and, coupled with its impressive size and contrasting edging, is both refined and practical.

Another Scandi-inspired bathroom design, this one features a well-considered colour palette and an earthy yet urban choice of tiling and flooring. The tiles are contrasting on both feature walls — one is large-format, the other slightly narrower, yet both are arranged with alternating vertical and horizontal patterning to avoid starkness. Complementary grouting also adds visual interest.

The timber-look flooring is a highlight here, with the unique grain purposefully allowed to impress. This is mirrored in the two shower niches. With subtle backlighting to draw in the eye, they are a “perfect pair” in size, shape and ability to showcase pops of living colour and bespoke pamper products.

This shape-shifter of a shower features a myriad of colours, textures and patterns. The mottled subway tiles add a vibrant deep-blue-ocean feel with contrasting grouting adding personality and visual interest. The colour blue also represents calmness and serenity, so is ideal for this space. They are also glossy, ensuring they don’t recede but take their rightful place beside the mesmerising multi-faceted shower niche.

Multi-faceted? Oh yes. All of the key design elements have been considered here — space, line, form, light, colour, texture and pattern. It is amply sized, from its width to its height to its depth. The coloured pebble-like tiling is not only vibrant and a great combination of hues, it is light reflective to showcase its true beauty. It is also wonderfully textured, and the combination of pattern in the tiling, marble-look shelving and metallic edging begs the question … are there any shower products actually worthy of this home?

OK, where do we start? There is soooo much to love about this bathroom. The divine tapware, the bold shaped and subtly coloured tiling, the dual free-standing basins, the heated towel rack, the abundance of candles and the perfectly positioned “mood” lighting. And then there’s the bath. It’s big enough and deep enough to spend countless hours with bubbles and a good book soaking off the stress of the day.

When it comes to a shower (or, in this case, bath) niche, it has big shoes to fill. And it does. Spanning more than the width of the bath, its design is an amazing combination of aesthetics and purpose. Beautifully backlit and with ample room for every pampering-focused product known to man, “bath time” just took on a whole new meaning.

We can only imagine what the rest of the house looks like if the designer of this space showed the same attention to detail as they have with this room-with-a-bath (we don’t think the term “bathroom” entirely cuts it here). Firstly, the brick-look tiles. What an extraordinary way to “bring the outdoors in”. Next, the bath. Wide, long and super-deep, it is an understated colour option that gives a nod to nature.

And then, there’s the bath niche. This design is almost mimicking an exterior view without the exterior. But who needs that when you have such a divine choice of timber? The patterning is mottled and irregular with an “open grain” finish, resulting in wild streaks ranging from cream to dark chocolate. All of which complete the show-stopping visual feast that is unashamedly assertive.

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