Something that you’ll probably pick up here on King of the Castle is that I love my bathrooms. Even more than my bedroom, because I get to actually be awake in the bathroom. And indulging in a nice walk in shower was one of my first moves when I had my own house built.
Do you want one of these things? I don’t blame you if you do. There are two segments to consider with walk in showers. The first one is the use of the shower itself – what kind of knobs to get, what kind of plastic, or glass, or tile to use, how far should the door open, where should the door be, and so on. This is important stuff, and you can’t get it wrong, or else you’ll end up disliking the shower, or at least wishing it was a little different every time you use it. These are both sad situations that I encourage you to avoid.
The other thing you need to consider is the design of the shower, and this is where the fun comes in. This is where you decide if you want regular tile on the ground or something a little more elaborate. What do you want the walls to look like? How about putting a seat in it in case you get tired? Look, this is my relaxation room, so that’s how I think. Regular tile may work just fine, but let’s consider something nicer, like marble, before we come to any rash decisions. I’m going to spoil myself here, and I like to take my time to decide how exactly I want to spoil myself!
Walk in Shower Enclosures
The enclosure itself is the necessary and less fun part. It’s the part where you decide how big you want the walk in shower to be. If you have a regular sized bathroom, then you’re probably going to have to use an enclosure that’s about the size of your tub, which is great – it’ll give you plenty of room to move around in and you’ll love every minute you’re standing inside it.
Is this primo-deluxe-pamper myself crazy? No. But look, an extravagant bathroom begins with the size to get extravagant in. So if it’s just a standard bathroom, you enjoy yourself and have a fantastic time. I wish you well.
If you have the room though, why not do it up a little bit? Why not make it big enough that you can put a little seat in there? It will help your wife shave her legs (or if you’re the wife, it will help you shave your legs) and hey, if you’re a professional swimmer you’ll probably need to do the same thing, so that works out great. We all make our fortunes differently after all.
So choose the size, and decide if it’s worth getting that wall knocked out so you can expand it a bit more. Here’s a hint: it probably is.
Walk in Shower Design
Ah, now the design part. This is where a lot of the fun comes into play. We get to actually look at all the important stuff, like what the floor is made out of. Hey, if you need to go with regular tile, that’s completely your call. It will keep you from slipping, and it’s easy to clean too, so it’s a win-win decision. No worries whatsoever.
But what if we had an unlimited budget? If we did, I’ll bet we could put something down like marble, something that will let you feel the value of your shower for every second that you stand in it. And this isn’t standard order either. If you want marble, chances are you’re going to get a guy to come out and actually measure your tub space, and give you some custom cut marble that will fit like a glove and allow you to describe your shower as ‘custom built’ to anyone who asks. And probably some people who don’t as well.
Yeah, that looks pretty nice, doesn’t it. Now we have a shower that we can be proud of. Now we have something that we’ll enjoy standing in for a very long time every day. This is what I like in my showers, and since this is my luxury room in the house, I don’t have any problems with spending the money I need to make it. I know that not everyone feels the same way, but if you don’t, then get your regular walk in shower and enjoy it – I know you will.
But for the rest of us, save your pennies. Good things come to those who wait!