10 Shower Design Ideas for A Bathroom Renovation

By Zephyr and Stone


A fabulous shower design can transform routine showering into a luxury, self-care ritual.

And whether you’re looking to create a spa-like experience or a super-functional rinse-and-go situation, there are plenty of bathroom shower design ideas to consider, including numerous shower head options, shower storage, window solutions, shower screens, lighting and more.

So what’s right for your space and style? To get you inspired, here are ten shower ideas that will transform your morning routine…

Clickable poster of Bathroom Layout Planner tool

Zephyr and Stone: Bathroom Layout Planner

The Roman Shower

A Roman shower is a walk-in, open-concept shower design, typically featuring a barrier-free entrance, floor-to-ceiling tiles, and luxurious fixtures.

It often incorporates elements of ancient Roman architecture, such as columns and arches, and may include seating areas, niches, and multiple showerheads for an indulgent bathing experience. It’s the surefire way to transform any bathroom into the ultimate luxury retreat.

roman bath shower

Rachel Turner • Roman Shower

Roman shower for open shower design

Conie Suarez Bravo • Roman Bathtub With Shower

Curved Shower Screen

A regular feature in our own Z+S projects, the curved shower screen is a popular shower design choice for good reason. A curved shower screen instantly softens the hard finishes in a bathroom, breaking up linear tile lines and adding a subtle, eye-catching feature.

Z+S Tip • Pair curved shower screens with curved bathroom vanity mirrors, round mixer tap wall plates or feature lights for a balanced aesthetic.

curved shower screen design with grey shower tiles and freestanding white bathtub

Kat Fola • Curved Shower Screen

curved shower screen with grey patterned shower tiles and shower shelf

Zephyr and Stone • Coral House Ensuite With Curved Shower Screen

Curved Shower Walls

Just like the way a curved shower screen softens the look of a shower, a curved shower wall is the ultimate design feature, especially for adding impact to a small bathroom design. This shower design feature can be completely customised, with a subtle curve or a fully curved arc that envelops you and provides privacy as well.

curved shower wall design

Graya • Curved Shower Walls

Patterned curved shower wall design

Kate Lawrence Interiors • Curved Shower

Shower Niche

A shower niche is a recessed, built-in shelf or storage space within a shower wall, designed to hold toiletries and personal care items. It provides a functional, stylish, and clutter-free solution for organising shower essentials while maintaining the aesthetics of a bathroom.

Z+S Tip • It’s essential to plan shower niches in the early stages of your bathroom project to ensure any walls are designed and built accordingly.

shower niche

DUO Architects • Shower Niche

Grey patterned bathroom shower tiles with shower niche for bathroom storage in contemporary coastal ensuite design guide

Zephyr and Stone • Contemporary Coastal Ensuite With Shower Niche

…Or Shower Shelf

We’re often asked — Shower Niche Vs Shower Shelf — What's Really Best? A shower shelf is an accessory installed in a shower area, designed to hold toiletries and personal care items. It can be wall-mounted or built-in, made from various materials such as stone, tile, glass or metal. Shower shelves provide a practical and organized storage solution while enhancing the overall aesthetics of a bathroom.

Whether you opt for a shower niche or shower shelf, this is one shower design feature you really should consider adding to your shower design agenda, as it provides the ultimate shower storage.

Shower shelf for small bathroom design ideas

Luke Fry • Shower Shelf

shower shelf for small bathroom ideas

Lowe Living • Shower Shelf

Shower Heads, Shower Rails + Hand Showers…

Have you ever stayed in a hotel with a double-head shower and thought about how great it felt? Well, multiple shower heads aren’t just for hotels! You can add luxury to your daily shower routine by creating a hotel-like experience in your own bathroom!

When choosing shower heads, consider which type of shower head best suits your lifestyle. A shower on rail is one of the most cost-effective and flexible options as it’s suitable whether it’s a hair wash day or not, and also doubles as a hand shower to make washing pets, and children or cleaning the shower easy. Overhead or rain showers really add luxury to a bathroom, and should ideally be paired with a hand shower for convenience.

Z+S Tip • If opting for multiple showers head, you’ll need to decide whether each shower head will be controlled by its own mixer tap or a diverter mixer tap will be installed to switch between two shower heads. Opting for a diverter mixer tap means only one shower head can be used at a time.

Double rain shower and Two hand shower

Laura Seppänen

Scandinavian ensuite bath with shower on rail shower rail black

Zephyr and Stone • Scandi Ensuite With Shower On Rail

Biophilic Bathroom

Even well-designed bathrooms can look cold, and one of the easiest and most effective ways to add life and warmth is to incorporate plants in your shower. This is also referred to as a biophilic bathroom — a design concept that integrates elements of nature, natural materials, and organic shapes to create a bathroom design that promotes well-being and relaxation. Adding greenery and foliage fosters a connection between the indoor environment and the natural world.

Z+S Tip • Several plant species are especially suitable and can thrive in a bathroom due to the typically high humidity and low light conditions. These include Pothos, Peace Lillies, Air Plants, Ferns, Snake Plants, Spider Plants and Philodendrons.

plants to put in shower for biophilic bathroom design

Planned Living Architects • Plants In Shower for Biophilic bathroom design.

biophilic bathroom design

Jo Hoeven • Plants In Shower for Biophilic bathroom design.

Bathroom Skylight

Possibly one of our favourite shower design features is a skylight positioned over a shower. It’s the perfect way to introduce natural light to your space — while blocking out the neighbours and rooftops next door. The sky is truly the limit in terms of skylight shape and size options, and with openable skylight options that have built-in rain sensors, you never have to worry about whether you’ve left the window open!

Over the head shower skylight

BuildHer Collective • Shower Skylight

Bathroom skylight in coral house bathroom design guide project

Zephyr and Stone • Coral House Bathroom WIth Bathroom Skylight

Shower With A View

Often, bathrooms — and showers in particular — are tucked away in a home with no more than a view of the Neighbour’s fence. But how about designing or orientating your shower to make it a shower with a view? And open it up into a private courtyard or garden to capture a view? A shower with a view will no doubt result in the ultimate spa-like shower experience, and result in a bathroom that feels connected to nature and the outdoors.

Grey bathroom tiles with a view to backyard landscape

Chamberlain Architects & Ruum

Grey bathroom tiles with a view to open green landscape

Vitale Design

Shower Room

If you have the space in your floor plan, separating your shower from the bathroom and turning it into a luxury shower room will really add luxury to your shower design. You can use a clear shower screen to have the spaces connect visually or integrate doors or walls to divide the shower and separate it from the rest of the bathroom.

Grey bathroom tiles with black shower head and integrated shower shelf

Tameka Moffat

White bathtub and enclosed shower in wet room bathroom

Steve Cordony

Ready to start planning your bathroom renovation? Get organised with your own Finishes Schedule or Finishes Schedule PRO

Zephyr and Stone schedule of finishes review

Zephyr and Stone: Finishes Schedule