niche or shelf in small shower?

[skuml]

Hi all,
I am in middle of refurbishing two bathroom, one has small shower area (76x90 cm).
due to restrictions, shower can only go on 76 cm. we are thinking to install concealed shower ( hansgrohe with head & hand shower ).

Wondering is it a good idea to have niche in high limescale area? also bathrooms dont have windows so thinking the niche will be place where we have to keep on top of cleaning/mould

Online I saw bathroom shelfs -that can be tiled too. Have anyone used those?

Or any better option to store shampoo soap in shower area?

Any thoughts of this??

I've found the niches to be quite hard to keep clean in my current bathroom. The moisture collects behind the bottles so it doesn't air very well, and I expect it would be worse without windows. I've gone for a corner basket in my new bathroom, similar to this one:

https://www.bathroomsuppliesonline.com/miller-classic-two-tier-corner-basket/

we have a shower of similar size

we put in a corner wire shelf

Niches are a pain because you need to have a bit of a slope downwards so water doesn't pool but that means bottles often slide off which is really annoying.

We have niches. I love them. We did our bathroom ourself so got exactly what we wanted, I did the tiling and made sure there is a little bit of fall for water and no lip at the front stopping it from draining. Never had a bottle fall off. I find them easier to clean than retrofit shelves. No water or mould behind bottles and just general shower grime that you get everywhere. Everything is tucked away neatly and no bottles are laying around making the small room look untidy.
I will add though, while we don't have a window in that room, we do have a super strong fan which does make all the difference.

We have niches, I love them. We used whole sized tiles so no grout to worry about cleaning.

One lesson we have learnt when we get to do our ensuite is to have them higher up. We currently have two, one over the other but the bottom one does get more water collecting in it. The higher one get little to no water splashed in it.

We have a niche and I love it. It's two tiles wide so does have a grout line down the centre but water doesn't really collect there. Very easy to just sweep off the very small amount that does get there. It has a very slight incline so the water doesn't really collect but bottles don't fall off.

We have niches and I did not know they were called that. Ours are easy enough to clean. The ones in the downstairs bathroom are the same wall as the shower and no water goes in them.

I think I must only have ever stayed in places with badly fitted niches then! I really like the look of them so will have another think about them now that I know bottles aren't meant to slide off them!!

Wire corner basket here, base sort of chin height so doesn’t take up too much space for moving around.

Like a pp I've a long niche but higher up. No water pooling, and have no cleaning issues either. I never had one before, and I think it is brilliant!

Could I also suggest a foot bar if you can fit one in. They are great for resting your foot on in order to shave your legs! Plumber fitted it for me sorry I don't know the name of it. And a small grab bar or handle is invaluable. These can be installed yourself when you figure out the best place to site them. In the end I couldn't make my mind up so got vacuum suction handles that need no drilling etc. and they can be moved around very easily. They are bloody brilliant, and (at the moment) I don't need any mobility aids etc. They just give stability I find.

Oh and I also have suction hooks near the controls to hang the loofah and the shower screen wiper.

this is mine. The bottom flips out for easy cleaning.

We have a niche and live in a high limescale area.

I just give the niche, screen and fittings a quick wipe and dry with an ecloth each time we use the shower.

It's less of a chore now I love the room and want to keep it nice.

We also had an excellent extractor put in the ceiling to help dry the space.

Many thanks everyone!!

Yes i am reluctant to put niche as worried if my tenants are not going to take care of it - it might cause me big headache!!

I want to go for easiest to clean and maintain option - Dont want to drilll nails in tiles....
I like the suction type ones option - But are they strong enough to hold shampoo bottle etc?

Also, another question regarding the bathroom storage -

I am trying to build recessed cabinet with door (flush with tiles) on top of concealed cistern (max 30 cm cabinet) ... Has anyone built similar this??

What door will look good?? above the sink big plane mirror will be there. and rest of wall are tiled ...
shall I go for mirrored door then I dont have to think about colour of tile etc ?

we have the tesa one and it seems pretty sturdy.

Decided against a niche as felt it would need a lot of cleaning. Bought a corner 2 tier basket which I am very pleased with.

@skuml As this property will be tenanted, don’t use suction! They won’t stay in place. We have drilled in glass shelves in some bathrooms and a niche in others. For tenants, a niche won’t break. A shelf can be broken or fall off. Most will need screwing through the tiles. A decent tenant will look after a niche.

I would ditch the storage above the loo. Just don’t add doors and cupboards which are difficult to construct. Just tile it and have a shelf. Tenants won’t care.

Above the sink, get a mirrored cabinet. Mine store shampoo, toothpaste etc. Ample storage. Do have a heated towel rail if you have space.

I have two of these caddies which hold a massive amount of bottle weight but are easily removed from the wall/inside kitchen cupboard without damage.

The one on my bathroom holds about six bottles near the shower and is easy to remove and replace for cleaning.

The kitchen one is under the sink and holds a selection of cleaning sprays & washup liquid.

No niches or shelves required.
I really recommend.
I bought the large size.
Available on line from Addis or, I got mine from Dunelm.

https://www.addis.co.uk/product/invisifix-large-bathroom-caddy/

I've had many wire baskets (every single one has rusted) and suction fitted storage (from Ikea - actually pretty good right up until they aren't and they fall off! They do need washing regularly)

When I refit the bathrooms I'm having a built in niche.

@TizerorFizz Thanks for your input!! really appreciate! You have helped so much from the beginning of the project!!

Regarding the niche - is it better to buy the "Prefabricated Shower Niche" - as it might be better with waterproofing?

Also, plumber keep saying tank the shower nicely! What is the tanking option in your opinion? Mapie tanking kit is ok? I am going to ask tiler too ( havent found one yet- still searching!)!
Should I do tanking near bathtub too??

Thanks again

Tanking is essentially to prevent leaks. You need a robust system beneath the shower and around it. Any system a bathroom installer suggests should work. I honestly am not sure what we have. Make absolutely certain water cannot escape from the shower floor and where it joins the tiles. I would ensure all surrounding areas are watertight. Make sure your grouting is secure and that the shower tray is robust and won’t move.

The niches I have are formed from tiles but I always use big tiles so minimal
grout. Also position away from shower head and they don’t tend to get very wet but showers are quite large.

tennanted property changes everything.
needs to be bomb proof or you will get endless grief.

so yes to niche away from shower spray.
and consider tanking the whole bathroom up to hip level and shower area up to ceiling to avoid damp/flood issues causing damage to the building structure.

yes trying to make it "Bomb proof" as much as possible!🙂

few choices that I have made considering that-
Have chosen good sink (not square ones) without vanity.
Gone for bathroom without niche
Tiling all over bathroom and shower room

Still need to decide the shower door -hinged bifold or infold ( where 20-26 cm goes inside and rest opens outside.
my concern is if door opens outside and the water might drop outside (if squeezee not used.
It s a small shower 76 cm - after tiling might be 72-73 door.
Any experience with this? @TizerorFizz and other.

Outward door does drip a bit, but not enough to go through the floor. We have fairly robust glass doors on most of our showers. Don’t like folding ones as they are lighter and less robust. You cannot expect tenants to use squeegees and they don’t look after things as you would. If you rent out, get periodic inspections.