These 2 Shower Features Might Be Unpopular, But Designers Love Them Anyway

When design consultant Anastasia Casey walks into the shower in her Austin home, she doesn’t have to lift a finger—or a foot, for that matter. There is no door, there is no curb, and she likes it that way. “The only time we get water everywhere is when we accidentally turn on the wand without realizing it,” she says. The first time we saw Casey’s incredibly cozy bathroom, we thought: Why doesn’t everyone have this? But it turns out that her decision to go door- and curbless puts her in the minority. Houzz’s 2023 bathroom trends report revealed that 45 percent of homeowners who have recently renovated chose a hinged shower door, and 15 percent opted for sliding doors. Meanwhile, when it comes to walking in and out of the area, most people (43 percent, exactly) landed on a low curb. 

Not only does everyone appear to want a curb, they also want their shower door to be frameless, according to 78 percent of respondents. But we’ve seen tons of spaces from interior designers where a chic frame or a no-curb setup can elevate the entire bathroom. Ahead, we make our case for these two often overlooked features.

The Case for Going Curbless

There is hope for curbless showers. According to Houzz, nearly a quarter (24 percent) of renovating homeowners are choosing this style (see Casey’s green tiled shower, above left). It also happens to be great solution for a small bathroom where you want to squeeze in a soaking tub—fewer walls and obstacles means more zen time in the stone-covered space (above), designed by Canopy Studio. Of course, going curbless isn’t necessarily cheap: carving out a slope in the floor to drain the water can cost an additional $500 to $700.

The Case for Framing Your Door

The reason most people buy a frameless shower door is for aesthetic reasons: The thick glass panels are held in place by small clips or hinges, bringing less attention to them. Our argument? If you’re going to have a door, bring the drama with steel grilles (there are more affordable screen-printed versions out there) or solid brass that spotlights the floor and tile.