What are you hoping to accomplish with your bathroom remodel? Great design doesn’t just make a space more attractive, it makes it more functional, and if your shower is in need of some organization and storage space, it’s time to step up your bathroom design with a tiled niche.
Deciding on a shower niche design or knowing what’s even possible in your space can be a complicated task. If you’re working with a contractor, discuss with them your vision and budget to decide what works. Today we’ll tackle some basics to get you started.
Remodeling your entire bathroom? Start here with our complete guide to bathroom tile.
What’s a Shower Niche?
A shower niche is a built in shelf recessed into your tub surround or shower wall and is designed to hold shampoo bottles, body wash, and other bath products. A recessed shower niche can be either custom-built or purchased prefabricated and finished with tile during installation.
Custom Framed Shower Niche
A custom niche offers designers near-total freedom to design the perfect niche for their bathtub or shower. Custom niches require custom framing to achieve the desired dimensions and waterproofing membranes must be applied to prevent water from leaking into the wall. When building a custom niche, it’s important to consider your environment and the function of the stud walls you wish to frame near or modify. It’s advised to work with a contractor if you wish to build a custom shower niche.
Prefab Shower Niche
A prefab shower niche speeds up installation by using a preformed waterproof mold made from either foam, plastic, or steel. The prefab niche is fitted into the wall cavity between two existing studs and sits flush against the untiled shower wall. Tile is applied directly to the waterproof niche insert. Prefab niches are available from brands like Schluter and Tile Redi and can be purchased at most home supply stores. A prefab niche is generally more cost-effective compared to custom shower niche installations.
Shower Niche Placement
Great design improves your life, so a niche needs to work as well as it looks. Where you locate your niche depends on how you use your space.
If you’re running a custom niche the full width of your shower, you only have to decide on height. How tall are you and those in your household? Where would you and they be most comfortable reaching for your daily essentials?
This shower has a niche for any height, vertically stacked for everyone to access.
Tile Shown: 4x4 in Moonshine // Design: Kelli Rainbolt // Image: Kelli Rainbolt
Centered, offset, corner, edge? Where you place your niche on the wall dramatically affects its appearance. Remember, studs, as well as pipes and other hardware, can interfere with where you locate your niche.
Tile Shown: Picket in Sea Glass // Design: Interior Wanderer // Image: R. Brad Knipstein Photography
This niche extends all the way to the edge with an open end to add even more definition to the shower’s design.
Tile Shown: 3x6 in Calcite Gloss, 3" Sheeted Hexagon in Gypsum, Salton Sea, Crater Lake Matte, Caribbean Matte, Nautical, Cyclone, Carbon // Design: Tom McElroy Architecture // Image: Rachel Styer
Are you installing a niche in a custom shower or a tub surround where you’ll sometimes be showering standing up and sometimes bathing reclined? It’s a good idea to consider where you’ll be able to reach items in either situation.
Tile Shown: Ogee in Lake Tahoe, 1 x 6 Sheeted in Ember // Design: Maria Causey Interior Design // Image: Christy Kosnic
Shower Niche Size and Shape
Are you looking for a discrete pocket for a razor and a bar of soap or a spacious focal point for curated sundries? The size and shape of your niche is another balance of function, appearance, and practical limitations.
Choosing a prefab shower niche will limit your choices to what’s available from the manufacturer, but there are several options on the market. A custom niche and flexible budget will greatly expand your choices.
The depth of your niche will ultimately depend on the depth of your wall cavity or how much you decide to frame out a parallel wall to accommodate a deeper niche.
This shallow niche would likely fit in any home.
Tile Shown: 2x8 in Rosemary // Design: Erin Kestenbaum // Image: Erin Kestenbaum
A vertical shower niche matches the profile of small showers and offers space for taller items.
Tile Shown: 4x4 in Sand Dune // Design: Anthony Roxas Architecture // Image: María del Río
A horizontal shower niche offers room for a wide shower shelf and adds an attractive dimension to the shower wall.
Tile Shown: 4x8 in Calcite, Small Diamond Sheeted in Calcite, Large Diamond Escher Sheeted in Nautical (featured on our Secret Menu!)// Design: Clara Jung // Image: Colin Price Photography
Use multiple shapes to create separate shelves with individual purposes and personalities.
Tile Shown: 3x9 in Raven Matte // Design: Shavonda Gardner // Image: Shavonda Gardner
An arched shower niche adds an elegant design detail to your bathroom and some preformed niche manufacturers do offer arched inserts. Nevertheless, cutting the tile and trim for the arch will require a skilled hand.
Tile Shown: 2x6 in Ivory // Design: Sara Combs + Rich Combs // Image: Margaret Austin Photography, Sara Combs + Rich Combs
Shower Niche Tile
Choosing the tile you want for your shower niche usually starts with choosing the tile you want for your entire shower, maybe your entire bathroom. But not always. Decide if you want your niche to blend in or stand out.
This glass herringbone niche uses the same tile and pattern to flawlessly match the lines of the shower wall.
Tile Shown: 2x12 Glass in Blue Jay Matte, 1x1 Sheeted in Blue Jay Matte // Design: Ginny Macdonald, Styling by CJ Sandgren // Image: Jessica Bordner, Sara Tramp
Echo the floor tile, the bathroom backsplash, or choose something totally unique to draw attention to the niche.
This niche contrasts the bright white shower walls with the deep blue diamond mosaic tile featured on the floor.
Tile Shown: Small Diamond Sheeted in Aegean Sea // Design: Rachel Winston Design // Image: Zulu Whiskey Productions
Ceramic Tile Shower Niches
Ceramic tile is a versatile choice for showers and therefore shower niches. This material will give you the broadest range of tile sizes and color schemes to choose from.
Think beyond the standard subway tile shower with a unique ceramic tile shape like timeless hexagon tile or the mermaid-inspired Ogee Drop tile found in this beach house bathroom.
Tile Shown: Ogee Drop in Naples Blue // Design + Image: Bright Bazaar
Glass Tile Shower Niche
Glass tile is clean, sleek, and perfect for the shower. This niche with a marble shower shelf adds an incredible dimension to the wide shower wall of straight stacked tile.
Tile Shown: 2x12 Glass in Rosy Finch Matte // Design: Metro Design Build // Image: Jeffrey Johnson
At Fireclay, we do not offer trim for glass tile and instead recommend Schluter trim to finish your niche (more on that below). The white Schluter on this double shower niche really makes it pop against the orange glass.
Tile Shown: Falcon Matte 2x6 // Design: Harvest Moon Bungalow // Image: Harvest Moon Bungalow, Sterling Reed Photography
Brick Tile Shower Niche
A brick tile shower niche stands up to years of use with an earthy, organic look.
Brick Shown: Thin Brick in Olympic, Thin Brick in Elk // Installer: Alisa Norris
Mosaic Tile Shower Niche
Mosaic tile gives a shower niche an intricate backdrop with endless artistic possibilities.
Tile Shown: Hexite and 1x1 sheeted in Adriatic Sea // Design: Heather Cleveland Design // Image: HDR Remodeling
Handpainted Shower Niche
A handpainted tile niche lets you feature the one-of-a-kind artistry of handpainted accent tile without committing to the cost of tiling your entire shower in handpainted.
A colorful handpainted niche makes for a natural focal point and an exciting contrast to a white shower wall.
Tile Shown: 6x6 Handpainted Vitoria in Cool Motif, Star and Cross in Frost Matte // Design: Ali Hynek // Image: Becky Kimball
Shower Niche Trim
Blending the recessed shelf to the shower or tub surround tile requires trim, and there are lots of options for any tile you’ve chosen. From rough to smooth, there’s a trim to capture the look you’re going for.
Trimming more than your niche? Check out our comprehensive guide to bathroom trim.
Bullnose Shower Niche Trim
Bullnose trim has a rounded and glazed long or short edge (or both for corner pieces) that offers a smooth transition around the perimeter of the shower niche.
Tile Shown: Ogee Drop in Calcite Gloss // Installer: Becki Owens
Radius Bullnose Niche Trim
A radius bullnose tile has a rounded edge like a standard bullnose that hooks and extends to form a 90-degree curve for a seamless bend from the wall to the niche interior.
Tile Shown: 2x6 in Magnolia // Design: Brad Krefman // Image: Airyka Rockefeller
How to Trim a Shower Niche Without Bullnose
Glazed Edge Trim
The simplest form of trim is our glazed edge tile, available in both ceramic and brick, which offers a raw minimalist look without compromising the consistency of color.
Brick Shown: Thin Brick in Elk // Design: Claire Thomas // Image: Claire Thomas
Quarter Round Niche Trim
Another popular trim for shower niches is the quarter round. Quarters rounds are narrow pieces of ceramic trim designed for turning corners and finishing edges.
Tile Shown: Hexite in Halite, Eucalyptus, Kelp // Design: Darling Magazine // Image: Darling Magazine
Schluter Shower Niche Trim
Schluter trim is strips of trim—usually metal like aluminum, steel, and brass but also available in PVC—that conceal the raw edge of tile giving it a clean, finished look.
Tile Shown: 2x8 in Feldspar Gloss // Design: Caitlin Flemming // Image: Jacqueline Pilar
Now you're ready to get designing! Remember to consider your space and budget before starting your project and work with a contractor if you have any doubts about your DIY skills. With a little creativity and Fireclay Tile, you'll have a functional niche that fits perfectly in your new shower.
