If you are living in a builder grade home with an ugly, too small to be usable shower niches I’ve got some help for you. No you will not have to pull out the entire shower to make it happen. This is a simple fix to an ugly problem. How to build a shower niche built in?
Ugly and Not Useable
When we moved into our semi custom home I instantly hated the small unusable shower shelves / niches they included. I don’t know anyone who uses a single bottle of soap or shampoo or keeps a bar of soap in their shower. This shelf was so tiny and ugly it annoyed me every time I took a shower. Which meant it grated on my nerves every day. If you are stuck with the same thing I have got the answer for you.
I knew we were not at a place to pull out the entire shower to create a useable niche. So I did some investigating and came up with a game plan that worked for us. In fact it worked so well we have done it 3 times. Actually 4 because one of the bathrooms we redid. Crazy right.
Adding a Shower Shelf
If you don’t have a built in shelf in your shower you can find cute shelves that you can add to the wall or corners. There are so many options and they will really help with the function in your shower.
These shelves would work amazingly but removing the ugly shelf was going to leave a hole. So if you don’t have a built in this is a great option. Check out the affiliate link here.
Built In Shower Niche
All three of our bathrooms had the same ugly and have I mentioned unusable shower shelf so we needed to figure something out.
One day while walking about Floor and Decor I got looking for something that would maybe work. I wondered if we pulled the shelf out, cut a bigger hole and then put in an insert that would stop all the leaks but give your a secure surface you could tile it. And of course there was something out that that would work.
These ez niches are amazing and so versatile. They come in a variety of sizes and can be stacked or turned different directions. You can even find them on Amazon. Check it our here (affiliate link).
Finding the insert was only step one of the process. I needed to find out if we could cut the cultured marble that was on the walls. One morning while I was out on my walk I ran into an installer who happened to have a truck of cultured marble he was installing. So I got out of my comfort zone and asked him if it could be cut and what you would use to cut it.
He was so generous and kind, he assured me it can be cut in place, wouldn’t crack. He dropped off an old blade and a scrap piece of cultured marble at my door later that evening so my husband could give it a try.
Lets Do This
Pulling out the shelf was super easy, cut the caulking with a knife and it pops out leaving an empty hole.
This is where it got a little tricky. Not because it is really hard but it is so MESSY. The cultured marble creates a lot of fine dust that gets everywhere. Thankfully you’re in a bathroom and can close the door. I pull everything out so I have less stuff to clean. In our main bathroom the shower and doesn’t have a door so I taped up some plastic over the opening and let my husband go to it.
He came out very dirty but it was so worth it to have something much more usable.
When we had a bigger hole we were able to add any additional framing if needed.
Putting in the EZ Niche
The size of your space will dictate the size of the niche. I got a little creative and turned one horizontal just because I thought it would be fun. In our main bathroom I used a larger ez niche because the shower is a larger space. The ez niche installation was super easy.
These are technically built to put behind the cultured marble but we weren’t able to do that so we adhered it with glue. We added a 2×4 for support and was now ready to make it pretty.
Tiling the EZ Niche
Here comes the fun part making it pretty. This required a few trips to Home Depot and Floor and Decor. Because the space is small you have to be selective on your tile choices. Earlier when I said we redid one of the niches it was because the color of the tile ended up not working. Thankfully my husband was willing to pull it out and redo. I’m pretty lucky.
We started with the back of the niche. Depending on the size of the tile you will have to make cuts to fit. After the back is done we line up the tile and wrap around the edges. This takes a little time but so worth lining up the tile.
I love this beautiful honeycomb tile. In this niche it was the mesh pieces. The other two bathrooms we used individual pieces of tile. There are perks to both and they will both work out really well.
Adding a Frame to the Niche
Because we were doing this process backwards we had to figure out the way to cover the purple edge of the ez niche that would normally be behind the cultured marble.
Using a beautiful marble tile cut down for a trim would work the best. Because it is marble it always has a finished edge. If you are using another tile you would end up with an unfinished edge that wouldn’t look great.
This looks so much better than the dinky, unusable shelf that was in our bathrooms.
How to Build a Shower Niche Built In
It was so fun getting creative with these gorgeous shower niches’s. I now have a usable space that functions perfectly for our bathroom.
This beautiful faux wood tile is stunning and looks amazing our my sons bathroom. The perfect blend of rustic and beauty.
The one we added in our primary bathroom was made from larger tile that we cut into quarters so it was actually working with smaller tile. I love the texture and the beauty of this shower niche. Can you believe a teeny tiny shelf used to sit here.
These shower niche’s have changed the overall look in our bathroom. It looks and functions so much better.
Decor to the Door
There are beautiful new arrivals at Decor to the Door. Hurry over and check it out because there are limited quantities.
