Which Shower Bench Style Is Right for You?
Shower benches can be sturdy, floating, fold-away or movable. Read about 6 types to find one that suits your needs
A sturdy seat is essential for users who’ll actually be sitting often, such as older adults or those with an injury. In the bathroom shown here, the continuous subway tile helps the solid, built-in bench blend in seamlessly with the rest of the walk-in shower.
A shower bench is “an opportunity for a material change,” interior designer Angela Mechaley of m.o.daby design in Portland, Oregon, says.
A bench was a must-have for these homeowners, as one of them was recovering from knee surgery and showering could be a challenge. The Hatfield team removed a large oval bathtub and framed the new bench with porcelain subway tile on its base and on the surrounding walls, with basketweave mosaic marble tiles on the floor.
Custom building it, however, does allow for the bench to feel more integrated into the overall design and for some added creativity, as seen in this wavy design by John Kraemer & Sons.
For a minimal, modern look, a floating bench may do the trick. This type can be made using a variety of materials. The San Francisco-area shower seen here has a bench of Caesarstone reinforced with a 1½-inch tube steel frame, according to design firm Hulburd Design. Teak and other materials are also common for floating benches. A narrow ledge like this may provide just enough of a shelf for resting one’s foot if shaving legs is the primary use.
If those using the shower won’t need a bench all the time, a folding version is a good option. And it needn’t be clinical-looking. The fold-up bench that designers Mechaley and Matthew O. Daby of m.o.daby design chose for this Portland, Oregon, guest bathroom was added with practicality and style in mind.
Wanting to incorporate accessibility as well as their clients’ sense of humor into the project — and create a sense of playful lightness in a dark basement space — the team embraced a public swimming pool motif. The folding bench was central to that vision, both because it gives off a locker room vibe and because it’s easy to tuck away when not in use. “We saw an opportunity to do something a little bit off the beaten path,” Daby says. Though the clients didn’t have children at the time, the whimsical design is kid-friendly.
The bench’s slightness in the context of the rest of the bathroom also made it a good fit, Mechaley says.
“The impact of the blue is heavy there, so I really liked this single floating wood element,” she says. “It doesn’t feel heavy, it feels lighter, versus if that was a whole bulk slab taking up that corner.”
“Accessible design always makes sense, can be well hidden and [is] beautiful,” Barbara Grushow of Barbara Grushow Designs says. “Most of the time when I bring it up, clients hurriedly dismiss the notion…. There is a lack of awareness of how easily it can be incorporated and systems can be put in place for a later time — and a genuine fear of it. People think, ‘I won’t ever need that,’ or don’t want to think about the reality if it might be needed one day.”
In this case, Grushow, who has a special interest in accessible design, got this small teak bench and its corresponding hardware on Houzz and paired it with a curbless entry, wider doorways, a wall-mounted sink and other details that would work for the home’s older occupants.
Even if homeowners are relatively young, a simple bench like this one can be smart to add for other reasons, Grushow says.
“Imagine a pregnant woman, or a person after knee surgery or a sprained ankle. Grab bars and shower benches are amazingly helpful, useful and a great safety measure in those types of instances as well, let alone for an elderly person or someone who is permanently disabled,” she says. “We all have days where a bench, and if you are lucky enough to have a hand shower, would be a very nice way to relax and bathe.”
“A bench attached to the wall but [with] no ability to properly point the water to the right area will be problematic,” Grushow says. “The proper placement of the bench is key.”
If a bench isn’t already integrated into a shower design but there’s space for one, a standalone bench can be an easy and stylish solution. This type of bench is available in a wide range of styles and sizes.
A corner seat makes great use of smaller showers, can be designed with or without wheelchair-friendly open space beneath it and can be a full seat, a leg-shaving perch or a spot just big enough for a few bottles of shampoo.
Using the edge of a tub deck for a shower bench, as design-build firm LD&A did here, can be a sleek space-saver. It also cuts down on materials and can give the bathroom a cohesive look.
“When we do the sort of tub deck protruding into the shower, we can do some interesting shapes and play with the geometry a little bit more,” m.o.daby’s Mechaley says. “That’s what we’re always looking to do when we’re doing benches, to make sure they look like they’re part of the shower, they’re on purpose and not just added in the corner after the fact without much thought.”
