Shower Niche

9 Must-Have Features for your Spa-Like Shower

In our last blog, local real estate expert Geoff Slick answered our pressing remodeling questions, including whether bathtubs in the primary bathroom are necessary.

We learned that many folks are opting for a tub-free bath, and if you don’t use yours, you can feel free to leave it out of your next bathroom remodel. The best part? A bathtub-free space allows more room for something you’ll enjoy every day — a spa-like, luxury shower with all the indulgent bells and whistles. Here are nine sensational shower trends Custom Craft has included in recent Bucks and Montgomery County bathroom remodels:

Glass Shower
  1. Go With Glass

First things first; for that home-spa feel, ditch the curtain and go with a glass door. Glass shower doors are clean, elegant, and make bathrooms feel more spacious. When deciding on your perfect door, you’ll choose between:

    • Framed: Traditional doors with metal frames around all exterior edges. Framed doors are often the easiest and least expensive way to go glass.
    • Semi-frameless: Minimal metal framing. This look blends a modern look with practical functionality.
    • Frameless: Tempered glass with no metal around the exterior edges. These tend to be the pricier option,  but they provide a clean, modern look you’ll enjoy every day.
Pebble Shower Floor

2. Customize with Tile

The tile in your shower is your chance to let your style shine. With so many shapes, patterns, and layout options, you’re only limited to your imagination. These homeowners chose a glass mosaic accent paired with large format wall tiles, and a pebble floor.  

Tiled Shower

3.  Find Your Niche

Shower niches provide ultimate functionality and storage without compromising looks. Niches keep all your necessities, from shampoo and conditioner to body wash and razors, within reach without an additional shelf or rack. They can be small and subtle or span the entire length of the wall, as shown above.

 

4. Two Heads are Better Than One

Nothing will influence your shower experience quite as much as your choice of shower heads. Looks are important, but also consider functionality. Is spa-like luxury at the top of your list? A rainfall shower head is a great choice for lavish relaxation. Like to keep your water pressure options open? An adjustable, fixed shower head or handheld may be the best option. Can’t decide between convenience and indulgence? Why not have both? Many homeowners choose multiple shower heads that make all their shower wishes come true.

5. Bench Benefits

Shower benches have long been key safety features for those considering universal design and aging in place. In today’s showers, they’re also beautiful, built-in accessories included in many bathroom remodels. Besides their safety benefits, homeowners love to use them for additional storage, an easy way to cleanse and depilate, or simply a soothing place to relax after a tough workout or long day at the office.

Glass Shower

6.  Lighten Up

Warm, welcoming natural light is proven to improve your mood, ease stress, and even lower blood pressure. With a strategically placed privacy window, you can bring all those benefits into the shower. The creative lighting ideas don’t stop there — lights in showerheads, LED strip lighting, and even pendant lights can be included in or around your shower.

Large Shower and Soaking Tub

7. Go Big

If you’ve decided to forego a bathtub or swapped out your huge ‘90s platform tub for a smaller one, you may have room to supersize your shower. Large, spacious showers are a unique, extravagant feature that many homeowners opt for if they have the space. In fact, some are making their showers so big they become their own room, with no need for a shower door to contain water.

Curbless Shower

8. Sleek & Safe

Curbless showers not only look sleek and modern, they’re also a no-trip, wheelchair-friendly safety precaution. In this recent Custom Craft remodel, the curbless shower provides an elegant touch to the newly updated space and allows the other features, such as the beautiful hexagonal tile floor, to shine through.

U by Moen

9. Shower Smarter

No more stepping into an uncomfortably cold (or hot) shower! Take the guesswork out of your water temperature with a smart shower. This technology lets you set your ideal temperature, conserve water with a timer, or pause when you need to quickly grab a new bar of soap. Using voice controls, an app on your phone, or the device itself, your shower experience will be completely personalized. 

You use your shower daily — why not make it amazing? Experience the enjoyment of a spa right at home with a luxury shower.

Ready to take your bathroom from ordinary to oasis? Contact us to get started!

bathroom remodel

To tub, or not to tub. That is the bathroom remodel question.

Is a bathtub the right option for your bathroom remodel?

bathroom remodel

When remodeling a hall or master bathroom, some homeowners have elected to remove bathtubs in favor of enclosed shower stalls. A variety of factors from lifestyle preference, to resale value, to safety concerns have contributed to this trend. But a growing number of homeowners are adopting a hybrid approach that allows them to keep their bathtubs, while also incorporating a low or zero threshold shower. The bathroom featured here is a good example of this hybrid approach.

While there is no right or wrong answer, whether or not to maintain a bathtub in the space is an important question to consider when planning a bathroom renovation. If your family members enjoy a regular, or even an occasional soak in the bathtub, then the answer is most likely “Yes”.

At Custom Craft, when we meet with clients to plan a bathroom remodel, we ask numerous lifestyle questions like this to learn how you currently use your existing space, any frustrations you are experiencing, as well as your goals for the new space. By taking the time to fully understand your needs, we can better deliver a renovated space that will provide long-term satisfaction.

As always, if you have any questions on a planned bathroom or other home renovation project, feel free to reach out to us at 610-584-0665.

Custom Craft Contractors Honored with Local and Regional Awards

Lansdale, PA—Custom Craft Contractors was recently honored with both local and regional Contractor of the Year (CotY) Awards for a bathroom renovation in the Under $30,000 category.  The local awards were presented by the Bucks-Mont Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) at a ceremony held at the Joseph Ambler Inn in Montgomery Township, PA on Friday, January 27, 2012.

CotY Award winners were selected in a blind judging process by an impartial panel of industry experts. Judging focused on problem solving, functionality, aesthetics, craftsmanship, degree of difficulty and entry presentation. As a regional winner for this project, Custom Craft is in the running for the National Contractor of the Year Award. The National CotY award winners will be announced in April at the NARI Evening of Excellence.

The CotY Award winning bathroom was a collaborative effort between Custom Craft Contractors and Interior Decorator, Pat Nunan, owner of Lifestyles Design. For this project, the two companies teamed to create a barrier free, wheelchair-accessible bathroom for a homeowner diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” By designing and building a beautiful, yet accessible bathroom, they enabled this husband and father of two young sons to live independently and comfortably in his own home for as long as possible.

In addition to the Contractor of the Year Awards, Custom Craft received a Meritorious Award for a kitchen renovation in the $80,000 to $120,000 category. Michael Foering, Vice President of Custom Craft Contractors was also recognized as Committee Chairman of the Year for his role as the Chairman of the Education Committee for the Bucks-Mont NARI chapter.
NARI Chapters are not-for-profit trade associations committed exclusively to the service of the professional remodeling industry. The NARI remodeling contractor is pledged to uphold the Association’s Code of Ethics and is dedicated to the professionalism and integrity of the remodeling industry.

For more information on Custom Craft Contractors, visit www.customcraftcontractors.com or contact Mike Foering at (610) 584-0665.