Is a shower curtain out of the question for a modern master bath?

June 29, 2009 8:16 AM

Is a shower curtain out of the question for a modern master bath?

I live in a suburb of a major metropolitan area on the East Coast. I have a master bath in bad need of re-tiling. So we are re-tiling the shower, jacuzzi tub surround, water closet and the entire bathroom floor (half of it is carpet). That's the easy part.

Our shower is just a one-person shower--not too big. There's barely enough room to prop your leg up to shave it. And, although it's in a corner, it's got some funny dimensions that mean that a glass shower door is probably going to run $1500-$2000.

The shower shares a wall, if you will, with one side of the jacuzzi tub. The wall is about 24" high. What if I had the wall completed to 65"-72" or so (the height of a shower door) with glass block, and then used a shower curtain to enclose the shower? Are shower curtains "allowed" in master baths? I haven't ever seen one like this except in an urban home where there wasn't a tub, or where there was a clawfoot stand-alone tub, or where they had converted an old closet into a shower stall.

I have a limited budget. Getting rid of the jacuzzi tub is out of the question. I HATE cleaning the shower enclosure glass. It's really gross and I can never get it sparkling clean. With a shower curtain, you just throw it in the wash, and it's clean. You can change the look of your bathroom quickly by putting up another curtain.

My neighborhood isn't fancy by any means. We were built in the early 1990s. Most of these bathrooms probably have the traditional shower glass enclosure. My glass block idea would be out of the norm for the area for sure. But would potential buyers, 10 years down the line, be turned off from the idea of a shower curtain in a master bath?

posted by FergieBelle to home & garden (8 comments total)

If you're not selling for 10+ years, put up the shower curtain you want now, and when and if you sell, you could have the glass wall put back in if your agent/stager thinks it's necessary. They aren't hard to install, our landlord put one up in our apartment in a day. Why prepare for buyers 10 years in advance? Live how you want now, deal with buyers when it's time to sell.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:21 AM on June 29 [2 favorites]

I have one. So, yes, it most definitely is allowed.

Seriously, though, if it doesn't bother you, go for it. It's your house to do with as you please. Ten years is a long time, and who knows what a "stylish" bathroom will look like then - and I guarantee that unless you put up something unimaginably hideous, visitors won't even notice.
posted by wsp at 8:30 AM on June 29

We used a double shower rod and combined it with a nice sheer cloth liner and nice white curtain all on stainless steel ball bearing equipped hooks, the effect is superb, and the redo cost about 13 grand so we used a high end selection of finishes for the rest, so no cop out, just a nice soft look to it all.

Plus it does no harm for a change later.
posted by Freedomboy at 8:41 AM on June 29

I've twice seen nifty folding-door solutions to shower "curtains": Lightweight folding sections like Japanese shoji screens but with plastic (or maybe it was wax-impregnated paper, not sure), mounted on the wall and accordioning-out and across. When out of use, they fold against the wall and look like wall mirrors or framed art. I suppose a super-elegant solution would make the back-sides out of actual mirror. Double-purpose!

This looks good in a modern bathroom. In an old-fashioned one, maybe not.
posted by rokusan at 8:44 AM on June 29

I really like the curved shower curtains seen in lots of newer hotels. Link
posted by acro at 8:44 AM on June 29

The shower shares a wall, if you will, with one side of the jacuzzi tub. The wall is about 24" high. What if I had the wall completed to 65"-72" or so (the height of a shower door) with glass block, and then used a shower curtain to enclose the shower?

What if you just used an L-shaped or hoop-shaped rod for the curtain? It would save you the expense of the bricks and look quite cool, I think.
posted by The Michael The at 9:01 AM on June 29

I prefer shower curtains, so for this potential buyer it would be a plus.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:16 AM on June 29

According to your question, you like the look of shower curtain and like to be able to wash them. You dislike cleaning shower glass. It's your house, not a model home. Hang a shower curtain.

BTW, if there's going to be a problem with the bathroom from a home sale perspective it's going to be the carpet in the bathroom. Many people a really adverse to having carpet in the bath.
posted by 26.2 at 9:17 AM on June 29