Shower, Bath, & Sink

20 Shower Bench Ideas to Make Your Shower Space More Functional

Read Time (
6
minutes)
August 18, 2023
By
Kallista Design

Placing benches, seats, or stools in and around your shower can add convenience and comfort to daily routines and are especially useful for accommodating mobility or disability concerns. Implementing shower seat ideas can also help bring shower décor ideas to life, making your space both more functional and fashionable.

If you’ve never utilized shower bench ideas before, you may struggle to envision the finished result. We’ve curated some inspirational examples to help you implement this popular bathroom accessory with style.

Traditional Elegance

A modern bathroom with beige wall tiles in a vertical pattern, featuring brass shower fixtures and a small built-in shelf with toiletries. The floor has hexagonal tiles, and there's a marble bench to the left.
Credit: @kohler @laliberteinteriors

This layout is one of the most common ways to approach a luxurious tile shower bench idea. The marble-inspired pattern of this functional bench matches the recessed shower shelf, and both complement the warm trim nicely.

Benches Provide a Place for Pampering

A modern bathroom with a glass shower enclosure, gray vanity with a white countertop, and a fluffy white stool in front of a mirror. The space is tiled in white and light gray patterns.
Credit: @lmsdesignllc

Even if mobility issues aren’t a concern, a luxurious shower routine can benefit from a place to rest and fully pamper yourself. Many shower bench ideas spring from this need, and you can create a beautiful space right in your bathing area for ease of use.

Extend Your Bench Beyond Your Shower

A modern bathroom with a glass shower partition, a black shower head, a stack of white towels, and a green plant.
Credit: @mellon_studio

When considering your seating placement, don’t feel restricted to the boundaries of your shower. Built-in benches can be incorporated into your shower-tub combo, adjacent walls, bathroom counters, and anywhere you could use extra seating or shelf space.

Select a Simple Stool

A bright and modern bathroom with marble walls, a glass-enclosed shower, a double vanity with a large mirror above it, stylish pendant lighting, and a patterned tile floor.
Credit: @mindygayerdesign

When conceptualizing your design for a walk-in shower with a seat, ideas don’t have only have to be exclusive to benches. Sometimes, a simple stool can provide enough support and serve as enough of a charming design accent, as seen by this rustic brown stool that offsets the lighter whites and grays of the marble and tile.

Use Seating to Display Your Décor

A modern bathroom with a walk-in shower, geometric floor tiles, a white vanity, and dark blue mosaic wall tiles. Decorative blue bottles and a white flower are placed on a shelf.
Credit: @laurakirar

Walk-in shower ideas with benches and stools don’t always have to be functional, as expertly exemplified here. Smaller bathrooms may not have enough space for the décor you desire, but you can think of stools and benches as shelves on which you can display your favorite decorative touches.

Mount Your Bench for More Storage

Alt text: A modern bathroom with large windows, a wall-mounted vanity, and a freestanding bathtub. The space features a monochromatic color scheme with gray tiles and metallic accents.
Credit: @jillharrisinteriors

This fashionable bench complements the black bathtub fixtures and trim of the shower glass while providing ample space to store soaps, shampoos, and any other shower necessities.

Use a Stool to Accentuate Other Features

A modern bathroom with pale blue tiles, a large mirror, and a white countertop with wooden cabinets. There's a shower area with a glass partition and a small stool with a towel hanging next to it.
Credit: @hommeboys

A benefit of shower seat ideas involving stools is that they come are available in various colors to match other elements of your bathroom. Here, the stool matches the wood grain vanity and door handle while juxtaposing the airy feel of the tiles.

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Make Your Bathroom a Living Space

A modern bathroom with white tile walls, a glass shower enclosure with gold fixtures, a built-in bathtub, and a textured bench.
Credit: @hommeboys

With a spacious walk-in shower, you may need something to make it a little more comfortable. That is why so many shower bench ideas are useful in wet rooms, such as this bathroom with a bench jutting out from the wall. This design has an additional couch outside that transforms itthe space into a modern living area.

Think Outside the Shower

A modern bathroom with white tiled walls, featuring a glass shower cabin, a white vanity with drawers and a countertop sink, a large mirror, and a fluffy gray rug on the floor.
Credit: @robern

Many shower-with-bench ideas don’t require seating within the shower itself. This beautiful two-person shower enclosure already maximizes space and utilizes a variety of shower valve types. Outside the enclosure is an open-concept bathroom complete with a bench, rug, and full length mirrored medicine cabinet to increase the functionality and style of the overall design.

Use Tile to Embolden Your Shower

A bright, modern bathroom with white subway tiles, featuring a glass-walled shower, a large window with a green plant on the sill, and a wooden bench with towels and toiletries.
Credit: Daniel

One of the best ways to liven up a bathroom is with eye-catching tiles. When you find a pattern you like, applying it to your built-in shower bench is a popular idea, as well as selecting the best rain showerheads and handles to match.

Place Stools for a Rustic Shower Interior

A modern shower with marble walls, a rustic wooden stool, and elegant grey hexagonal floor tiles. A potted plant and a small towel are placed on the stool.
Credit: @mindygayerdesign

As previously mentioned, the natural wood grain of stools can add a rustic feel to your shower design. This shower seat idea is both functional and fashionable, as the stool and floor tile pattern lend a nostalgic, traditional feel while the wood color balances the nickel in the handshower and handles. You can use the stool as a place to rest and beautify, or as a shelf for soap and décor.

Incorporate Shower Seating Into Your Contemporary Design

Modern bathroom interior with herringbone patterned tiles, a glass-enclosed shower area with gold fixtures, and a wooden vanity with black and gold pendant lights above it. A vase with greenery sits on the vanity counter.
Credit: @margaretrajic @kohler

Your tile shower bench ideas can incorporate seating into the overall design of your bathroom. Here, adjacent white and black tile walls are complemented by the seamless design of the shower bench, and the eye-catching geometric pattern of the tile fits with the stunning glossy black subway tile behind the vanity.

Contrast Your Shower Bench and Stools

A modern bathroom with glass shower enclosure, gold-colored fixtures, marble tiling, and hardwood floors. A small wooden stool is visible inside the shower area and a potted plant adds a touch of greenery to the room.
Credit: @humasulaimandesign @kohler

This elegant walk-in shower employs a bolder shower seat idea by using contrasting colors and materials for its bench and stools. The white wall and floor are offset by the black marble bench, gold rain shower fixtures, and brown wood stools, while the stools and bench play off the fixtures. The whole shower exquisitely stands apart from the rest of the room, making it one of the most striking walk-in shower designs on our list.

Shower Stools: Repurposed Wood

A modern bathroom with a freestanding white bathtub, fluted glass shower doors, a silver floor-mounted faucet, and a wooden stool with a candle on top. A beige towel hangs on the side of the tub, and the walls and floor are covered in white marble.
Credit: @miguelewis

Thinking outside the box regarding about what constitutes a shower stool and how to use one in your bathroom spa ideas can be pleasantly rewarding. This tub-shower combo area creatively utilizes a natural stump stool complemented by a simple matching poncho for understated rustic elegance.

Consider Alternative Bench Textures

A modern bathroom with a glass shower enclosure, white textured walls, and a toilet to the right.
Credit: @3dottawa

Many popular shower bench ideas use tile or marble, but you can add a touch of modern elegance by considering more unique materials. Here, patterned acrylic makes the white shower interior eye-catching for a clean and sculpted look.

Space-Saving Shower Seat Ideas

A modern bathroom featuring a large walk-in shower, mosaic tile walls, a bench, a vessel sink, and a towel warmer.
Credit: @max-artbovich

In some cases, a luxurious shower may not benefit from built-in shower bench ideas—but that doesn’t mean the rest of your bathroom can’t. Placing a bench outside your shower can provide similar comfort, as well as convenient towel storage, and help offset more colorful designs in your bathroom.

Design Your Seating to Set Your Shower Apart

A modern bathroom with a freestanding tub, glass-walled shower, pedestal sinks, and a toilet, featuring a large window with a mountain view.

Contemporary bathrooms allow for thoughtful motifs and color schemes, so get creative inspired regarding with your shower and bench design. This marble bench complements the arrow pattern in the tile, and both are set apart from the stylish bathroom tile floors. However, the chrome bench legs match the bath and sink fixtures to create a cohesion of design elements.

Create Style Through Contrast

A modern bathroom with a walk-in shower enclosed by glass doors, a wall-mounted showerhead, and a built-in dark bench.
Credit: @silvervoyager

Some tile shower bench ideas involve contrasting patterns to highlight elements inside the shower. The bottom of this built-in shower bench matches the walls, but the black marble top makes it stand out. These two patterns contrast with the floor tiles to create unity through divergence.

Find Alternatives to Natural Wood Grain

A modern bathroom with textured walls, featuring a glass shower stall, a white toilet, and a vanity with a rectangular basin.

Shower bench ideas involving real wood aren’t typically recommended due to the water damage that even treated wood experiences. However, some tile and stone alternatives can help you retain the same cozy, natural feel without sacrificing quality.

Tile Can Make a Good Wood Alternative

A modern bathroom with a glass-walled shower, dark tiled walls, a wooden vanity with a white countertop, and hexagonal floor tiles.
Credit: @shophousedesign

Patterned and textured tile can make a durable and aesthetically pleasing alternative to wood. This walk-in-shower-with-seat idea uses brown marble to complement the wood vanity and mirror frame, as well as the contemporary tile design.

FAQs About Shower Bench Ideas

Is a bench a good idea in a shower?

Yes. Unless you have a very small shower that would become crowded by adding a bench, there are numerous benefits to adding this style of seating to your bathing area. Many seniors and those with mobility issues research shower bench ideas to help make bathing easier and prevent the risk of slipping. A bench can also be a great way to display bathroom décor and provide a more comfortable place for your self-care routines.

Can I include a bench in my shower?

Yes. Built-in shower bench ideas are typically more costly to implement and require more professional knowledge than a simple shower stool, but the aesthetic rewards are generally far greater.

What kind of bench can I put in a shower?

There are two common types of built-in shower benches: the typical approach attaches to one of the walls and reaches down to the floor, but mounted benches jut from the wall and have space between them and the floor. They are typically made from stone, tile, or acrylic, as wood and other porous materials can become damaged by water.

Where is the best place to put a bench in the shower?

For structural and space-saving reasons, most shower-with-bench ideas feature placement along one of the shower walls. However, don’t discount the idea of placing a bench just outside the shower; it allows the use of non-waterproof materials and can enhance the style of the entire bathroom.

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