Tile, glass or metal? Here are a few questions to ask yourself when choosing your shower niche finish.
What size and shape do you want?
A rectangular niche is most common in the modern bathroom, but increasingly designers and edgy DIY-ers are mixing it up by installing arch niches, circular niches, hexagonal niches, extra long niches, and an array of other creative shapes and sizes.
Planning your shower niche can be a lot of fun, but consider what size and shape is achievable for the type of finish you want to use.
For example, our beautiful Luxx glass niches and Metallico metal niches come in three standard sizes:
600mm x 300mm x 90mm
800mm x 300mm x 90mm
1200mm x 300mm x 90mm
(These are external measurements.)
Our custom tile-over niches, however, can be made in any shape or size you can dream up! In saying that, we’re always willing to experiment – custom shower niches are our speciality, so get in touch if you have a specific vision.
What aesthetic properties would you like?
There’s no doubt that the finish you use will play a big part in your shower’s look and feel. You may choose to opt for a subtle niche which blends into your tiling, or a contrasting niche colour that draws the eye.
Our glass and metal niches are made with the same high quality waterproof material you’ll get from our standard niches, but with styled inserts that match trending tapware and bathroomware. Whether it’s fresh white or warm, earthy tones, you can achieve your desired look from a prefinished, easy to install niche.
The Niche Man Luxx range includes stunning glossy white or black niches to suit many bathroom styles. However you can talk to us about what colour you’d like – we can use any Dulux colour of your choice.
Our Metallico range also offers beautiful, sleek designs. Choose from:
Matte black
Copper satin
Gold satin
Bronze satin
Stainless steel satin
Stainless steel mirror.
How will you clean it?
One consideration many customers overlook is cleaning your shower niche.
Glass and metal niches should be wiped down with a soft, clean cloth. We recommend using mild detergents only to protect the premium materials, no abrasive or caustic cleaners. Eucalyptus oil can help remove stains or caked on product.
Tiled niches may require a brush or scourer to scrub into the grout. Tiles are typically very hardy and can be cleaned with a stronger detergent.
How will you install it?
While installing The Niche Man niches is quick and convenient, there are a few things to consider.
DIY or Builder
Niches are usually installed at the build stage, however we can guide you on retrofitting a shower niche if you need. We recommend installing a niche yourself only if you’ve got some level of building capability. It’s important not to plan your niche in a wall where there are pipes or electrical cables, and to ensure it’s measured up and positioned correctly.
Front Reveal Thickness
The front reveal is the 30mm “frame” or “lip” around the front edge of your shower niche which all the screws are fixed through. For standard tile-over niches, the thickness of the front reveal can be adjusted to suit what you’re using to line your bathroom walls.
For example:
Villa Board – 6mm
Water Resistant Plaster Board – 10mm
Rendered brick work – 10-15mm.
This makes life easier when installing a niche.
Measuring up
You’ll need to take internal and external measurements when ordering the correct size niche.
LED Lighting
If you want to install LED lighting in your shower niche, we can provide you with the unit and kit for installing it. However, this work needs to be done by a certified electrician.
Tiling
Tilers love our niches! They’re so easy to tile over (and of course our pre-finished metal and glass niches don’t need to be tiled inside at all).
All metal and glass shower niches come encased in one of our standard 100% waterproof niches with a 6mm front reveal and a polished glass edge that protrudes out 10mm from the niche for easy tiling and flawless finish.
So what’s it to be for your shower niche? Tiles? Glass? Metal? We know the choice can be tough, but we hope this article has equipped you to make the decision!
