How to Decorate an Outdoor Shower
It's becoming a popular endeavor in both warm and cold climates to enjoy the beauty and freedom of an outdoor shower. The natural light, air and decorative intersection with the outdoors are appealing for many of us who spend the majority of time in manufactured offices, at computers or working indoors with children or adults. Getting back to the roots and getting outside for a refreshing cleanse can be a soothing routine. Some simple decorations can enhance your alfresco bathing. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Landscaping rocks, small and large
- Ground walkway lights
- Small garden shovel
- Bamboo or Asian paper screen
Instructions
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Use the natural beauty of your outdoor shower as the basis for your decor. Work from the ground up to keep the flow of the decor consistent. Step back and look at the whole area after each decorating step to take in the big picture and ensure the decorating doesn't become overdone or overwhelm the natural scenery.
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Choose a color scheme that matches the area near your shower. If you have plants and trees nearby, work with colors that complement them. If the shower is attached to or near the house or another man-made structure, coordinate colors and materials to match the house design.
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Use 8- to 12-inch diameter white and gray stones to form a circle or square boundary to the shower area. If the shower is enclosed and the bottom of the stall is higher than 6 inches above the ground, use the stones around the base to make a single-layer rock border.
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Make a two-layer, thicker rock border by stacking the rocks in freestanding triangles or tipped slightly against the stall walls. With an open shower area, use the stones to demarcate the entrance by placing them in a horseshoe shape. The shower entrance lies at the open end.
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Place battery- or solar-powered sidewalk lights into the ground at 6- to 8-inch intervals surrounding the rock border. Use a small shovel to create planting holes for the lights 2 to 3 inches out from the rocks. It's easier than just staking them into the ground directly. Put in the lights and place new batteries into units that need them.
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Place large ferns, short potted trees or colorful potted plants at the entrance to the shower or at the corners. This adds a natural element and provides a small additional privacy screen to your shower.
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Use colored tiles or small, colored landscape stones to line the inside and outside of the larger rock border or to create designs between footstones or mats in the shower. This gives some contrast to the larger stones.
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Consider using a bamboo or Asian screen to form one or more walls of your shower. Traditional Asian architecture uses nature in its designs so the light wood colors and translucent materials allow light and privacy in a natural setting.
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Tips & Warnings
Use blues, greens and purples to coordinate with evergreen, white and gray. Use bolder colors---red, yellow, orange---to complement brick, stucco or adobe-like houses.
Avoid using tile as a floor base for an outdoor shower because it can get very slippery when it's wet.
