Functional Shower Doors That Look Great

Homeowners today looking to add a little spice to their bathrooms have more options available to them than ever before. One of the easiest ways to give your bathroom a little update without renovating is installing new shower doors. Homeowners have many styles and finishes at their disposal to choose from allowing them to choose the prefect doors for their bathrooms. But in order to get your perfect shower doors, ones with the right mix of functionality and style, you need to make a few decisions to narrow down the options.

The first choice involves choosing between purchasing and installing doors with a frame or without. Framed doors are typically thinner, lighter, and less expensive than doors manufactured without frames. But if your budget allows, frameless doors are usually considered more stylish and have easier maintenance. Since there is no frame to catch water, there is less opportunity for mold and mildew. Doors without frames will usually require more time and effort to install since the additional weight has to be accounted for in the installation process.

Next you need to choose the door design. Do you want a door that opens like a conventional door or do you prefer the doors that slides? These days for larger bathrooms with wide showers, sliding doors are probably the most common. For smaller stall type showers, bi-fold or regular doors are often preferred. For installation in the cases where a large wide shower is being used, a sliding door is functional and works great. The problem with the shower doors that are built to open and close like a regular door is that they need a lot of space for the opening. In cases where space is restricted such as a stall shower, if you have them swing into the shower, you may be dodging it for years and if you have them swing out into the bathroom, you may be dripping water and need a lot of space to avoid hitting other bathroom fixtures. This is where the bi-fold doors come in handy. Since they do not require as much room for opening and closing, they are useful in these common scenarios.

Finally, you need to decide on the finish of the door for those with a frame. Usually your other fixtures will dictate the finish so that everything matches well. But if you have some leeway in the look of the materials, there are many from which to select.  There are a variety of metal finishes for you to choose from such as polished aluminum, brushed nickel, and chrome.

With proper planning based on the size of your bathroom and the shower being considered for a new door, you can get a great door that is practical and can really accentuate your bathroom. There are many to choose from and a trip to a nearby home improvement center is recommended so that you can get a good feel for the options on the market that will match your specific needs as well as your style tastes.