Make the door 35" wide and extend the pony wall to meet it.

Yes, there is a risk of hitting the shower head, but you quickly learn how much force to use and how far to open it. In any case, the hinges should be ones that allow you to swing the door both ways.

Here is the shower in one of my guest bathrooms. Just a bit larger than yours. The shower door is 35" wide.

I also used low-iron glass (less green tint than regular glass), which you probably want to use since you will have white tile in the shower.

Forget the silly 20" wide 32" deep cubby. That's completely useless. Shift the shower over, and give that space to the storage area at the other end. That area should really be a linen closet, with shallow shelves on 2 sides.

Is there a reason you need that pony wall? I'd eliminate it and have the entire side of the shower enclosed with glass and a glass door.

And do what Minardi said and move the shower over to consolidate all your storage in the area to the right of the shower.

Chispa, good point about using the door. I’ve never had a glass enclosure so it’s all new to me. I’ll be sure to select the low iron glass also also. Thank you for your photo!

Minardi and Dianna, originally the shower was 81” wide with no cubbies on the left. A designer had suggested it, as she had done it for another client (photo attached). 81” is a really big shower for me; I don’t need all that space in there. However, 12”w cubbies is so narrow. I was thinking I could put a waste bin on the bottom and rolled towels/baskets for TP on shelves above.

The other option, keeping the shower at 65“w and moving it to the left wall; and widening the cabinetry — would it bother you that the cabinetry would encroach into the middle of the vanity medicine cabinet on the opposite wall? it will be a Kohler 40”w x 30”h. Or, what width would you make the shower?

With a linen closet I’d lose the counter space… the vanity is only 54”w. I was thinking it would be nice to have a little breakfast area there and/or a place to put things since the exterior door opens to a backyard and hot tub. This suite has a BR that I actually don’t prefer to sleep in; it could be a long term guest suite in the future; or who knows, maybe I’ll get accustomed to sleeping there. I’m curious, would you still advise a closet? I’m interested in your thoughts and any others too.

Dianna, I like the pony wall for a little privacy and to house the shower valve and diverter, and a teak bench. If the pony wall is at least 30”w it could also have a niche. Does that make sense? On a related note, I’m not sure where to put the handheld shower w/slidebar.

Thank you, I so appreciate your perspectives!

Contemporary Bathroom · More Info

I would also just not have a pony wall. It doesn't add anything. Why put a window in the shower? That's really the last place you would put one on purpose. If you're building this new I assume you can put the window anywhere? I would put it over the built-ins and dispense with the upper cabinets. Do you really need them? I did have a shower with a small window in my previous house (also in an addition), so I'm not saying it can't be done. We needed it for the exterior appearance. But given you have an opportunity for putting a window elsewhere I would do that instead.

Agree with Diana. The pony wall is superfluous here because there is nothing anchoring into it and it's not being used as a screen for the toilet. Just eliminate it and put in another fixed glass panel. I think the window is fine. It adds light to the bathroom and it's set high enough for privacy.

Thank you kandrewspa and Sabrina. I appreciate your suggestions!

I considered it more and really am having a hard time giving up the pony wall because so much glass doesn't allow for any privacy. I'm letting go of the narrow cubbies to the left though, and bringing the shower space back to its original 81"w.

What do you think of this layout with 2 small pony walls framing the window which is centered on the wall? There would be a teak bench under the handheld shower on the right; and the valve/diverter on the right-hand pony wall. (I haven't dealt with the cabinetry yet - whether to keep it as-is or not.)

Or something like this?

I'm not understanding a few of your comments.

1. What do you mean by "would it bother you that the cabinetry would encroach into the middle of the vanity medicine cabinet on the opposite wall?"

2. I'm confused by whom this bathroom is going to be used. "This suite has a BR that I actually don’t prefer to sleep in; it could be a long term guest suite in the future; or who knows, maybe I’ll get accustomed to sleeping there." Is it your bathroom or a guest bathroom?

3. Are you sharing the bathroom with anyone? If not, why are you concerned with privacy issues with the glass enclosure? If you are sharing and want privacy, neither the single or the double pony walls really do anything. If privacy is paramount, then build a full height wall and just add an obscure glass door for entry/exit.

Hi Dianna,

Regarding your first question, I meant that if the shower is moved to the left wall and space is added to the cabinetry, reflected in the large medicine cabinet mirror would be part of the cabinetry, a 4" wall separator, and part of the shower. As opposed to reflecting just the shower.

#2: I have a 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA house and at present I am the only person living here. I have visitors frequently enough. I am planning to use the 2 bedrooms that are side by side at the end of a hallway (one is the new master suite and the other is smaller with a sliding door to the backyard that I currently sleep in). There are reasons why I couldn't build onto the latter; but it is my favorite. Of these 2 rooms, one will be my office/workout room and one will be my bedroom. I plan to use the new master bathroom regardless of which of the 2 rooms is my bedroom. In my small coastal town in California, these are small homes, small rooms with not much storage. When my former partner lived here, we had his clothes in one room and mine in the other. There wasn't a way around that. I'm used to this type of situation.

The current full bath and bedroom are almost across from each other on the same hallway, those will be for guests initially. But in the future as I age I want flexibility. It may make sense to rent the new master suite; or have it for someone living with/caring for me.

#3: I'm not currently sharing the bathroom with anyone but I enjoy cozy spaces and like the feel of some privacy (tub w/shower curtain has been a-ok for me). Honestly, I didn't specifically choose a pony wall but I liked it when the architect/designer proposed his layout. Now I'm finding I'm pretty attached to it... but I will try to re-imagine the space as being very wide open based on your comments.

Am I crazy to put in a pony wall then? Do the only reasons to have one entail needing to separate something from a toilet or butting something up against it?

Thank you all! I'm sitting with this and am confused. Really appreciate your thoughts.

Ok, SueR, I don't see a problem with the reflection in the mirror--you're overthinking this.

Thanks for clarifying the bed/bath situation, I understand that this is your only full bath, and the bedroom situation is not a factor in how you set up the bathroom.

As far as the pony wall goes, if it gives you a feeling of privacy, then go for it. Personally, a full glass enclosure wouldn't bother me, especially if I lived alone. And you have a window in the shower, so I'm assuming that it's going to be some sort of obscure glass, or you're losing privacy there as well. But it's a personal thing, like the debate over separate toilet rooms; some folks love 'em and some hate 'em.

If you do a pony wall, just do one. In this project we needed a pony wall to separate the shower from the vanity, as well as to have more support for a built-in bench in the shower. Since we were tiling all the walls part way up, we cladded the pony wall with the same tile. I'd say that if you were doing the same, then have tile on it at the same height as the rest of the room. If you're not tiling the walls, then the pony wall would be painted or wallpapered sheetrock.

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My shower has the wall at the same end as the showerhead, and the controls are on that side wall. We like it because we can reach in the door to turn on the water and not get wet, until the water has warmed up and we step in. It’s also nice when doing a quick clean of the shower, we can control it from the door without getting too wet.

I had a narrow linen cabinet like that, behind the the shower. Don’t do it. You can’t see anything in it, it will be just barely the wrong size to accommodate any type of organizer or basket, when you eventually move and shine a flashlight into it, you’ll be shocked at what got lost in the black hole back there.

One advantage to the pony wall is that you can add another niche or shelves inside the shower where shampoos, soaps, and all the necessities that aren't necessarily pretty to look can be stowed. It also avoids having to decant products so there isn't an array of different colored plastic bottles on display. The large niche/ledge facing the bathroom can then be used for decor or more attractive bathroom necessities.

New add on so the window can go anywhere or not. Will this be on a slab or raised wood foundation? What is your climate (regarding having water lines buried in an exterior wall)? How important is a curbless shower, noting that you are currently using a tub/ shower? How deep is the shower space?

Noting the 36" concrete step down, I'm assuming this will be built on a raised foundation. So, I would opt to use a curbed shower and either a cast iron shower base or a Tile Redi curbed base in a stock size. I would eliminate the near useless end wall cubby (which will likely end up even smaller than the 12" wide one that you think it will be & cost more than it is worth.) .Would shift the shower to the end exterior wall, place the plumbing in the interior wall (where access for repairs is easier/ less costly in the event of replacement/ leaking pipes, eliminate the window in the shower and place a high window in the left side wall, forget the pony wall and plan on using a shower curtain. You can always do a glass enclosure later if you want to. Personally, I'm totally over glass in a shower.

Using a prebuilt shower base will eliminate a lot of the vulnerable to leaks points in a shower build. Same reason for eliminating the window and the pony wall. (So many leaking shower horror stories out there built by buffoons who lack attention to detail where one little mistake can be disastrous and cost thousands to fix. As well as material failures.) .(Google 'Schluter line drain failures' for instance.) Using a shower curtain will make the shower controls easily accessible and eliminate any shower door conflicts.

Wow, such great advice. Thank you all. I'm going to nix the 12" shelves to the left of the shower; move the shower to the left wall, and reduce it a little so more inches can be added to the cabinetry on the left. I'll keep the pony wall to house the shower valve/diverter and a niche (I'm one who likes them). I'll be able to reach in to turn on the shower without getting wet; and the teak bench will be right there too with a handheld shower. I also want to put a horizontal grab bar on the front of the pony wall. For now I'll use it as a towel bar. It's looking like this:

I've seen other cabinetry in bathrooms like my drawing, when the counter space is needed. Not often, but there are some. As much as I'd love the additional storage space in a linen closet or full bank of drawers/cabs, I feel I need the counter. I'll have a laundry pullout behind 2 lower drawers.

The challenge is what to do with the upper cabinet config, because 54" is too wide for just 2 doors. Any thoughts on that? And should I use my quartz countertop material for the 18"h between the counter and cabs or just paint it? (the bathroom walls will be painted, not tiled at all)

ci_lantro, thank you so much. I'm in California so freezing pipes are not a worry. I'll talk with my builder about the concerns you mentioned. He's very reputable and I trust him. I want a curbless shower for aging in place... I'm healthy but even a short term injury can make stepping up or over hard.

Do away with the front pony wall. It will visually enlarge the shower .

I think you need to hinge the shower door to the wall, not to a glass panel as noted in your most recent drawing.

I asked about that and both my builder and the architect say it's fine. I saw on another post that there is a calculation to determine what is structurally sound, involving the weight of the door and the size of the glass panel it is hinged to.

Ok, then I guess you're good to go!

One of your original questions was how to treat the exterior of the pony wall. You could tile it, so it blends in with the shower walls.

Thank you for the photo, JT7abcz. I like how the wall blends in but in my case I’m not tiling all the way around the bathroom. So how would I stop the tile on the right side?

Don't tile on the outside.

You’ll have to think through combining the niche and valves on that pony wall as the plumbing will push the niche down low.

As I said previously, paint or wallpaper the pony wall the same as the other walls in the room.

For privacy, use frosted glass for shower, nix window in shower, add celestial window on wall between shower and toilet.

If you keep the pony wall, recess a washer and nut securing all-thread through the top plate framing and into the floor framing at the outermost end of the wall please. When you tighten the all-thread, the wall will not budge.

I think hiding your niche + having your mixing valve + diverter in your pony wall is a great idea - how large of a niche are you planning to have installed? If you use a mixing valve with an integrated diverter, it will save you some space (vs. using a separate mixing valve and diverter).

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC - pretty bathroom! How much of an overhang do you use for the caps on your pony walls? Is the jamb the same width? I need to decide how wide I want my cap/jamb/curb to be. I've seen some that appear to be basically flush - but I assume that there is still a little overhang.

Also, is the same white quartz used in the niche? I like how it's thinner than the countertop/cap/curb/jamb. Is that a solid white quartz? If yes, would you mind sharing which brand/color? Sorry for all the questions, I just value your design expertise!

@chispa - beautiful shower! Based upon the various rooms you've posted, your house must be very nice!

Joseph Corlett, LLC, great advice; I'll be sure to bring it up with my builder. Definitely want that wall to be structurally sound.

Dani, the size of the niche will depend on the space available after the valve/diverter is accounted for (yep, both in one unit; I too love the economizing of space). I'm actually playing with the size of the shower and the cabinetry... If it's the largest shower at 81"w, then it would be: 36"w pony wall/~20"w niche/48"w cabinetry. I'm curious about the answers to your other questions. Agree, those showers/bathrooms are lovely!

1) I like a pony wall, especially if you can hide all your toiletries there. you will definitely want the diverter away from the showerhead with left hinges!

2) the outside of it can be treated like any other wall, painted drywall.

Thank you acm. I'm not sure what you mean by 'definitely want the diverter away from the showerhead with left hinges'. Could you elaborate please about the concern? The diverter will control the showerhead on the left wall and the handheld on the right wall. And it is in one unit with the valve, which will be placed on the pony wall.

@dani_m08, I'm not totally sure what the overhang is on the cap, but there is a shadow showing, so I'm thinking it was probably 1/8 or 1/4".