Updating a bathroom in 2021 is an exciting process, though the range of options on the market today can be daunting. Fortunately, Home Forever Baths can help guide your decision with free consultations and an expert understanding of the types of fixtures and accessories available today. Home Forever Baths is the premier dealer of fine Kohler bath products in northern Illinois, so you can be sure to find the best shower enclosure and more for your needs and budget with a lifetime guarantee on the products and the labor.
Home Forever Baths offers high-quality shower floors and LuxStone shower walls from Kohler. With a range of sizes and styles to match any design and budget, you’ll find what you’re looking for with Kohler and Home Forever Baths. LuxStone shower wall material is more durable than tile while also installing more easily and making for easier cleanup, so you’ll have a no-mess shower that will last for decades, installed in one or two days in most cases.
Frameless Shower Doors
Frameless doors are all the rage in contemporary shower design. They use thick sheets of tempered glass that can be used structurally to avoid the need for metal frames. This creates a clean look with no framing for a sleek, modern look. They really let the walls and accessories of your shower take center stage.
Frameless shower doors are about twice as expensive as framed doors, and also require more space around them. They’re not a good choice for smaller bathrooms, where they might open into the edge of a vanity, for example. Since they have no frame, they are always hinged or fixed in place, which means a sliding door, which takes up no more space than the edge of the shower or tub, is out of the question. Still, a frameless door can be fixed in an otherwise framed enclosure for a style dubbed “semi-frameless,” which can be a fetching option that splits the difference on cost with a true frameless design.
Semi-Frameless Doors
With a semi-frameless style, you may have a frame at the top and bottom but not the sides. This would allow for a sliding door, requiring less space in the bathroom to open into, while still avoiding obstruction of the view in the center of the door. Kohler’s Lattis shower door is a good semi-frameless option, though it is still relatively expensive compared to other options. However, with Kohler, you know the build quality is very high and it is guaranteed for life.
Framed Shower Enclosures
Besides being more affordable than frameless doors, framed shower enclosures can have very appealing metalwork. You can choose between colored finishes, chrome, brushed nickel, and many other options. Add a drain cover to match and you’ll find the frame of the shower enclosure can function as an eye-catching and beautiful bathroom accessory. Framed enclosures can work equally well in modern and traditional design approaches.
Sliding Doors
Especially in a smaller bathroom, sliding doors can be crucial to keeping the room feeling open while preventing awkward and potentially destructive door-opening accidents. Also known as “bypass” doors, these are great both for saving space in longer showers or bathtubs, and can be accessorized to incorporate grab bars that also make a nice place to hang a towel. As mentioned above, the sliding doors will always need to incorporate a frame to slide within, though the “semi-frameless” approach can still work to avoid the need for metalwork on the sides of the doors themselves.
Bi-Fold Shower Doors
If you have the space for neither a sliding door in your shower entry nor a pivot door that swings outward into the bathroom, a bi-fold door is a great option that still lets you avoid resorting to a curtain. Resembling a sliding door when closed, bi-fold doors have one end fixed to the track that slides open and closed, while the center of the door buckles inward to the shower.
Partial Enclosure
Common in European shower and bath design and frequently coupled with a no-pan shower floor (where the angle of the floor directs water to the drain), a partial glass enclosure is an immovable piece of frameless glass that covers some but not all of the shower opening. These are a relatively inexpensive option compared to others, though they typically allow a significant amount of water to escape the shower, requiring you to towel-dry the floor after use.
Home Forever Baths and Kohler
Whatever type of shower enclosure you’re leaning toward, call Home Forever Baths for a free consultation today. Our expert installers bring friendly service to your house with hundreds of years of combined experience in the business and fine Kohler products, built to last a lifetime. Call today to get started on your northern Illinois bathroom remodel!
