Many modern bathroom styles feature glass shower doors, but is this design option a better choice than traditional shower curtains?
Both shower enclosure options are guaranteed to offer the necessary privacy and surface protection. Deciding whether a glass shower door or a shower curtain will best suit your needs and enhance your daily experience depends on your maintenance preferences, personal tastes and budget.
Pros and Cons of Shower Doors
When perusing the latest bathroom designs, fixtures and materials there’s no doubt that glass shower and tub enclosures are the peak of elegance and contemporary aesthetics. Many homeowners are updating their bathrooms to include glass shower doors because of their durability, effectiveness and clean, simple beauty.
With a new glass shower enclosure for your bathroom design, you’ll discover the following perks:
- Clean, Modern Appearance: By having an unobstructed view of the shower, a glass shower enclosure can actually make small bathrooms feel more spacious and open and less cluttered or closed in.
- Design Variety: A glass shower enclosure is easily designed to suit your personal style — choose from a variety of sizes, glass colors, opacity options and finishes. For bathrooms with tight bathing spaces or unusual shapes and angles, glass enclosures can be easily customized to accommodate that unique area while providing necessary protection.
- Natural Resistance: Unlike cloth materials, glass is naturally resistant to several damaging materials found throughout bathrooms, including mold, limescale, mildew and soap scum. For added protection and durability, glass doors can be manufactured with specialty coatings for water repellency and resistance to bacteria growth.
- Low-Maintenance Qualities: With a glass enclosure, you never have to worry about constant upkeep to maintain its pristine appearance. Simply wipe down your surfaces with glass cleaner.
- Added Value: Due to the durability, design versatility and resistance, glass shower enclosures are an appealing feature for potential buyers and can add overall value to your home.
Glass shower doors are undoubtedly a sophisticated yet space-saving bathroom design solution, but they’re not a suitable feature for homeowners hoping for a less expensive enclosure option, optimal privacy or bathrooms with a cramped layout. Due to their stationary installation design, glass shower doors can be difficult to maneuver around while helping children or elderly persons bathe. If placed too close to a vanity they can also be difficult to clean.
Considering Classic Shower Curtains
Shower curtains are the classic design choice for protecting and enclosing your shower while offering privacy. Typically crafted from a textured material like linen, a shower curtain is versatile and easily adapted into any bathroom aesthetic.
Homeowners have traditionally preferred using shower curtains in their bathrooms because of their affordability and versatility. By having a shower curtain for your shower or bathtub, you can also typically have better privacy than with a glass enclosure. If guests visit your home, they can easily view your bathing space through a glass door vs. having the space completely blocked off.
Before purchasing a new shower curtain for your bathroom, it is important to note that shower curtains do present several health considerations. If you don’t regularly wash your shower curtain, mold and mildew can form on the cloth, which is not only unattractive but also poses health risks. Homeowners should also avoid purchasing shower curtains or liners made from PVC. These materials have been proven to cause respiratory illnesses.
Contact Garrety Glass Today
When you need help designing and installing a fresh and elegant glass shower door, contact the experienced professionals at Garrety Glass. We’re a locally owned and operated company with over 20 years of experience helping homeowners throughout Central Pennsylvania improve their homes and transform their bathrooms into beautiful, efficient escapes.
Learn more about our shower glass enclosure products and finishes today by completing our online contact form or by calling 717-741-9949.