10 Shower Niche Ideas for Built-in Bathroom Storage

A shower niche keeps your shampoos and soaps off the floor and right at hand where you need them. Best of all, you can install them yourself.

By Michelle Ullman | Updated Jun 13, 2023 12:40 AM

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shower niche with beige tiles and small bottles of bath products

Photo: istockphoto.com

Without storage options, most showers tend to lose considerable floor space to bottles of shampoo and conditioner, shaving necessities, and soap or body wash. Dodging those obstacles during your shower is an annoyance for you, plus shower floor clutter is a contributor to the buildup of soap scum and mildew around and underneath the bottles.

If your shower lacks storage, these 10 shower niche ideas will help you plan the perfect inset for your bathroom. Most are fairly easy to install, requiring you to merely cut an opening into the shower wall between studs, fix the shower niche into place with screws, apply waterproofing silicone or sealant around the edges, and then cover the edges of the shower niche with tile, stone, or another material. Now you have a spot to store all of your bathing necessities!

Simple Storage

white tiled bathroom wall with intricate tiled niche

Photo: homedepot.com

Shower niche ideas don’t need to be complicated; all you really need is a spot to hold bottles of shampoo and conditioner, along with soap, shaver, and maybe a loofah. A simple design like the Redi Niche provides just enough storage space to keep things tidy even in a very small shower. Once in place, the niche is ready for the tile of your choice.

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Add Shine

white tiled shower with two shiny white square niches with compartments side by side

Photo: amazon.com

Pure white glazed ceramic adds a fresh, clean look to your shower and works well with any decorating style from vintage to contemporary. A shower niche with multiple compartments, like this 3-compartment model from Shower Shelves, makes it easy to keep your bathing products neatly organized and easy to grab, even when water is running into your eyes.

Let There Be Light

marble bathroom with white tub with two stacked niches above tub containing lights

Photo: istockphoto.com

While you’ll likely need the help of a professional to handle electrical wiring in a shower stall or shower/tub combo, it’s hard to beat the appeal of a lighted shower niche. No more dark corners, no more mildew hiding in the dimness, no more squinting to make out which bottle is the shampoo and which is the conditioner. A lighted shower niche is especially suited to contemporary bathroom designs.

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Tall and Thin

pink bathroom with marble tiled shower with a thin rectangular niche

Photo: homedepot.com

Designing a niche for a tiny shower stall can be tricky: It’s easy to overwhelm the space with an oversized niche, but you still want enough space to hold your toiletries. Shower niches that are tall and skinny, such as this brushed stainless steel stunner from Alfi, make efficient use of the space while providing just enough room to hold the necessities.

Contemporary Cement

product shot of grey tiled rectangular shower niche

Photo: homedepot.com

If your bathroom is languishing in an outdated style from decades back, bring it into the current century with the au courant look of smooth cement. A polished gray rim surrounding a tiled back in varied shades of gray gives this easy-to-install American Bath Factory shower niche with a glass shelf the updated style you’ve been looking for.

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Ready for Tile

grey marble luxury shower with small shower niche with grey hexagon tiles

Photo: amazon.com

A tile shower niche is a classic design. And with a ready-to-tile storage niche like the Houseables shower niche storage shelf, installation is an easy weekend project. Once you have the niche positioned between wall studs, it’s ready to tile in any way you desire, from rustic or vintage-inspired to contemporary.

Classic Beauty

product shot of a shower niche in grey marble

Photo: AmericanTileDepot via etsy.com

Marble shower niches, whether placed in a shower completely lined with this classic stone or merely used as an accent, add an immediate touch of elegance to your bathroom while providing much-needed shower storage space. Note that installing a marble insert, like this gorgeous Italian Carrara white marble shower niche, is more complex than installing some other types due to its weight.

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So Sleek

white bathroom with white tube and sink with stainless steel shower niche in middle of wall

Photo: amazon.com

If a tile shower niche or tile shower niche trim isn’t really your style, you might prefer the sleek, spare, modern, and subtly shiny look of a stainless-steel shower niche instead. As a plus, this modern, stainless steel niche from Alfi is easy to install in just three quick steps. What’s more, it won’t rust or lose its luster over time.

Multi-Compartment

marble tile bathroom wall with niche with zigzag patterned background

Photo: amazon.com

If one shower niche shelf isn’t enough, how about three? With the ZigZag recessed shower niche that’s just what you get. This easily installed shower niche gives you some wiggle room on the distance between the lower and upper portions, letting you determine just how much height you need for each section. Once in place, it’s easily transformed into a stone or tile shower niche.

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Big Enough for Two

white tile bathroom with two shower niches side by side

Photo: homedepot.com

If your shower is large, or shared with one or more family members, it’s helpful to have a bathroom niche large enough to accommodate everybody. A double niche, like this double niche from Redi Niche, installs either horizontally or vertically, so you can decide on the best shower niche placement for your needs and your bathroom’s dimensions. Once in place, the double niche is ready for your favorite tile or stone covering.