Shower Enclosures

I found the coolest product in Lowe's last weekend! They were calling them self-install shower enclosures that are made to look like tile but they were formed into single sheets that could be easily popped in by a homeowner without having to hire contractors.  The shower designs that they offered were actually really nice too -- they had a marble subway tile, a white subway tile (that we used) and a darker version as well.  As you can see from these photos, we had a pretty small shower stall to work with, so it did not make a ton of sense to spend the money to hire a contractor to tile it.  At first we thought about tiling the walk in shower ourselves (I even did all of the research into what tools we would need) but, to be honest, it seemed really intimidating.

I would love some advice on what type of shower enclosures to use for a design that is inspired by this warm-toned grey vanity and somewhat busy yet neutral granite countertop.  I want the bathroom shower ideas to be fairly simple and relatively inexpensive but I am really not sure on where to even begin with the tile.  The elements that I mentioned are relatively neutral in color, but I feel like there is a lot going on with pattern.  I am not sure what the best style or size of tile may be to coordinate with all of that.  My instinct is to go with a simple white subway tile but I was not sure if that would be too boring against the rest.

I was nervous to renovate our bathroom in order to create one of the more traditional shower enclosures but, to be honest, I really hated the fully open design of our unit.  We didn't build this house, we moved in a few years ago.  The had installed what is probably considered to be an ultra luxurious open shower "cave" but actually using it was not so luxurious.  It sprayed water everywhere! Finally I had enough and started to look around for shower enclosure ideas that would not look "random" alongside the current design and would still show off the beautiful tile that they had done.  Most of the popular shower designs lately seem to have these completely transparent glass shower doors.

Do y'all think that shower enclosures like this are still trendy or too early 2000s for today's styles? In case it is not obvious, our home was built almost 20 years ago now and we are getting to the point where we want to overhaul some of the old designs and, if nothing else, do a walk in shower remodel.  I have always liked our vaulted ceiling, but I was thinking that keeping the shower open at the top makes the design look a little bit dated.  One the one hand, I do enjoy the ventilation that the open concept design provides, but I do want the room to look very modern and stylish (especially if I am spending all that money).

I never realized how tricky shower enclosures were to design until I was faced with this project in our master.  I guess I always though of them as just a standard tile box or room with glass shower doors to enclose it.  There is a lot more you need to consider including size, layout, tile size, shape, and color, location of shower heads and faucets, number of shower heads, and the list goes on and on. Honestly, the best resource I found to make all of these decisions was to just go online and look at photos of what other people did, then mimic aspects of the designs that you like.  Walk in shower designs are quite involved but they are not hard to replicate -- you can usually take a photo to your contractor and they will be able to figure out what they need to do to achieve that look.

This is one of the coolest shower enclosures I have seen because it is so large and yet still makes the room feel extremely open.  I am not positive, but I think that they actually pulled out their old tub, tiled the area and then added a custom frameless shower door in order to create this design.  Although, I am sure the tile was quite costly (as well as that gorgeous custom door), they probably saved a ton of money by not relocating the shower and associated plumbing.  By reusing the existing footprint, you eliminate the need to bring in a plumber and other costly tradesman.  I would rather spend my money on the best shower doors for the design rather than on moving drains and shower fixtures.