I think some of the appeal of glass is to show the fancy showers, to add to the openness of the room and to keep the water in the shower (shower curtains are notoriously leaky around the edges and bottoms). I was going to put in glass but found I am just fine with a shower curtain, but if I had kids using the shower I might opt for glass. But you can get glass with obscuring qualities, you can also use privacy film on it (perhaps a more cost effective solution).

Here is a link that might be useful: frosted and obscure glass showers

Do what works for you and your family. One idea is to use a curtain for now, but later (if you wanted to) you could add a glass door. Just make sure there is the proper blocking installed now.

You can get a solid door on the shower, but remember that unless you'll be drying off and dressing in the shower compartment, you'll be naked stepping out of the shower. Unless your shower will be very large, it is likely that the area for drying and dressing inside the shower area will get wet.

If it were me, I'd get a shower door with frosted/obscured glass and place a robe hook within reach of the partially opened door. That way the person in the shower can have their privacy, and still enjoy the ease and brightness of a shower door. If you're thinking to yourself that you'd like a clear glass door but are dismissing it because of practicality reasons, get the clear glass and put an obscuring film on it until the kids leave for college.

This might work. Use a glass door but buy a shower rod of some sort (perhaps even one of the flexible-ceiling mounted ones) and hang a great looking curtain a foot or so in front of the shower on each exposed side. You can keep the curtain tied back or otherwise out of the way, allowing your tilework and shower bling to be on display--maybe even build a recess for it in the wall near the shower. You could then pull the curtain closed when you need to and, if you have enough room to put some space between the door and the curtain, you could end up with private drying off space. When the kids leave, you can remove the curtain and track.

How much space do you have? Is there any way that you could separate the shower and toilet (the 2 most private spaces) from the vanity area in their own room with a door? That's the set up that we've always had in our master. Even though the kids didn't need to share our bath, I liked being available to our kids while my DH was showering and I was brushing teeth, doing hair & makeup, etc.

Would not go with clear glass in this situation given how many obscured and/or obscured glass alternatives are out there. As others have mentioned, have a robe hook or towel bar reachable just outside the door opening. Shower curtains work for privacy, but get mildewy quickly and infringe on your showering space, getting sucked inwards by the temperature/humidity differences; I dont like them.

Hmmm....I would think you might regret having obscured glass later (maybe much later) when the kids move out and you want the clear glass. I like the idea of just using a shower curtain for now... or to get the cheaper glass privacy film that you could use until the kids start to move out.

Perhaps you could compromise with sandblasting on the lower 2/3 or so of the glass. If there is not enough room inside the shower enclosure for a towel hook, you could put a bar on the outside of the door instead of a handle. When done showering just pull the door in enough to grab the towel off the bar.
{{gwi:1446600}}

I personally prefer the obscured type glass because it doesn't show water drops, soap and shampoo splashes as easily. I DO NO wipe down shower doors daily.

Tuesday

I would second the recommendation to install blocking for glass doors and then just use a shower curtain in the opening for now.

This was the only bathroom for our family of four for several years and we managed just fine. The tension rod stayed up without a problem and we never had a leaking problem around the curtain. The kids were small and we weren't that concerned about privacy, so we went for curtains that maximized the light into the shower, but when I was shopping for curtains I often saw ones that were clear at the top and opaque at the bottom.

We are about to renovate this bath and we *are* putting clear glass doors up, but that will work for the two kids who will use it. You should choose what will work for your family.

Laura

Wow, you guys really came through with some great ideas! Thanks so much for taking the time to think up some options for us. DH and I will mull them all over this weekend. I am probably too focused on the way things are now - I appreciate those of you who reminded me that the chaos of our morning routine will ease one day and I should plan for the future too. Thanks everyone!

A cheap alternative might be shower glass privacy film that you can apply yourself. I'm pretty sure the big box stores carry it.

Over six years ago Hugh..........

Clear glass is pretty, but harder to keep clean. If you are concerned about privacy, maybe opaque glass. I've also seen glass where you flip a switch and it goes opaque to clear and back. Opaque glass was used here:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1971-Harbert-Ave-Memphis-TN-38104/42141679_zpid

And here I am over two years later. I agree that people loom at these after the initial question. We are in the exact situation. Need to have a solution for glass door but it’s rare that someone is allowed to have the bathroom alone for long. Our house effectively has only one bath. Thanks for the great ideas!

A more European attitude towards nudity costs nothing.

There is no question! Being an interior designer I deal with this situation a lot and if you already installed your frameless glass shower enclosure which I think is definitely the way to go and in listening to your scenarios of how the family would make this work...the ONLY thing to do is, as someone already mentioned, you need the glass to be etched. Please don't put shower curtains on your nice new glass shower. Yes etched glass will add to the cost however you will not be sorry. As was already mentioned as well there are businesses that can install the white etched film on the glass. There's film by 3M, Vista, and MaxPro Window Film. Google who in your area sells window film. It works really well and looks like the real thing for much less. But if you can add the etched glass to your budget that is the very best way to go. Hope this helps someone out there since I just noticed this question was asked some years ago.

And here we are again another 2 years later!
We’re putting in a glass shower enclosure and door in our guest house bath. I’m not a big fan of either opaque or etched glass, and am considering the idea mentioned (way!) above of a curtain always pushed to the side, almost out of view, except when someone enters to use the sink or toilet. Adding a recessed space as suggested sounds attractive too. Has anyone done this? Any photos? Thank you!

I realise that this post is LATE, but maybe it will help someone…. In spite of having a large pony-wall/glass/no door shower in my own home, I DETEST the concept because I do NOT enjoy seeing the inside of my large shower every time I step into the primary bathroom. Additionally, since the glass doesn’t go to the ceiling, the shower is sometimes cold in the winter…. One work-around that I’ve seen is a higher (6-7 feet) pony wall with clear glass on top…. For me, this checks all of the boxes, with the additional benefit of adding more wall space for towels and possibly even room for a bench or storage under the towels…. I do plan to investigate the possibility of implementing this concept in the future. 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼