The Shower Drain: Now You See It, Now You Don't

Sleek, contemporary bathrooms have been popular for quite some time now, but I am finding more and more clients want bathrooms that are not only sleek and contemporary but which also approach a kind of minimalism.

One of the ways to get a streamlined appearance in a bathroom is to limit the amount of objects and elements like the shower drain. And there are some wonderful products on the market that make the drain virtually disappear.

I love using channel or linear drains in showers. These types of drains are a trough installed at one end or side of the shower. Since it's not a center drain, the shower pan itself does not need to be sloped in on four sides but instead can be sloped in a single direction. This eliminates the need for smaller mosaic tiles which adhere to the contour of the slope. What we get is the ability to use larger tiles. Channel drains can come with metal grates like these examples from Easy Drain USA and Infinity Drain.

But to truly camouflage the drain, California Faucets' CeraLine is a linear drain that accepts the tile from the shower pan, so you can barely tell it's there!

And now we can go one more step and make the entire shower pan and drain a single piece. This integrated drain and pan by WETSTYLE called the Glacier shower receptor is a supremely minimal statement.

MTI makes shower bases with integrated hidden drains as well

And if you have a smaller shower without room enough for a single slope or if your home is built "on slab" (on a concrete foundation where moving the drain location involves jackhammering cement and is therefore difficult or prohibitive), California Faucets makes the Style Drain Tile, a tile-in center drain, so you can still camouflage the drain and achieve a sleek look!

If you'd like a modern, sleek bathroom, give me a call.
Happy designing!