When outdoor fun is over for the day, there’s no better way to keep mud and sand from coming inside the cabin than an outdoor shower. With the right location and provisions for privacy, an outdoor shower can also be a delightful alternative to showering indoors every day. An outdoor shower can be a casual affair that’s served by a hose and drained into the landscape, or it can be fully plumbed with hot and cold water and tied into your cabin’s wastewater system. Either way, it’s a cabin amenity that’s ripe for whimsical details and even unconventional materials. You can build your own with help from a kit or create a custom shower with inspiration from the photos gathered here.
1. Hold Everything.
When using an outdoor shower, you want your hands free. Hooks for beach towels and a shelf for toiletries hold everything in this outdoor shower area. Perfect for a lakeside cabin, the shower’s stainless steel fittings offer a lower spigot for rinsing sandy toes, water shoes or beach toys. The wooden stand and floor is made of sustainably harvested eucalyptus.
Supplier: Pottery Barn, potterybarn.com, (888) 779-5176
2. Heavy Metal.
Corrugated metal sheets and western red cedar posts come together in this shower, designed by My Carpentry.com for DIYers. The plans (available online) include step-by-step instructions for cutting materials and building an outdoor shower enclosure with a poured concrete slab floor that’s covered with tile.
Designer: MyCarpentry.com
3. Location, Location, Location.
Make cabin clean-up even easier with an outdoor shower that’s just steps away from the laundry room. Rinse, then take wet suits and towels directly to the washer and dryer. A louvered panel opposite the shower adds a bit of privacy. The hand-held shower head makes it a cinch to rinse off kids and hose down dogs, too.
Designer: Rethink Design Studio, rethinkdesignstudio.com, (912) 236-3022
4. Take It Easy.
Vinyl components make this house-mounted shower kit topped by a charming pergola easy to maintain – with no need for painting or staining. The kit includes materials for a 3-by-3-foot stall enclosure, which can be surface mounted or attached to footers. The vinyl won’t crack, warp, yellow or rot. Hang a standard shower curtain from the stall for privacy.
Supplier: Zippity, zippity-outdoor.com, (877) 234-6196
5. In Disguise.
For this home in Mill Valley, Calif., a tiled backsplash blends with the color of the Western red cedar shingles while providing a waterproof surface. An open shower like this one is perfect for rinsing off before you jump in the pool or for removing chlorine from your hair and swimsuit. The oversized rainfall showerhead adds to the feeling of luxury.
Designer: Urrutia Design, urrutiadesign.com, (415) 332-7777
6. Hang Ten.
Ride the wave in a whimsical outdoor shower by using a surfboard as the focal point. Wilco Bos creates surfboard showers that include a mixer and showerhead as well as a foot spigot. Here, teak boards were used for flooring. You can choose composite decking for floor boards for even lower maintenance.
Supplier: Wilco Bos, wilcobos.com, (303) 524-0449
7. On the Side.
The house-mounting kit from Stonewood Products includes cedar posts, walls and a door to form a DIY stall on the side of your cabin. The company also offers lattice paneling, benches and cedar flooring to more fully outfit the enclosure. Cedar can be treated or left to weather naturally.
Supplier: Stonewood Products, stonewoodproducts.com, (855) 590-8772
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Cabin Porn: Inside
Dutch Oven
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