Luxury Shower Designs: Why Tile Isn’t Luxury Anymore

You love your house, and the only thing that could make it a better fit is a luxury bathroom. You’ve always envisioned a walk-in shower with gorgeous tile and premium fixtures. You’ve finally got the time and the budget to build it, but suddenly, you’re seeing a lot of bad press about tile and grout. What’s the deal?

At ZINTEX Remodeling Group, we’ve been building showers for homeowners for 25 years, and we have to tell you upfront that we don’t use tile. As classically beautiful as a tile shower looks just after install, we find that the reality of a tile shower over time isn’t exactly luxurious. Let’s talk about why tile is no longer the industry standard for luxury showers.

Table of Contents:

• Why Homeowners Love the Idea of Tile Showers

• The Downsides of Tile Showers
• Tips for Designing a Modern Luxury Shower

Why Homeowners Love Tile Showers in Theory

First, let’s be real: tile showers do have some noteworthy benefits. Here are the top reasons why homeowners tend to start off their shower remodeling journey envisioning a luxury tile shower.

Tile Is a Classic Bathroom Choice

Familiarity can go a long way towards shaping what we imagine and what we desire. Maybe you had a relative growing up whose guest bathroom had a stunning tile shower. Maybe you’ve seen tile showers in magazines like Architectural Digest and equate tile with high-end, expensive design.

In short, tile showers have been around for a long time. Homeowners like them because they feel timeless and classic.

Tile Provides Design Versatility

There is one category that tile wins hands down every single time, and that’s design versatility. You can purchase tile in tons of different materials, like ceramic, porcelain, natural stone, and glass. Each of these materials come in a variety of colors, finishes, and shapes. During install, you can configure tile in different patterns, like brick bond, chevron, and herringbone.

As long as you have the budget to support it, your tile design is about as close to limitless as any home renovation material can get. In a world filled with cookie cutter designs and home layouts, it’s no wonder that luxury means unique and highly customized.

Tile Comes at Premium Cost

Cheap products have flooded every market and tarnished consumer trust. We’ve all been burned by the allure of a below-average price tag (and the corresponding below-average product). You know that to build something like a luxurious shower, you can’t hire the cheapest remodeler or invest in the cheapest shower materials.

The tile for a luxury shower can cost up to $20,000 before factoring in the cost of labor, as compared to the $8,000 and up for high-quality acrylic shower panels. When you do factor in labor costs, tile also comes with a bigger price tag because it takes longer to install.

Many people assume that the higher cost of a tile shower means that it’s inherently higher quality, but the correlation between cost and quality does plateau when you start looking at long-term costs.

Why Tile Showers Aren’t Luxurious in Practice

As important as it is to acknowledge the benefits of tile showers, we have to talk about the cons as well. Here are the biggest reasons why tile showers aren’t considered luxury showers anymore.

Tile Cracks Easily

Tile shower installers tend to say that tile showers are long-lasting, with a lifespan of 20+ years. In theory, tile can last a long time if it sustains zero damage, but you probably plan to actually use your shower, and wear and tear will take a toll.

Many types of tile can crack pretty easily, leaving even more grout exposed than normal and increasing your risk of water damage and mold growth. Sure, you can replace broken tiles, but this comes with potential problems like:

• Paying premium rates for small repairs
• Not being able to find a match for discontinued tiles
• Ending up with a weakened waterproofing system and uneven tiles

Your luxury tile shower will look a lot less luxurious with damaged, mismatched, or uneven tiles.

Exposed Grout Grows Mold

What is one of the biggest reasons why homeowners come to us to replace an existing shower? Mold growth. Mold growth appears in showers that aren’t draining and drying properly or have conditions that make it easy for mold to take hold and spread.

Believe it or not, exposed grout is the perfect breeding ground for mold, and no shower material yields more exposed grout than tile. It doesn’t align with the experience of luxury to have a shower you’re constantly cleaning for the sake of mold prevention. There is absolutely nothing luxurious about a shower that is overrun with mold.

Tile Looks Dull Over Time

Let’s go back to that vision you had earlier of a luxury tile shower. Whether you love dark and moody colors or light, neutral colors, you probably imagine that those tiles glisten in the light. Sleekness is a descriptor we tend to associate with luxury, not dullness, but with tile, you’re headed for dullness eventually.

Most types of tile have a sealant or finish that not only contributes to waterproofing but also to that lustrousness you’re picturing. Time, cleaning supplies, and soap scum all break down that sealant and leave tile looking dull and off color. Professional servicing may be able to restore that original shine, but not without time, effort, and more money.

Tips for Building a Modern Luxury Walk In Shower

If tile is no longer the key to a luxury walk-in shower, what is? We’ve got a quick guide that will help you build a modern luxury shower by prioritizing things like ease of maintenance, aesthetic design, and functionality. Take a look:

Learn More About Acrylic Walk In Showers

If you’re looking for a luxury shower, it’s time to let go of tile and grout. As you can see, while tile is still a standout in the aesthetic department, it doesn’t maintain its beauty for long. Something like premium acrylic is often less expensive than tile and it holds up better to wear and tear, making it the modern luxury option.

At ZINTEX Remodeling Group, we’ve been designing and installing acrylic walk in showers for 25 years. Take a look at our guide to the basics of acrylic showers to decide if acrylic could be the key to your luxury shower makeover.