10 Showerheads for Your Bathroom Remodel
Here are 10 types of showerheads that will allow you to make the perfect choice for your next Chicago bathroom remodel, in order from simple to truly impressive:
1. Fixed Shower (Single Spray)
A simple, budget-friendly option that’s perfect for small or medium size bathrooms. This type of showerhead comes with one spray setting and is even perfect for smaller guest bathrooms.
Consider this: The Easy Clean Showerhead by American Standard. This basic showerhead is called Easy Clean as it prevents limescale build-up which allows water to keep flowing effectively at 2.5 GPM.
Easy Clean Showerhead American Standard
2. Handheld Shower (Multiple Spray)
The handheld shower is perfect for a master bathroom that the whole family uses especially if there are children using the bathroom as well. This type of showerhead comes attached with a long (between 60” – 70”) hose and when not being held, it sits in a cradle attached to the wall. It can be used as a fixed shower too. When you’re bathing pets or kids, just take it off the cradle and enjoy the flexibility of a handheld shower. It’s also a helpful alternative for the elderly.
Consider this: Delta’s 7-Setting Hand Shower. It comes with a 6’ tangle-free flexible hose and seven spray settings including full body spray, fast massage spray, full spray with massage, drenching spray, soft drench with full spray, soft rain spray, and a pause setting which reduces water flow to a trickle (for when you’re shaving, lathering, etc., and need only a few drops of water at a time).
7-Setting Hand Shower Delta
3. Slide Bar Shower
As the name suggests, this showerhead can slide up or down and is ideal for families with young kids as its height is adjustable. It’s also a useful option for when you don’t want to wash your hair — just slide the shower to a lower height so your hair doesn’t get wet. And, you can use it handheld too!
Consider this: Moen’s matte black finish hand-held shower with slide bar. Our favorite part? It’s eco-friendly. It has a five-function 4-3/8″ diameter spray head that conserves water (the flow is 1.75 GPM as opposed to the standard 2.5 GPM showers) without compromising on the experience. It has five spray settings including downpour, rinse, full spray, massage, and relaxing massage.
Matte Black Eco-Performance Moen
4. Ceiling-Mounted Rain Shower
These look great in uber-luxe bathrooms where bathing isn’t just a cleaning ritual, it’s a luxurious indulgence. These shower panels are fixed to the ceiling and offer an even water flow but they do require special plumbing and cost more to install as well. It helps to consult a trained designer so you’ll know what plumbing requisites are needed for such a shower. Rain showerheads are best suited for places like Chicago where there is no shortage of water as they tend to use more water than standard showers. Rain showers also require bigger drains. A good option is to have a linear drain as they look good and effectively drain the increased volume of water that comes from a rain shower.
Consider this: Real Rain overhead panel by Kohler. It’s designed with a water reservoir that relies on gravity to shape each drop so that it replicates rainfall. It comes with a Let It Rain feature for a light shower or you can activate the Deluge feature that releases 0.5 gallons of water in 8 seconds at the push of a button. As we said, only for places where there is no scarcity of water, such as Chicago
Real Rain Shower Panel Kohler
5. High-Pressure Showerhead
Nobody likes to bathe under a trickle of water so if you want to enjoy an invigorating, luxurious bath, install a high-pressure showerhead in your bathroom. High-pressure showerheads can increase the pressure of water flow without necessarily increasing the amount of water consumed. Modern high-pressure showerheads inject air into the chambers of the showerhead which forces the water spray (pressure) to increase.
Consider this: Speakman’s Anystream high-pressure adjustable showerhead. The Anystream 360° technology offers three spray options including intense, rain, and full flood settings.
Anystream High-Pressure Showerhead Speakman
6. Low-Flow Showerhead
If you want a home that is energy-efficient and green, we suggest you use a low flow showerhead — it restricts the flow of water to below 2.5 GPM, without compromising on the quality of your bathing experience.
Consider this: The Earth® showerhead by Niagara. This piece will save money and the environment by using 75% less water than traditional showerheads. What’s more, its patented Equiforce™ technology makes sure that water flows consistently even at 1.25 GPM. It also features a 9-jet spray.
Earth® Low-Flow Showerheads Niagara
7. LED Showerhead
Need some color added to your bath? Use an LED showerhead. It lights up every time you have a bath. But the lights aren’t just there for decorative purposes, they serve a function too. Red for when the water is hot, blue for when it’s cold, and green for when it’s perfect. You don’t have to touch the water to know its temperature.
Consider this: The Dream Spa® AquaFan with LED/LCD display. It has a built-in water temperature sensor and a lit LCD screen that indicates water temperature as well.
AquaFan with LED/LCD display Dream Spa®
8. Filtered Showerhead
This type of showerhead is useful for a place like Chicago where hard water causes your skin to get dry and makes your hair frizzy. The filter reduces the amount of chlorine, minerals, and other deposits in the water so you can enjoy your shower without having to worry about dryness or frizzy hair. Make sure the product you choose is certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) for best results.
Consider this: Crystal Quest® Luxury Shower Power Filter. It removes chlorine, chloramines, pesticides, heavy metals, dirt, sediments, and any other impurities in your water.
Luxury Shower Power Filter Crystal Quest
9. Full-Body Shower Panel
A full body shower panel allows you to enjoy a luxurious bath experience with multiple water sprays. A shower panel is more expensive than the standard variety, and requires valve and spray bodies installed inside the wall so it’s a good idea to install such a panel when you’re getting your entire bathroom renovated.
Consider this: Aquatica’s Elise shower panel. It’s built-in showering options include normal spray, pulsating massage jet, vitalizing jet, and rain shower. The temperature of the water is constantly controlled with a precision thermostat, and it has three adjustable body spray massage jets.
Matte-red Elise shower panel Aquatica
10. Smart Spa Shower
These are the ultimate in luxury showers. The spa showers, as the name suggests, offer you a spa-like experience right at home.
Consider this: The F-digital Deluxe experience by Grohe. It’s a multi-sensory shower that stimulates all your senses. This smart shower can be controlled with the Grohe Spa® App and is available for Apple and Android devices. The GROHE F-digital Deluxe app helps you control all the shower’s functions like colored and dimmable LED light and you can even listen to your selection of music.
F-digital Deluxe Grohe
Thermostatic vs. Pressure Balance Shower Systems
We’ve all experienced showers starting off too hot or too cold, as well as fluctuations in water temperature due to the water usage of others — especially of the flushing of toilets. Fortunately, we no longer need to live with this inconvenience and safety hazard now that the thermostatic faucet is available.
We are all used to the old-school pressure balance systems that have water volume and temperature controls within a single knob. These are being made obsolete by new thermostatic systems that have dual knobs: one of the knobs controls the volume of water and the other controls the temperature of the water.
Because the thermostatic valve senses and controls the actual water temperature, it guarantees that the water’s temperature will be maintained for the length of your shower. When budget allows, it always makes sense to pair any of the above showerheads with a thermostatic faucet like California Faucets’ StyleTherm. It maintains exact water temperature and has an anti-scald feature which is very useful for a home with kids and the elderly.
Radiance E wall-mounted rain shower Hansgrohe
You can see that there are many options to choose from when it comes to designing a shower for your Chicago bathroom remodel. While we’ve tried to include a wide variety, these aren’t the only available choices or types. For example, rain showers can be ceiling and wall-mounted, and a handheld shower can be both multiple and single spray. You could even have a combination of hand-held and wall-mounted showers.
Given the numerous choices you have, it can get confusing to make the right decision. The wise thing to do is to look at what’s available and then discuss your preferences with a qualified and experienced designer who can help you make the right choice based on your home and your specifications. Our designers will be happy to help you with this, making sure it is functional, aesthetically pleasing, and well-constructed.
We take great pride in our design excellence, craftsmanship, and customer service — we maintain a 5-star average in over 250 customer reviews on Google, Yelp, Angie’s List, and Houzz.
