My Favorite Ways to Upgrade a Shower Without Spending Much Money

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Soaking in a warm bath can be relaxing, but nothing beats the soothing convenience of a hot shower. Like everything else in your house, your shower will start to show its age long before it stops being useful, leaving you to have a functional but uninspiring experience every day. If you can afford to remodel, that’s not a huge problem. But if you’re stuck with a shower that’s lost its shine and you can’t afford to tear it out and start over, there are a lot of affordable, easy ways to upgrade your shower with just a few purchases and minimal effort.

Spruce up tiles with this shower-safe paint

If your shower tiles are in good shape but make you sad every time you step in there, you don’t have to rip them out and find a contractor to replace them—just paint them. Using a specific shower-safe product like Rust-Oleum’s Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit, you can make your shower into a fresh, bright space in just a few hours. You’ll need to scrub the shower pretty thoroughly, protect any surfaces you don’t want to paint, and make sure the bathroom is well-ventilated before you get started, but otherwise it’s as easy as painting a wall, and the results can be shockingly good.

Add a towel warmer to make your daily shower feel more like a spa

If you’ve never experienced a towel warmer, then I am about to change your life for the better: Stepping out of a shower and wrapping yourself in a warm towel is one of those simple pleasures that can start your day off right. You don’t need to hang anything on the wall or wire-in some fancy towel rack. A freestanding towel warming box like this looks great and keeps those towels (as well as robes, blankets, or even pajamas) at the comfiest temperature possible. It’ll make your daily shower feel more like a spa trip.

Install corner shelves to your shower stall to organize bottles

If your shower is storage-poor and you’ve got a collection of gross shampoo and soap bottles on the floor, investing in some corner shelves is an easy way to get organized. You have several options, from metal shelves that fit into the grout lines between tiles to adhesive shelves that simply stick to your walls. Whichever one you choose, you’ll instantly make your shower look neater and feel more coherent.

Increase storage with a hanging or free-standing shower caddy

If you need storage but adding shelves isn’t possible or practical, a shower caddy is a good solution. A lot of old-school shower caddies are kind of unsightly, especially once they start to rust, or become gunked up with soap scum and mold. An attractive teak caddy that hangs from the showerhead is a nicely upgraded option, though. If you prefer a freestanding option, this unit from Yamazaki is good-looking, simple, and affordable.

Upgrade your showerhead to something more luxurious

It seems obvious once you think about it: The most crucial aspect of your shower experience is the showerhead itself. Few things are worse than a weak water stream in your morning shower, so if your showerhead has seen better days, swapping it out for a fresh one is an instant (and easy) upgrade. And if you’re going to swap it out, why not go for a spa-like showerhead like this one from Moen that comes with a detachable handheld hose, or perhaps a rainfall showerhead for a luxurious upgrade.

Add a water-resistant shower bench

Seating in the shower is a subtle luxury, but once you have a bench in there, you’ll wonder how you lived without one. Not only does a water-resistant teak bench look great, it makes it easier and safer to scrub your legs and feet or shave your legs. It also makes it possible to just turn up the hot water and sit for a few minutes, basking in the heat.

Install a sound system into your shower

We often treat showers as chores we have to race through before we tackle our day, but a shower can be a retreat, a few minutes of peace that rejuvenate and motivate. One way to make that happen is to upgrade your shower with a waterproof speaker like this one so you can play some music while you shower. For a more streamlined look, you could consider a showerhead with a built-in speaker so you can enjoy your playlist without cluttering up your shower space.

Swap your regular shower curtain rod for a curved rod

If your shower has a curtain, one of the most impactful upgrades is also the cheapest: a curved curtain rod. This does require some basic DIY skills to install, but it’s well worth it: Curved rods hold the curtain out away from you while you shower, ensuring that a slimy curtain never wraps itself around you. It also makes the shower feel larger because you’re not hemmed in as much.

Add wall-mounted soap dispensers to your shower

Nothing makes a shower look less attractive than a collection of scuzzy plastic shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles crammed into a niche. An easy upgrade win is to get those bottles off the floor and out of the niche by hanging them on the wall in neat, efficient dispensers. The Squeezi is a cheap and easy solution: It slides over the shampoo or soap bottle, then affixes to the wall via good old-fashioned suction, so you don’t need to refill dispensers constantly. If you want a more elegant, hotel-like look, this no-drill dispenser is just the ticket.