Neo-angle corner showers are one of many glass shower possibilities available today, but they make sense for many different bathrooms. Basically, neo-angle enclosures combine a space-friendly design with an appearance and functionality that fits today’s home design preferences. Without further ado, let’s take a look at just what makes these glass showers so appealing.
Corner showers – not surprisingly! – are installed in the corner of a bathroom and can be 90-degree or neo-angle in design. All corners on a 90-degree enclosure form right angles, but neo-angle stalls do something a bit different. These enclosure have three glass sides, and two of these glass panels extend out from the bathroom wall at right angles. Rather than meeting each other at another right angle, they stop short of this, leaving space for a third panel (usually the door) to join them at 135 degree angles.
This is the general layout of a neo-angle corner shower, but yours can be customized in terms of overall dimensions, panel widths, panel heights, and so on. ABC Glass & Mirror can also create fully custom enclosures in this style, but with different angles and numbers of panels.
If your bathroom allows for a separate shower stall (as opposed to just a shower head above a tub) chances are a neo-angle corner enclosure will be a fantastic fit. There are a couple main reasons:
In fact, if you’ve been considering a 90-degree swinging door enclosure but don’t have enough clearance for the door to open, check whether switching to a neo-angle design would help.
Speaking of swinging doors, this is the door style always used on a neo-angle enclosure. Variations are possible in regard to the door dimensions and hinge type. Your two hinge options are:
With any swinging door, be sure that your bathroom layout allows for proper clearance around the shower entrance. Per building codes the door must able to swing outward, so keep this in mind as you design your new or remodeled space.
Since ABC Glass & Mirror customizes each shower enclosure, some neo-angle showers have transoms while others don’t, depending on client needs and preferences. What are some reasons for including a transom (glass panel above the door)?
Working with shower glass professionals is helpful for fine-tuning the details of your shower design, such as whether or not to include a transom. However, you can use the tool below to see possibilities and start designing your ideal enclosure right now.
You have options when it comes to both the type and the appearance of the glass on a neo-angle corner shower. Almost every glass shower is built from tempered glass, but you can request laminated glass, which is available in clear, low-iron, white, bronze, and gray. Let’s look at some FAQs about these two options.
Why is tempered glass usually used for showers?
Annealed (standard) glass can’t be safely used in a shower due to the risk of breakage and injury from the sharp pieces. Tempered glass, however, is heated and rapidly cooled to make it 4-5 times stronger than annealed glass. This process also changes how the glass reacts to damage. If broken (and this is unlikely due to its strength), the sheet of tempered glass will disintegrate into small chunks without the jagged pieces and razor sharp edges of normal broken glass.
How is laminated glass different from tempered glass?
Laminated glass takes another approach to increased safety. It consists of two outer layers of glass bonded to a transparent vinyl interlayer. If laminated glass is broken, the panel remains intact with the fractured glass still adhering to the interlayer. This is appealing if there are specific safety concerns, such as someone falling against the shower glass.
Do the safety features affect the appearance of tempered and laminated glass?
In spite of their boosted stability and safety, tempered and laminated glass look like normal glass. Neither tempering or laminating mars their clarity and sparkle.
What styles are available for tempered glass?
ABC Glass & Mirror offers tempered shower glass in these styles:
Check out ABC’s three framing options for neo-angle corner showers: frameless, gridscape, and semi-frameless.
Let’s delve more deeply into each option.
Frameless shower design has been the favorite choice for years, and Crittall style framed enclosures are now rising in popularity as well. While not as fashion-forward as the other two, semi-frameless showers remain a classic and attractive option for upgrading your bathroom at a somewhat lower price point.
Let’s take a look at how the hardware can typically be customized for each type of neo-angle corner shower.
Homeowners go one of two routes when choosing a finish for shower hardware. Most opt to match the shower hardware to the finish of other metal in the bathroom, such as the sink faucet and towel bars. With most shower enclosure options, you can get an exact match or something quite similar for a coordinated look throughout the bathroom.
However, layered, eclectic rooms are definitely in style these days, so some decorators prefer to thoughtfully mix metal finishes within the bathroom. Martina of The Lived-in Look recommends choosing a primary metal and one or two secondary finishes. “You might find yourself wanting to stay as close as possible to your primary metal color, it’s a natural tendency to want to match things. But if you want to achieve that effortless cohesive look, you need to aim for contrast instead,” says Martina in regard to choosing the secondary metal. So if your neo-angle shower hardware is going to be different from the other bath hardware, it should be really different – not polished nickel instead of brushed nickel. The matte black finish on a gridscape enclosure is a great example. It provides a contrast to most of the popular bathroom hardware finishes, and you can easily add a couple more black items to unify the look.
The combination of a neo-angle glass shower enclosure and freestanding bathtub is appealing for a few different reasons:
However, if your budget or available space doesn’t allow for a separate neo-angle shower enclosure and bathtub, you can still style up the bathroom by adding glass. Swinging doors, shower screens, rolling barn style doors, and bypass doors can typically be added to existing tub/shower combos as well as shower stalls.
Glass is an excellent choice for other bathroom installations because it adds glamour, holds up well in humid conditions, and is easy to sanitize. Integrating more glass into your design can maximize the impact of a neo-angle corner shower. A few examples:
If you work with ABC Glass & Mirror, we can visit your home to discuss what glass you’d like to add to the bathroom, display product samples and photos, take the necessary measurements, and record pertinent information about the space. We will email you a quote for the shower enclosure as well as any other glass you’re interested in adding.
Regular cleaning is always the key to keeping a glass shower looking its best, and neo-angle corner showers are no exception. However, you can make this cleaning easier and less frequent by upgrading to permanently protected glass. Unlike after-market products or the spray-on glass protectants you buy at the store, a permanent protective layer never needs to be re-applied. Because the glass is safeguarded against corrosion and spotting, it looks nice longer and is easier to clean when the time comes. It’s an extra investment up front, but protected glass boosts the longevity of your enclosure by guarding the glass from permanent etching and corrosion.
Here are some other points to consider for making glass shower care easier and more successful:
Working with a reliable custom glass shop is a smart move if you want a neo-angle corner shower. This is because the glass needs to fit correctly in your bathroom corner. Rooms often have minute structurally irregularities – like out of square corners – that aren’t noticeable when that part of the room is empty. However, if there is a gap between the shower glass and the wall because of such an irregularity, the issue becomes noticeable. ABC Glass & Mirror will not only measure your shower area, but will also look for and record any of these irregularities and adjust the glass dimensions accordingly. After this consultation, the process with ABC unfolds along these lines.
If you’re ready to get started or would like to learn more, give ABC a call at (703)257-7150.
