Who Doesn't Like a Tree in the Shower?

5 Materials
The trends for bathrooms it seems, is that they keep getting larger and larger with huge walk in showers, steam rooms and even spa lap tubs. Gone are the large whirlpool tubs that take forever to fill up, they cool off quickly and in most cases, hard to get into safely. In comes the large walk in showers....walk in, as in no door, just walk in to one end with usually 2 or more shower heads, body sprays, benches, niches and even full length windows.
I don't think I would miss a shower door actually, and this new trend in showers makes the most of one whole wall in a bathroom. I was fortunate to have designed the tile layout for one such shower in a master bath, and I knew I wanted something dramatic....not that this huge shower with full length glass windows wasn't enough drama, I wanted more..
My aha moment, there was the drama I was looking for...a mosaic of some kind in the shower. I was jittery from excitement to discuss the possibilities with the salesperson...yes, they could do it...they have never done one in a residential install before...I would just have to supply the template.....whoa-what? I would have to make the template? I was thinking of a 5'8" tree with leaves on the entrance wall all in different quartz patterns...a mosaic that will be showcased, and not inexpensive, and I have to draw it? All of a sudden my jitters burst like a balloon!


I couldn't get this idea out of my head, and once something is in my head and won't leave me alone, I know I have to find a way to make it work. Step in my artistic friend, Amy. Oh, did I mention, we were on a deadline too, the showroom needed the template asap for they had to put it into production in order to get it finished to be installed before the opening...no pressure here!
I cut down several large cardboard boxes that I had in the garage and drew a simple outline of a tree and a simple leaf pattern to use. I'm not good with scale, so I knew Amy would be able to help me with that. We spread out the cardboard on Amy's living room floor and she did her magic, scaling the tree to the perfect proportions. Then there were the leaves- drawing them then cutting them out so the template would work. I decided on 3 different Quartz patterns to make up the leaves and the tree. After several attempts of figuring out which color would go where with duplicate leaves, we had our template ready.
I have never been so nervous about anything like this for a long time-you know how you envision something in your head, and pray that it will turn out the same? Well, I was praying up until the last leaf was placed in the shower wall. There went that burst balloon feeling again only this time it was the breath I had been holding for hours as they carried the slab up a flight of stairs with 4 guys, passing just painted corners and newly installed doors to the Master bath.
Hallelujah! It fit perfectly and looks amazing! Did I say, ah-may-zing? Oh yes!
Inside shower just starting to stage it
I picked the field tile and floor tile to be subtle and soft to not compete with the star of the room... the tree. The tree is tucked on the entrance wall of the walk in tiled shower and a glimpse can be seen from the full length windows to the shower. I picked a tree for the mosaic design for it was universal and most people like trees plus it wasn't something too specific...just simple...and amazing..ha!
It definitely was something unexpected, which I love to do...it was something that Cambria had never done before, and now they can say they have, which I'm glad, and it is a special unique detail for the homeowner to enjoy, which is most important.


So, from the reactions of thousands of patrons who visited this show home, I think many people like having a tree in the shower, wouldn't you? (read more about this project in my blog)
Taylor @ TayRose Design
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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3 of 6 questions
  • Max24264098 Max24264098 on Feb 10, 2018

    By looking at the photo, I couldn't tell if it's a painting or something 3D (meaning stuffs glue onto the wall) ?

  • Renata Renata on Oct 30, 2018

    Am I lost or did you put card board in your shower?

  • Erin Erin on Mar 25, 2021

    What was the cost of this?

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