Get Crazy With An Outdoor Shower

Have you ever taken a shower outdoors? If so, then you can skip down a little to the parts about designing and building an amazing outdoor shower because you're sold already. If not, then you might want to hear a little bit about what you're missing!

I'll start right off saying that I'm a Florida native, so I've lived in a sub-tropical climate my whole life. So maybe I'm different, but I'll tell you, in Florida, when the sun is bright and the air is warm, stripping down to the bare minimum and getting out on a boat or beach is a great part of life.

Outdoors showers bring that feeling of tropical island bliss to your backyard. They are exotic, they are sensual, they are exhilarating! And they are practical too!

I've had a number of outdoor showers and I've built a few for others and I've learned what makes an outdoor shower great to enjoy.  Here are a few of what I consider the best possible features:

• At least partially open at eye level - If you can design your shower to use landscaping as the privacy barrier on at least one side, then you can shape that landscaping to provide an open view at eye level.  You'll be protected from peepers, but you'll feel like you're out in the open which, depending on your exhibitionist lean, can be fun!
• Includes a large bench seat - These showers are most often used on hot days or summer nights so running out of hot water is rarely the chief concern.  Usually the idea is to get cooled off!  Having a place to sit and let the water run on you, while you're outdoors and can see the sky and the trees... it's about as close to those movie scenes under the waterfall as you'll get.
• Has plenty of space - I did a job once that had a group shower.  That guy had a different lifestyle than I do.  But I will admit that I've been in the shower in a pair before.  You know what they say, "two's company, three's a crowd" or at least that's the rule in our house.  If your rules allow for at least two people in your shower, then you might want to allow plenty of space, and maybe even an extra shower head, or five.

These kind of features are what it takes to step up from a place to rinse off to a place you don't want to leave!

One of the great things about an outdoor shower for anyone who likes DIY Projects is that they are easy to build. There is no need for perfect water protection of surrounding areas, which is what makes showers so tough in houses. And even the plumbing is easy. Heck, for summertime use only, you can just run a garden hose to a shower faucet and head!

Personally, even in the summer, a little hot water is good.

I've got a great post on my Remodeling Guy blog that talks a bit more about that with great pictures of inspiring DIY Outdoor Showers.

I also linked this hub to a great blog party, Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer!