There are many good reasons to have an outdoor shower. If you have a cabin or cottage near a lake or river, you may want an outdoor shower to use after swimming, canoeing or fishing. Or, if you simply have a messy job to do outside, an outdoor shower makes a great place to rinse off before coming in. I’ll show you some creative rustic outdoor shower ideas in a rustic style.
Obviously, the easiest way to add an outdoor shower is at the time of building. This is what we did and have the hot and cold plumbing hooked up to come out at the side of our cabin. Although this prep work is easiest to do during construction, you can still hire a plumber to add it later.
Outdoor Shower Ideas
Use A Canoe To Construct A Shower
You may be scratching your head at this idea but it is exactly what we did for the outdoor shower at our cabin. We actually split a large canoe in two to use as two of the sides to our shower enclosure. Our cabin is pretty isolated and the shower area, at the side of the cabin, is hidden from the road. Because of that, our shower isn’t fully enclosed. There are gaps between the two canoes which make it a true outdoor experience. While showering you can look into the woods or at the lake. The shower head is attached to the cabin which makes up a third side to the enclosure. My husband then constructed a small gate. out of canoe paddles, for the fourth side.
The tall canoe half is actually raised up and mounted to two of the 4×4 deck platform posts. We could have mounted the second half in the same way. However, since we are isolated, we wanted more of an open air feel. So, the second half is sitting on the ground below and then mounted to the deck.
To make the gate, we just screwed short paddles to a piece of scrap plywood and attached it to a 4×4 post with a hinge. The gate still needs a little refining but works for now.
You can see this and more creative outdoor decor at my post with 30 cool ideas for rustic outdoor decor.
Outdoor Solar Powered Shower
If you don’t have or want to run your plumbing outside, there are other ways to accomplish the task. A great alternative is to use an outdoor spigot and heat the water with solar power. I found this great tutorial that will walk you through the steps to create a solar powered outdoor shower.
TUTORIAL: Cabin LIfe
Rustic Corrugated Metal Screens
TUTORIAL: Sunset Magazine
This simple outdoor shower idea would work out well for rinsing off after swimming. Since the water comes from the garden hose, it will not be heated so you probably wouldn’t be taking a long luxurious shower. For more privacy, you could always add on a side and a door or gate. The corrugated metal gives this shower a sleek modern rustic look.
More Ideas For Rustic Outdoor Shower Walls
Whether you want to use hot and cold plumbing, solar heat, or simply a refreshing garden hose, you can build an enclosure to suit your style. Depending on your privacy needs, you will need to create some walls out of pretty much anything that will give full or partial privacy. Whether you attach walls to a wood platform, hinge them together, or build a full frame, you can get creative with your design depending on what you use.
You have seen ideas using a canoe, wood, and corrugated metal. Here is a list of additional ideas for materials to use, for the walls, to create a unique look.
- surf board walls – these could be attached similar to the canoe shower
- reclaimed wood fencing – old fencing could be an easy way to create walls and a gate
- barn wood slats – instead of building a frame with new wood, use barn wood for a more rustic look
- pallets – pallets can be taken apart or attached together as is to create rustic walls
- old doors – like the corrugated metal screen design, you could use old doors to hinge together instead
- vintage shutters
- old windows
I love these ideas…thanks so much. I am considering doing an outside shower at my home.
Great! I think you will love the benefits! Let me know if you end up doing one.