Hey there! Lillie here, your friendly bath renovation expert. If you‘re thinking about adding a pony wall to your shower design, you‘ve come to the right place. Pony walls are a popular way to add visual separation and style to your bathroom. With this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know to effectively use pony walls in your own shower design.
What is the Purpose of a Pony Wall in a Shower?
Before deciding if a pony wall is right for your bathroom, it helps to understand why people use them in showers in the first place. Here are the main reasons:
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Contain Water and Moisture: Pony walls help contain water spray and moisture to the shower area instead of spreading it to the rest of the bathroom. This protects other parts of the bathroom from getting wet and developing mold.
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Provide Privacy: A pony wall gives partial visual privacy from the rest of the bathroom. It blocks views at eye level while still allowing light and space above.
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Separate Showering Areas: Pony walls can divide up an open shower area for multi-user showering. For example, in a large shared shower you could use a pony wall to create two separate shower spaces.
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Create Design Interest: Thoughtfully placing a pony wall adds architectural detail and design style to the shower and bathroom. It can be integrated into the design in creative ways.
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Let in Light: Unlike a full height wall, a pony wall maintains an open and airy feel by allowing light in from above. This creates a nice balance of separation and openness.
Now that you know why pony walls are used, let‘s look at the pros and cons to help you decide if one is right for your space.
The Pros and Cons of Using a Pony Wall
Pros
- Creates separation without fully closing off the space
- Provides some privacy while allowing light in
- Helps contain moisture and water spray
- Can be used to divide large shower areas
- Adds visual interest and design detail
Cons
- Does not provide full privacy like a ceiling-height wall would
- Moisture can still escape above the partial wall
- Can make the shower space feel smaller depending on placement
- Limits some design options like continuous vertical tiling
Looking at the pros and cons, pony walls give you great design flexibility. But if total privacy is your main goal, a full wall might be better. Keep these tradeoffs in mind as we get into the details.
Ideal Height and Materials for a Pony Wall
When installing your pony wall, two key decisions are height and material choice.
The most common height for a pony wall is 36-42 inches. This allows for separation while still feeling visually open. According to bath remodeling company HomeAdvisor, the average ideal height falls between 36 and 40 inches.
For materials, water-resistant options like tile, glass, or natural stone work best:
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Tile: Choose small-scale tile and coordinating colors/patterns for the pony wall. Large format tiles can create visual division. Glass tile is a great waterproof option that adds texture and color.
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Natural Stone: Granite, marble, or other stone slabs add luxurious texture. Just make sure natural stone is properly sealed to prevent water damage.
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Glass: Frameless glass panels create a clean, modern look. They can also be textured or engraved.
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Waterproof Drywall: Use moisture-resistant drywall, often called "greenboard", then paint or finish as desired.
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Wood: With proper sealing, wood can add warmth. Choose vertical slats or tongue and groove planks. Avoid porous woods like pine.
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Metal: Metallic finishes like stainless steel, nickel, or copper bring modern industrial style. Just avoid rust-prone metals near moisture.
I‘d recommend choosing pony wall materials that complement your overall bathroom style to keep a cohesive flow. Mixing metals, wood tones, stones, and tiles allows lots of design flexibility.
Cost to Install a Pony Wall
The cost of installing a pony wall ranges quite a bit based on size, materials, and complexity of the design. Here‘s a rough estimate:
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Simple DIY pony walls made of tile or waterproof drywall: $200 – $500
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Hiring a contractor for more complex designs: $800 – $1500
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Custom high-end pony walls with glass or stone: $1500 – $4000
According to my contractors, the main factors affecting the cost are:
- Size of the pony wall
- Framing needs and accessibility
- Electrical or plumbing changes needed
- Material costs like tile, glass, or stone
For most standard sized showers, you can expect to pay $1000-$2000 to have a contractor install a pony wall unless you splurge on luxury materials. Doing it yourself will save you several hundred dollars if you‘re reasonably handy.
Design Tips and Placement
Now let‘s get into some pony wall design tips. Proper placement and integration are key to making it work with your overall bathroom layout.
- Integrate pony wall materials into the overall shower design scheme
- Make sure sightlines align with the rest of the bathroom
- Use the pony wall to create useful recessed shelving or niches
- Extend the pony wall past the shower area to zone off the whole bathroom
- Curve or angle the pony wall for more dynamic shapes and lines
- Place pony walls at the shower entry to contain water at the source
- Use symmetrical pony walls on either side of a centered showerhead
- Add glass above the pony wall to enclose while maintaining light
Here are a few bathroom pony wall designs I‘ve worked on recently to give you some visual ideas:
Make sure to think about how a pony wall will impact the overall feel of your bathroom during the design process. The placement really affects the flow of the space.
Comparison to Full-Height Shower Walls
While we‘ve focused on pony walls, comparing them to full-height walls is useful to consider:
Full-Height Shower Walls
- Offer complete privacy
- Better moisture and water containment
- Can make space feel closed off
- Limits natural light in shower
Pony Walls
- Allow light and air flow
- Partial visual separation from rest of bathroom
- Help contain most moisture and spray
- Less feeling of being fully enclosed
Pony and full-height walls both have their perks. Pick based on your own priorities and style. For total privacy, full walls are best. To maintain an open feel, pony walls are great.
You can also combine heights in different parts of the shower. A higher wall by the shower head helps contain water, while a lower pony wall elsewhere adds style. Get creative!
Impact on Bathroom Feel and Style
Beyond just the shower, the pony wall affects the overall bath aesthetic. Here are some style ideas:
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Contemporary Bathrooms: Pony walls create modern clean lines and visual interest. They work well with frameless showers.
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Spa Bathrooms: The partial openness creates an airy, relaxing spa vibe. Pony walls near a freestanding tub zone off spaces.
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Industrial Bathrooms: Metal or wood slat pony walls complement the industrial warehouse aesthetic.
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Traditional Bathrooms: Tiled pony walls with classic patterns suit traditional baths but maintain some openness.
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Small Bathrooms: Pony walls separate spaces without overwhelming. Add recessed shelves in the pony wall to maximize storage.
Make sure to choose a pony wall style that enhances your existing bathroom features and theme. For example, opt for white shiplap wood if you have cottage-style accents and antique lighting fixtures. Or try concrete and metal materials for an urban loft look.
Tips for Integrating a Pony Wall into Your Shower Design
Here are my top specific tips for visually integrating your pony wall:
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Pick pony wall materials that complement your overall bathroom style – keep a cohesive visual flow. Contrasting textures can look disjointed.
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The pony wall height should balance out – not too towering or too short based on the shower size. Scale it appropriately.
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Consider frosted glass panels above the pony wall to let light in while obscuring views. This maintains privacy.
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Incorporate the pony wall shape into the framing and finish out the rest of the wall similarly. Making it look like one uniform wall avoids an obvious tacked-on look.
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Use lighting and plumbing fixtures symmetrically to draw the eye. Centered lighting on the pony wall creates appealing repetition.
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Extend tile patterns, wall paint, or other finishes seamlessly from the pony wall to adjacent surfaces. Continuing visual elements makes the whole room flow.
Proper placement and integration of your pony wall into the rest of the bathroom design is key to pulling off a stylish, cohesive look. Take the time to plan it out.
Stylish Bathroom Examples With Pony Walls
To spark some inspiration for your own space, here are a few examples of bathrooms with beautifully designed pony walls:
Contemporary Spa Bathroom
This sleek bathroom uses two matching green tile pony walls on either side of a frameless shower. They bring in color while giving partial separation from the neutral palette. The contemporary spa vibe is strong!
Rustic Farmhouse Bathroom
A classic white shiplap pony wall provides rustic texture within the walk-in shower. It contrasts nicely with the wood tone floors. The Pony wall matches the farmhouse feel.
Modern Industrial Bathroom
The concrete-look pony wall and jutting wood shelves give urban edge to this space. Metallic finishes on the fixtures and floors complement the industrial pony wall vibe.
Traditional Tiled Bathroom
Intricate diagonal mosaic tile on the pony wall matches the old world style of the decorative floor tile and patina mirror frame in this traditional bath.
Browse online or look in bath design magazines to get more pony wall inspiration that fits your personal style.
Alternatives to Pony Walls for Shower Design
While pony walls offer great design potential, they aren‘t the only option of course. Here are a few other ways to add separation or style if a pony wall isn‘t appealing:
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Textured or Patterned Tile: Add visual interest while containing the shower area with artful tile layouts.
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Glass Block Walls: Glass blocks let light in while obscuring views and separating the shower.
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Framed or Frameless Glass: Full-height glass enclosure maintains light and a feeling of openness.
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Shower Curtain: A stylish shower curtain can provide privacy and a decorative focal point.
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Freestanding Tub: Placing a freestanding soaking tub adjacent to the shower zone creates an implied barrier.
Lots of design options beyond pony walls exist. Mix and match methods of adding style, separation, and privacy throughout your bathroom.
Conclusion
I hope this guide gave you a great overview of how pony walls work and how to use them effectively to enhance your shower and bathroom! The key is choosing the right height, materials, placement, and integration to match your overall vision.
Pony walls provide such a cool way to include privacy and separation without sacrificing natural light. With the right layout, materials, and style coordination, they can really boost the look and function of your bathroom.
Let me know if you have any other pony wall questions! I‘m always happy to help with bath design ideas.
