Plein Air : The Outdoor Shower

It took me quite some time to realize that having an outdoor shower was not a common thing for most people, and was, in fact, largely relegated to beach communities, being designed to allow people to rinse the sand off before entering the house. In some communities, public showers are available near the beach for people to rinse themselves off, but they aren’t meant for real bathing, but simply as a way to rinse off. At many private homes, outdoor showers are quite common, both as a way to keep sand out of the house, but as a way to allow many people to shower throughout a day without making a mess of the bathroom.

When you have just come from the beach, and you are sweaty, sticky from sunscreen, skin taught from the salt water and the sun, being able to strip down and let water flow over you in the open air is quite something.

We built our shower a decade or so ago, as part of a smaller deck. When we reimagined the backyard, we extended the deck around the back of the house, and incorporated the shower. It’s quite large, features louvered walls, and is open at the bottom and the top, allowing maximum air flow. Some units you will find are covered, presumably for privacy from the prying eyes of upstairs neighbors, but it’s a bit like showering in a cave.

Other than a few hooks for towels and clothes, and a small shelf for soap and shampoo, it’s extremely basic.

When our kids were young, Uppie forbade anyone from showering indoors from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the traditional summer months at the Jersey shore. I was the lone exception since I woke early and commuted to an office an hour away. She had a similar ban on socks during the summer, but that’s a different story. It’s probably no mystery than that each of our three children each have an outdoor shower at their home. 

Today, it is our grandchildren who have discovered the joys of the outdoor shower, often filling a large pail or unused planter with water and indulging in the joys of a bath combined with a shower, the sun still shining and hours before bedtime. They are quite enamored with this aspect of visiting our house after the beach.