My DIY Outdoor Shower Cost $1,000 and Makes Me Feel Like a Million Bucks—Year-Round

Setting aside matters of taste, there are things in this life that are beyond reach: I’ll never own a superyacht, say, or a collection of cashmere Loro Piana sweaters, fastidiously folded and laid side-by-side in a cavernous mahogany walk-in with alcove lighting. But there are a few luxuries we little people can afford, if we really want them: Good ice cubes, fresh flowers around the house, and, at the upper limits of unadulterated opulence, an outdoor shower.

The times I’ve showered en plein air, whether at vacation rentals or friends’ homes, were surprisingly freeing, à la the skinny dip; when your bathing experiences for the past 20 years have been in cave-like settings that no amount of eucalyptus boughs or candles can remedy, sudsing up outdoors is an epiphany. Without exaggeration, if you’ve never bathed exposed to the elements, a little sun, perhaps a breeze, and a rainfall showerhead is la dolce vita, people.

Early this summer my wife and I moved into a small standalone in Central California with two beds, one bath, and another artificially lit shower. One day I looked out our bedroom’s glass-paned door that opens into the sun-dappled backyard and decided a new fate for ourselves—we could be some of the lucky ones. 

You might never be able to spend recklessly on lids of caviar for the homies, or own an Italian villa where you’re free to fritter away an inheritance making bad paintings, but I’m here to tell you that luxury, however you want to define it, is within reach. If you have a yard with at least a little privacy, with a few days’ work and $1,000—less, if you want—you, too, can install an outdoor shower that will pay lifestyle dividends that far exceed your tax bracket.

Finding the Spot

In planning where to put the shower, I was pacing around our backyard, stopping, looking up at the sun, scoping sight lines to neighbors. I would also just sit and stare out our dining room windows, trying to visualize where a shower might figure into our yard. I must have looked like a mad person. Ultimately, placement came down to three factors: privacy, good light, and access to a water hookup. The best spot ended up being against a hedgerow close to our bedroom, where there was a spigot, and our neighbors’ sight lines would be blocked.