Shower Baskets

A shower basket gets the shampoo and soap off the floor and the edge of the bath, which is the whole point: less clutter, less to trip over, and somewhere for things to actually drain. Most of the range below is the wall-mounted corner type that fits into the corner of your enclosure, in finishes from chrome and black through to brushed brass, gunmetal and bronze, so it can match your taps and shower valve rather than fight them.

The guide below covers what actually matters: shape, finish, one tier or two, fitting and drainage. If you are kitting out the rest of the shower, the wider shower accessories range picks up where this page stops.

What to look for in a shower basket

A shower basket has one job, keeping your bottles and soap off the floor where they trip you up and breed mould, so the things that matter are the mounting, the finish, how many tiers you need and whether it drains. Most of the baskets here are wall-mounted corner units, which look the tidiest but do mean fixing something to your tiles. Here is how to choose.

Corner, or somewhere else. Corner is the shape most of this range comes in, and for good reason: the corner of a shower enclosure is usually dead space, so a corner basket adds storage without eating into the bit you stand in. The Melbourne Chrome Corner Shower Basket at £39 is a typical example, a space-saving corner design with an open build that drains and dries quickly. If you have a corner going spare, this is the easy default. The exceptions include smaller pieces such as a compact soap basket, and a chrome three-tier shower tidy for anyone who needs more shelves than one corner basket gives them.

Pick the finish to match your shower. This is the decision that makes or breaks the look. Your shower basket sits right next to the shower valve, the riser rail and the taps, so it wants to be the same finish or it sticks out. Chrome is the safe bet: bright, goes with almost any suite, and the Melbourne Chrome is £39. Brushed brass is the warm, on-trend choice if your taps are brass, and the Melbourne Brushed Brass Corner Shower Basket at £50 will sit far better next to a brass valve than chrome would. Bronze is the softer, darker warm metal, and the Melbourne Brushed Bronze Corner Shower Basket at £59 is the one to pair with bronze brassware. Black and gunmetal are the darker, more graphic looks for a black or industrial-style shower.

The watch-out: “brushed brass” is not quite the same shade from one maker to the next, and the same goes for bronze. If you can, buy the basket from the same range or maker as your other shower accessories, so the tone matches rather than nearly matches.

One tier or two. For one person or an en-suite, a single corner basket usually does the job. If it is the family bathroom and everyone has their own shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, get a double. The Eastbrook Matt Black Double Corner Shower Basket at £94.89 is a two-tier, wall-mounted corner basket with a durable, corrosion-resistant finish, which is what you want in a wet enclosure, and it is the pick if you want black and two tiers. At the other end of the scale, the Delta Soap Basket at £23.99 is a compact, space-saving basket for the shower or bath area that lets water drain, and the cheapest of the baskets picked out here.

Wall-mounted usually means drilling. The corner baskets picked out here are all wall-mounted, which is what makes them look built-in rather than perched. On a tiled wall that normally means drilling, and the spot you are drilling is usually the corner of a tiled, wet enclosure, the fiddliest place to put a hole. Check the product page for how your basket fixes, then use a proper tile bit, drill slowly so the tile does not crack, and seal the fixing holes so water cannot track in behind the tile. If you would rather not put holes in your tiles at all, be honest with yourself before you order, because every corner basket picked out here is designed to go on the wall.

Make sure it actually drains. The point of a basket over a solid shelf is that water runs out instead of sitting in the bottom turning your soap to sludge. The Melbourne corner baskets are built with an open design for drainage and quick drying, and the Delta is designed to let water drain too. If you are looking at a flatter, more enclosed tray, check it has drainage holes before you buy, or you will be tipping it out every week.

Quick answers

What is the best shower basket? For most showers, a wall-mounted corner basket in a finish that matches your taps and valve. Corner uses dead space in the enclosure, and matching the finish stops it sticking out. The Melbourne Chrome corner basket at £39 is the easy all-rounder. If you need two tiers for a family bathroom, the Eastbrook Matt Black Double at £94.89 is a two-tier option in matt black. The “best” one mostly comes down to the finish matching the rest of your shower and whether you need one shelf or two.

Do you do a corner shower basket? Yes, corner is most of the range. The corner of a shower enclosure is usually wasted space, so a corner basket adds storage without taking up the space where you stand. The Melbourne corner baskets come in chrome, black, brushed brass, gunmetal and brushed bronze, and the range also has double-corner baskets if you need more storage. Pick the finish to match your shower valve and taps.

What finishes do shower baskets come in? Chrome, black, brushed brass, gunmetal and brushed bronze across the corner range here. Chrome is the easiest to match, and in the Melbourne range it costs less than the warm metals: £39, against £50 for brushed brass and £59 for brushed bronze. Brushed brass and bronze are the warm metals, brass being the brighter and bronze the softer, darker one, both good if your taps are warm-toned rather than chrome. The thing to get right is matching the basket to your existing brassware, so buy from the same range where you can, because one maker’s “brushed brass” is not always another’s.

Is a brass or bronze shower basket a good idea in a wet shower? Yes, as long as it is a basket made for the job. The Melbourne brushed brass and brushed bronze corner baskets are sold as shower storage, with an open design that drains and dries quickly rather than letting water sit. As with any warm-metal finish, wipe it down now and then and skip anything abrasive. If you want the warm look, the Melbourne Brushed Brass at £50 and the Melbourne Brushed Bronze at £59 are the picks.

How do you fit a shower basket without breaking the tiles? Slowly and with the right bit. Wall-mounted corner baskets normally go into tile, so mark your spot, use a tile or diamond drill bit (not a standard masonry bit, which skids and cracks the glaze), drill on a low speed without hammer action, and put a blob of sealant in the hole before you fix so water cannot get behind the tile. Check the product page for the fixing method first, and if drilling a tiled wet wall puts you off entirely, get it fitted by someone who does it every week.

Single or double shower basket: which do I need? A single basket suits one person or an en-suite. Go double if it is the family bathroom and everyone has their own products, so you get two tiers from one basket instead of fitting two singles. The Eastbrook Matt Black Double Corner at £94.89 is a two-tier option, and the Melbourne Chrome corner basket at £39 is a single.