Elegance usually comes with a steep price. Great bathroom tile showers are no exception.

Sure, they are gorgeous, the shower equivalent of a 24-karat gold wedding ring, an Academy Award statue or a Super Bowl championship ring. But one of the most expensive parts of any bathroom remodel, bathroom tile showers can obliterate a redesign’s budget, leading many renovators to shy away from them. Labor alone, Kitchen Cabinets Kinds.com reports, can cost about 50 percent of the entire budget. Because installing a tile shower is a custom, built-from-scratch, time-heavy project, it carries a hefty price tag. Measurements have to be customized to measure up with your bathroom. The project requires in-depth consultation with your contractor.

Fixr.com pegs the national average cost of a ceramic tile shower at $2,620. Tiling shower or bathroom walls run $7 to $25 per square foot, while installing a tile backsplash costs between $23 and $35 per square foot.

Are tile showers worth the investment? The National Kitchen and Bath Association recommends you budget at least 20% for installation costs. HomeAdvisor cautions labor can run 65 percent of the total cost. Quality labor and budget management is essential for tile shower design and installation. For even a midsize tile shower project, you may need a general contractor, plumber, electrician and a drywall installer.

But if done right, tile showers can enhance your bathroom’s comfort level, beauty and value exponentially. As Bathroom Pros notes, “upgrading your bathtub or shower will instantly make your bathroom appear brighter, cleaner and more inviting.” Tile showers are eco-friendly with 40 to 60 percent recycled content and are proven to increase a home’s real estate value.

And the variety of stylish looks a new tile shower can bring to your bathroom are endless.

“The principal advantage of a tiled shower is that it allows for more creativity since there are thousands of different colors, patterns, and sizes available in ceramic and porcelain tiles,” The Spruce’s Lee Wallender writes.

Here are some of the most stunning tile shower looks available:

• Waterproof Wood-Like Porcelain Tile: A natural beautiful look that can withstand high-moisture environments without swelling or warping
• Whimsical Wave Tile: An ultra-sleek way, Bob Vila.com describes “to mimic the look of ripples of water flowing across your shower even when your faucet is off.”
• Woven Comfort Tile: A special, unique look in the design of a woven pattern.
• Glam Graphics: They will wake up the groggiest of guests. Snowflake patterns are especially stylish.
• The Minimalist Approach: For the time-crunched redesigner, retrofitting one region of the shower with a single band of bold tile – like Glacier Mountain – can be a time and budget supersaver.
• Marvelous Marble: While you are throwing out the shower curtain, throw in the marble. White marble tiles can make even the most cramped bathroom look larger than its footprint. Plus, marble has a distinct cool all its own.
• Color Crazy: For the bold-minded designer, vibrant, loud colors like green can energize any shower space.
• Extended Elegance: Floweresque shower designs can bring a tile shower to radiant, warm life.
• Go Glass: Glass shower doors emphasize the color and mood of tile textures.

If your bathroom remodel’s budget and room size can accommodate them, tile showers, as KCK notes, “can be worth it for the elegance that (they) bring to the bathroom.”

For tile showers, as Bob Vila.com notes, add a “new dimension” to bathrooms.