Guide to Bathroom Design: Styles, Materials, and Remodeling Ideas
A well-planned bathroom design is something you’ll benefit from many times every day. Get the layout wrong, and you may suffer from a cramped vanity, harsh lighting, or a shower that feels too tight. With a good bathroom plan, you don’t have to think about it, and it just naturally feels inviting and relaxing. This guide covers all of the details and options that decide how yours turns out. You’ll find guides detailing useful tips for the walls, shower, tile, tub, vanity, and lighting. Plus, you’ll see link to the remodel ideas that actually pay off in the long run.
Bathroom design essentials
These popular bathroom design guides cover the walls, shower, and the high-impact decisions that people ask about most.

Upload a photo and get instant before-and-after room designs.
No design experience needed — join 2.39 million+ happy users.
👉 Try the AI design tool now
Â
- Bathroom accent wall ideas. Picking the wall to do the heavy lifting
- Fully tiled bathroom walls. Going floor-to-ceiling with tile
- Shiplap bathroom ideas. Shiplap as the warm, dry alternative to tile
- Curbless shower. The flush, modern shower opening
Bathroom design ideas across styles
These galleries offer broad design inspiration you can use before drilling into any specifics. Use these to find the style direction you want before you commit to colors and materials.
- Bathroom design ideas. The full mix of bathroom inspiration
- Bathroom design ideas (part 2). More bathroom designs
- Bathroom design ideas (part 3). Even more bathroom inspiration
- Bathroom styles. The major bathroom styles, sorted
- Best bathroom designs. Standout bathroom designs worth studying
- Black and white bathroom design ideas. The classic high-contrast bathroom
- Gray bathroom ideas. Gray as the bathroom base
- White bathroom design ideas. All-white bathrooms, done right
- Carrara marble bathroom designs. The marble that anchors the whole room
Bathroom style themes
These style-specific bathroom designs help you pick the style you love, so all of your decisions get easier.
- Modern bathroom design ideas. Modern bathrooms across finishes
- Minimalist bathroom designs. Less, but better
- Luxury bathroom designs. High-end bathrooms and what makes them work
- Spa bathroom design. Spa-feel bathrooms for the home
- Craftsman style bathroom design. Craftsman in the bathroom
- Scandinavian style bathrooms. Scandi minimalism, applied to the bath
Bathroom walls, wainscoting, and accent designs
The wall is the biggest visual surface in the room, so it’s important to know your available options.
- Bathroom wainscoting ideas. Wainscoting as the lower-wall move
Bathroom floor and tile designs
These are the tile patterns and floor designs that set the room’s tone.
- Bathroom floor tile ideas. Floor tile patterns across styles
- Black tile bathroom floor ideas. Going dark on the floor
- Floor-to-ceiling bathroom tile ideas. Wrapping the whole bath in tile
Shower designs
The shower is the bathroom’s biggest design decision you can make. See details on walk-in, curbless, doorless, and the individual configurations that fit each type.
- Walk-in shower designs. Walk-in shower configurations and styles
- Custom shower ideas. Bespoke shower designs
- Double shower ideas. His-and-hers and dual-head showers
- Wet room bathrooms. The fully tanked bath, no separation
- Steam shower. Adding steam to the shower
- Marble shower design. Marble as the shower wall
- Slate shower designs. Slate in the shower
- Farmhouse shower tile ideas. Shower tile that reads farmhouse
Shower tile patterns and finishes
The tile pattern inside the shower changes the whole look and feel.
- Glass tile shower ideas. Glass tile for shine and light
- Mosaic tile shower wall. Mosaic patterns on a shower wall
- Pebble tile shower floor. Pebble floors for texture underfoot
- Penny tile shower. Small round tile, big visual impact
- Waterfall tile shower. Wrapping tile around the corner
- Large format tile shower. Big tile, fewer grout lines
- Travertine shower ideas. Travertine in the shower
Bathtubs and soaking tubs
See the difference between freestanding, clawfoot, soaking, and soaking tubs to find what works best for your home.
- Bathrooms with clawfoot tubs. Designing a room around a clawfoot
- Hot tub privacy wall ideas. Screening the spa tub area
Vanity designs
The vanity is the bathroom’s largest piece of furniture, and the style and configuration you choose will have a significant impact on the design.
- Floating bathroom vanity ideas. Wall-mounted vanities that show the floor
- Bathroom vanity painting before and after. Painting an existing vanity instead of replacing it
Bathroom lighting
The bathroom needs more lighting than most rooms. These cover the main options available to choose from.
- Bathroom lighting ideas. The broader bathroom lighting overview
- Bathroom chandelier ideas. Chandeliers in the bathroom
- Bathroom skylight ideas. Natural light from above
Remodel ideas, paint, and small bathroom design
Get bathroom refresh ideas across different budgets and the small-bath decisions that matter the most.
- Bathroom remodel ideas. Remodel inspiration across scales
- Bathroom remodel ideas on a budget. Doing more with less
- Small bathroom remodel before and after. Real small-bath transformations
- Bathroom remodel software. Tools for planning the remodel
- Painting bathroom cabinets color ideas. Cabinet paint colors for the bath
- Small bathroom ideas. Design moves for tight bathrooms
We add more bathroom design and remodel guides here as they are created. When planning the bathroom reward details, start with the wall or the shower and build out from there.
To showcase highly specific designs, some images on this website use advanced AI-generation software to illustrate ideas and room inspiration. See our editorial policy to learn more.