14 Practical And Stylish Bathroom Design Ideas

Are you looking for some bathroom remodel ideas for your next renovation? Great! But we know that as much as you would like to put design aesthetics first, practicality is tremendously important. So take a look at some bathroom ideas you can discuss with your local contractor.

1. Build For Two

You can have a double vanity sink that allows two parties to use the bathroom for daily hygiene tasks while still having privacy for the shower and toilet. But with couples, you can also design your shower to accommodate the washing of two parties.

A bathroom for two is not among the list of practical small bathroom ideas. But if you have the space or are designing a bathroom as a part of a room addition, you can add a lot of functionality to a bathroom by building it for two.

2. Tile Over Laminate 

Tiles are definitely an aesthetic choice, but due to their higher cost (compared to laminates), they are perceived as exclusively a luxury item. However, there is a lot to be said about them practically in terms of both durability, stain resistance, and water tightness. Making it one of the bathroom remodel ideas most worth considering.

Whether or not to use tiles is one of the forest questions most people ask during the planning stages of bathroom remodeling. It just adds so much richness to the space visually. And the feel is more preferable to most when weighed against the plastic texture of laminate. Among the most basic bathroom ideas, it opens you up to many customization options.

3. Proper Window Installation 

A window offers both natural light, ventilation, and a practical way to break up the flat texture and bland design of a wall. You just need to be thoughtful about the placement of the window, so you are not giving up any privacy to have this additional (sometimes necessary) design feature.

For practical purposes, you should not put your window too out of the way because it will reduce the ease of use by not being able to open it easily. Too small of a window will not provide much light. This is a balancing act, which has to take into account your goals and the location of the room on the property.

4. Bathtub Space

There are so many bathroom ideas that involve stylishly lavish and ornamental bathtubs. Just be aware that bathtubs can take up quite a bit of space. A freestanding tub takes up the most space because it is not flush against a wall. But a tub has to be long.

The length of a tub has to accommodate the average size of a supine human adult. For small bathroom ideas, you probably want to go with a shower rather than a tub so you can keep as much available floor space as possible.

5. Safe Showers

When most people consider bathroom remodel ideas, they are often concerned with the look and feel of the space. Those who are thinking about practicality (like you) still rarely consider that the bathroom is where the vast majority of household injuries happen. Mainly due to the shower.

Falling in the shower is often thought to be something that happens to the elderly, but decreased traction from wet porcelain, tile, stone, or laminate flooring can cause professional athletes to lose their balance. When you contact a bathroom renovation contractor, be sure to get some options for stylish grab bars and other eye-pleasing shower safety.

6. Counter Space Utilization

Do you need counter space? As far as small bathroom ideas go, one of your best ways to save space will be to reduce the amount of real estate taken up by countertops and other flat surfaces.

As long as you have space for your sink, wash basin, and storage for hygiene products, that is all you need. Unlike kitchen remodeling, there is not necessarily the need for staging areas. However, some bathroom users rely on the counter space to stage makeup or larger items.

7. Tasteful Molding

Mold in the bathroom is a problem, but in terms of bathroom remodel ideas, molding does an excellent job of stylishly breaking up a flat and bland wall. Rather than handing a picture or using dangling ornaments that can fall or shift during normal use of the space, let alone during an earthquake.

Molding creates lines and interest on walls that are both classic and timeless. There are many ways to approach the patterns and create levels of intricacy with molding. The most common is to create a single demarcation line for a two-tone wall. Adding a bit of color to accent the molding is one of the tried and true aesthetic bathroom ideas.

8. Doors

With so many years of building dream homes, we have found that many people don’t consider interior doors if they are looking for bathroom remodel ideas. This is most likely a result of bathroom renovation photography, which wants to show off what it is like to look into the space.

But while you are using the space, you will constantly be confronted with a closed door. So make sure you have a color, style, and lock hardware that you love. On a practical level, you want a privacy lock and a hollow core door, but the design is completely open.

9. Dynamic Lighting

A bathroom has to be usable at all hours of the day and might need very bright lighting when you are preparing to leave the home. But at night, you might wish for a softer light that is not going to shake up your circadian rhythms and prevent you from getting a good night of sleep.

You can design your lights with dimmer switches or have several switches that activate different settings on a single lighting setup. The reason to do this during the design phase is to have dimmer switches or multiple switches in your material list and light fixture considerations.

10. Sky Lights

One of the more involved bathroom ideas is to add a skylight. It does make some fundamental changes to your roof, but adding a skylight does not require full-on new construction. It can be done as a part of a bathroom renovation.

A window system that can be opened with a skylight pole can get better ventilation as well as natural light. For practical purposes and aesthetics a skylight can really add a lot. Just be aware that you will need to close your skylight for rain and to run any climate control.

11. Ventilation

Having a fan or air flow is very important to consider among your other bathroom ideas. As we have already mentioned, you can use a window or skylight to provide some ventilation. You can also use a fan (which can be controlled by a light switch).

Consider whether you want the fan to provide privacy with sound. Or if you would rather have a more discrete fan that does not draw attention to the fact that it is running. In terms of small bathroom ideas, you might want the fan to be triggered by the light switch, so each use moves new air into the space.

12. Utilizing Ceiling Space

With wall space and floor space being so crucial to preserve for necessities, it is a good idea to put whatever you can above you and out of the way. The most common are overhead lights, but you can also use overhead shower heads.

Just be aware that the farther something is from you, the less accessible it is. It seems like a rather banal statement, but lights are less bright if there is more distance between the bulb and the subject being lit. Overheard showers might be more difficult to manipulate for shorter people and require control units lower to the ground.

13. Inset Shelves

Chances are you have seen inset shelving behind a vanity mirror, but shelving does not always need a cover. Exposed inset shelves achieve a stylish look while also not taking up too much space in the room. The use of inset shelves is often touted as one of the best small bathroom ideas.

A traditional shelf protrudes from the wall by whatever width is needed to hold the objects it is designed for. But this protrusion, even without technically covering the floor like a cabinet, still limits space. If you can limit overhang, then you can actually increase the amount of available floor space.

14. Above The Tank Storage 

One of the locations where you don’t need an inset shelf is over the toilet tank. The toilet comes out so far from the wall that the overhang of shelving actually provides better use of space. Just be sure that your shelving unit does not extend too far over the tank.

There is always the risk that something stored over the bowl can fall in. But by utilizing the lid, you can reduce this vulnerability to about zero. In terms of things falling on you during use, you can use tried and true earthquake securing measures, but it is best not to store anything too heavy.