Whether it’s a minor renovation or a blank-slate new build, dreaming up the perfect bathroom for your home can feel like a tall order. As one of the most personal and intimate spaces, the bathroom must strike a balance between cleanliness, comfort, function, and aesthetics. Combine that with the sea of seemingly endless design options out there, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
To help steer the ship, we asked interior designers about the tips, tricks, and trends they turn to as they navigate this process for clients—as well as themselves. Here, some of their best ideas that feel equal parts timeless and modern.
Expand with Edge-to-Edge Mirrors
Jordana Maisie Design Studio
Jordana Maisie, founder of multidisciplinary design studio JMDS, emphasizes the power of mirrors to create the illusion of limitless space. Cladding walls in seamless mirrors helps to reflect natural light, bringing the outdoors in. This design trick enhances the feeling of openness, creating a bathroom that feels expansive, calming, and intimately connected to its environment.
Show Off Your Shower
McQuaide Co.
This vibrant shower moment from McQuaide Co. demonstrates how custom steel shower doors can pair with a pony wall for a timeless, light-filled solution. “I love doing this type of enclosure because it creates a clean and simple separation that doesn’t feel heavy or imposing,” says studio founder Kaitlin McQuaide.
Conceal Clutter With Custom Storage
Richard Powers
Bill Bickford, the founding partner of architecture firm Northworks, emphasizes the importance of thoughtful storage in creating a serene, spa-like retreat. Hidden cabinets, integrated outlets in drawers, and built-in shower niches keep everyday items like mismatched shampoo bottles and clunky toothpaste tubes out of sight, and out of mind.
Add Warmth With Unlacquered Brass
Nicole Dianne Photography
“I love the way that unlacquered brass adds soulful patina to more modern aesthetics,” says Ashley Macuga, principal designer of Collected Interiors. Unlike sleeker finish options, unlacquered brass shows its wear, evolving naturally over time. “It acts as a reminder that too-perfect finishes aren’t made for real living,” she adds.
Rinse Off With a Rain Shower
Bethany Adams Interiors
This fairytale-like primary bathroom comes with a dramatic rain shower at the center of the home’s two-story turret. Designed by Bethany Adams Interiors, the peaceful space uses natural light, plants, and a ceiling-mounted shower head to mimic the soothing feeling of rinsing off in the rain.
Embrace Material Drenching
Italkraft
Diana Viera, managing partner of ITALKRAFT, encourages using the same material across all bathroom surfaces for a sleek and polished look. Known as “material drenching,” this approach allows designers to completely lean into a certain aesthetic, like in this moody powder room.
Mix and Match Different Textures
Jordana Maisie Design Studio
Maisie suggests incorporating textured materials like stone, unfinished wood grain, and brushed metal to create bathrooms that engage more than just the eyes. Introducing tactile elements adds dimension, elevating these rooms from cold, functional spaces to an experience you can see and feel.
Create a Space for Him
Nicole Dianne Photography
When designing her own home, Macuga gave her husband a bathroom he could call his own. “A dramatic visual departure from my more serene bathroom, this dark and moody space radiates a more masculine vibe,” she says. “And in practical terms, not having to share our most personal of spaces was a game changer for our mornings…and our marriage too!”
Take Advantage of Vertical Space
Madeline Harper
In this welcoming primary bath from Daley Home, founder and principal designer Shelby Van Daley used vertical textures like reeded cabinet doors and linear fluted sconces to add dimension. Like high ceilings, these vertical elements can help make a room feel more spacious.
Max Out Your Material
Nate Sheets
This spacious primary bath from KOBEL + CO demonstrates how maximizing on materials can unify a bathroom’s design beyond common practices. In addition to using grey-veined marble on the vanity countertops and backsplashes, the designers also created cohesion with marble mirror surrounds, a shower frame, and a bathmat-like insert outside of the shower.
Warm It Up
Pure Design House
Deana Duffek, principal designer at Pure Design House, believes that modernity doesn’t need to be cold and sterile. By incorporating warm woods and natural limestone into this beachside bathroom, Duffek was able to create a space that leans modern, but is still warm and inviting.
Layer Soothing Earth Tones
Mackenzie Collier Interiors
This stunning bathroom from Mackenzie Collier Interiors uses a mix of earth tones to create a zen experience. The spa-like design comes together using natural materials like a woven basket pendant light and wooden slats, as well as a mix of floor-to-ceiling tile applications in various soothing green hues.
Prioritize Texture Over Color
Ethan Charles Design
Ethan Greenfeld, founder and principal of Ethan Charles Design, prioritizes layering textures in neutral palettes for modern bathrooms. These interesting applications add depth and interest, without overwhelming the space.
Add Artful Carved Stone
Italkraft
“Natural stone is a hallmark of modern bathroom design,” says Viera. By incorporating this material in a sculptural way, like with this elegant carved sink, you add an artful touch to your modern bathroom.
Save Space With a Wet Room
Morgante Wilson Architects
“Wet rooms are a hot trend in bathroom design,” says Renata Buenrostro, director of architectural interiors at Morgante Wilson Architects. Combining the shower and bath in one area can be a creative solution to maximize available square footage, she points out, making even the tightest of bathroom spaces feel bigger.
Incorporate Minimalism
Julie Soefer
Pamela Hope Designs created this refined primary bath for clients who had previously lived in Amsterdam, and incorporated elements of European minimalist design throughout via sleek, wall-mounted fixtures, uniform glazed tiles, and floating cabinetry.
Play With Color and Pattern
McQuaide Co.
“The powder room is the place to make a big splash,” says McQuaide. These smaller bathroom spaces are the perfect opportunity to explore the bolder tones, textures, and patterns that you admire but that may feel overindulgent in larger rooms.
Lean Into Large Format
Native House Photography
Jessica Bandstra, owner and head of design at Dogwood Proper, uses large-format tiles to create sleek, cohesive bathrooms. By extending the tiles seamlessly across walls and floors, she enhances the sense of space and simplifies upkeep—after all, fewer grout lines mean fewer spots for dirt and grime to accumulate.
Frame the View
Lara Swimmer
Transform your bathroom into a serene retreat by incorporating views of the great outdoors. Whether it’s breathtaking ocean vistas—like the ones shown in this minimal bathroom from Coates Design Architects + Interiors—or lush private gardens, these windows, skylights, and glass doors can blur the boundaries between inside and out.
Add a Japanese Soaking Tub
Sinead Hastings Photography
“As homes continue to prioritize wellness in everyday life, Japanese soaking tubs are poised to become an increasingly popular bathroom feature,” says interior designer Rebecca Ward. These tubs provide a deeper soak, while occupying a smaller footprint than most other freestanding options.
