Hundreds of bathroom ideas, designs, inspiration & pictures from the world's most stylish homes courtesy of the iconic archives of House & Garden magazine

When designing or redecorating a bathroom, there's a lot to take on board. This space should be a sanctuary to relax in, a space apart from the bustle of everyday life. Aesthetically, bathrooms fall into two broad camps: the cleaner, more minimalist modern bathroom, where tiles and glass predominate, and a more traditional, decorated bathroom, that might involve more colour, textiles, and even a bathroom wallpaper (assuming the room is well ventilated.

Once the general feel of the room is determined and the sanitaryware is chosen (in some ways this is the easiest part of the job), the next key issue is bathroom storage. All those toiletries, loo rolls and bath towels need somewhere to live, after all. Make sure you have a capacious bathroom cabinet, and think about the design of your sink and vanity, as this can be a helpful place to add more storage.

 

Sophie Dahl on the bathroom of her dreams

BATHROOM

 

Sophie Dahl on the bathroom of her dreams

Next it's time for the fun decorative stuff. Bathroom tiles are such a delightful thing to pick, and we've seen some brilliant shower designs on the pages of our magazine involving beautifully coloured and patterned tiles. Bathroom lighting is another key consideration - you'll want the option of having fairly strong direct light when you need it, and gentler ambient lighting for relaxing evenings in the tub.

 

And don't forget the flooring, whether it's marble, wood or tile. Don't rule out lino floors for a classic feel or cork if you're going for a sustainable, eco-friendly design.

 

Whatever aesthetic you lean towards, we've gathered all the best bathrooms from the House & Garden archive to help and continuously add fresh design ideas to keep you inspired to create your own personal sanctuary. Whether you're planning a small renovation, total overhaul or simply dreaming of a better bathroom for the future, this is the place to find all the most stylish designs for bathroom ideas.

 

 

 

After sensitively reconfiguring its interior to suit the needs of their family, the owners of this Welsh cottage have furnished it with an appealing mix of homely pieces gathered over the years. Yellow tiles from Mosaic del Sur brighten up the children’s bathroom, which has a salvaged ceramic sink and a glass Crittall-style screen for the wet-room shower.

 

MICHAEL SINCLAIR

 

Interior designer Angelica Squire's Victorian terraced house in London is a youthful, exuberant space that combines smart artworks and fabrics with clever vintage finds and joyful colours. The blind in the bathroom is in a vintage Sanderson pattern Angelica found on Ebay. The Murano glass light was from 1stDibs. The 'Arc' bath taps and the loo are both from C. P. Hart.

 

OWEN GALE

 

A bath from Aston Matthews painted in Little Greene’s ‘Ashes of Roses’ is one of many clever touches of colour in Lonika Chande's house, and contrasts with tongue and groove in ‘Gravel’ eggshell by Dulux. The blind is in ‘Field Poppy’ linen by Robert Kime.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

This colourful house in North Sydney has been very cleverly worked, with the en suite bathroom being an excellent example. The bathroom panelling is painted the same pink as the main living space, while the yellow notes of the floor and towel hark at the bedroom and hallway colour. It ties the whole house together. A fabric curtain under the sink adds to the country house effect.

 

MAREE HOMER

 

A bespoke Carrara marble shower surround and vanity unit contrasts with walls in a dark blue gloss paint in this flat by Beata Heuman. The bathroom – and the flat – is a small space so Beata thought outside the box and found a square-shaped bath to fit the room. Best Tile’s ‘Moroccan Encaustic Cement Pattern 06k’ tiles add decorative detail to the floor.

 

SIMON BROWN

 

Large bathrooms are not the norm for most, but if you do have one, there are so many ways to make it work. A freestanding tub with views across the gardens is the focal point of this house by Susan Deliss, and the shining copper of the tub works well with the colours in the wallpaper.

 

OWEN GALE

 

The stone floor in this bathroom in a London house by Studio Peake has panelling painted in Edward Bulmer's 'Celadon. Soane's 'Scrolling Frond' wallpaper ties the colours together. The mirror was a £10 find from Kempton.

 

ALEXANDER JAMES

 

A serene bathroom in a 17th-century house designed by Rose Uniacke, with panelled walls, wide wooden floorboards, and elegant sconces - bathroom ideas designed to make it feel less clinical and more comfortable.

 

LUCAS ALLEN

 

Woodwork in ‘Leather II’ by Paint & Paper Library balances Le Manach’s ‘Pommes de Pin’ wallpaper in céladon from Pierre Frey, in this bathroom belonging to Rita Konig's County Durham farmhouse. If the compact design appeals to you, we've got plenty more bathroom design ideas for small bathrooms.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

In the bathroom of a flat by Olivia Outred, the walls are painted in ‘Duck Egg’ by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint. All the joinery is by Soane. Mirrors designed by Olivia were crafted by Soane’s cabinet maker. The palette was inspired by curtains in Robert Kime’s ‘Jardinieres’ cotton, which came with the flat. See our gallery of bathroom curtain ideas for more inspiration.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

Pale Arabescata marble has been used for the elegant bath surround and splashback in the ensuite of a Sussex cottage by Beata Heuman. The distinctive coral-themed hanging light is a design by Vaughan. Lighting a bathroom can be tricky, but we've put together a gallery of reliable choices for affordable bathroom lights chosen by interior designers.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

In this Victorian house in London, Maria Speake – House & Garden’s Interior Designer of the Year – has cleverly reorganised the layout and made inventive use of the salvaged materials for which her company Retrouvius is known. An ‘SS41’ Thonet chair covered in jumbo cream corduroy softens the effect of pale reclaimed and new marble in the main bathroom; the ‘Carlton’ double basin unit is from Aston Matthews. With its clean lines and glossy marble, it's one of our favourite modern bathrooms.

 

ROMAIN RICARD

 

In Gabby Deeming's pretty Bloomsbury flat, the bathroom blind picks up the colours of the ‘Sweet Pea’ wallpaper by Cole & Son. Gabby made the blind from a cotton lungi bought in Sri Lanka for less than £1. It's also a beautiful example of how to use wallpaper in a bathroom; for more ideas see our gallery of bathroom wallpapers.

 

 

The vertical lines of the panelling in this Welsh farmhouse by Hackett Holland add height to the small, awkwardly shaped bathroom, while the window gives bathers a view of the sky. A sink curtain emphasises the country feel of the scheme and hides any unsightly pipes. Aiming to replicate this kind of feel? Take a look at our gallery of country bathrooms.

 

SIMON UPTON

 

The main bathroom in this Californian newbuild with interiors by David Bentheim has a rolltop bath from Waterworks and blinds in a soft white linen by O Ecotextiles. Herringbone tiles are arranged so as to form stripes of colour - white and mustard and grey. We've got plenty more ideas for bathroom tiles if you're planning a renovation.

 

NGOC MINH NGO

 

The bathroom in the home of artist Sarah Graham is furnished with an Italian vellum screen from Rose Uniacke, a side table from James Graham-Stewart and a rug from Shahbaz Afridi.

 

GREG FUNNELL

 

A set of botanical prints from James Graham-Stewart adds a touch of life to this bathroom in a Manhattan townhouse designed by Hugh Leslie. Hugh sourced the heavily striated marble in this one from an Italian quarry and designed the drawer unit, which is in cherry wood, cracked lacquer and nickel.

 

LUCAS ALLEN

 

White walls, wooden floors, and a gorgeous freestanding bath make this bathroom in an Edwardian villa designed by William Smalley an appealing space. The original Edwardian bedroom chimneypiece has been retained.

 

ALEXANDER JAMES

 

The vintage bath in Guy Tobin's London house was reclaimed from Chelsea Manor Studios, where the cover for The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album was shot. Farrow & Ball’s fiery orange ‘Charlotte’s Locks’ adds a new dimension to the bath, with a a 2.5-litre tin of estate eggshell costing £60.

 

MICHAEL SINCLAIR

 

Ashlar Mason supplied the dramatically striated marble for this bathroom, which leads off the vivid cobalt main bedroom in Audrey Carden's London house.

 

 

A cast-iron Aston Matthews ‘Epoca’ bath, its sides painted in Emente’s ‘Orpiment’, provides a colourful contrast with Robert Kime’s ‘Grille Sage’ wallpaper and muted panelling in this bathroom by Ben Pentreath.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

The bathroom in this beautiful Sri Lankan house is painted a soft jade green. Eggshell paint is not available locally, so a matting agent was added to Dulux Master Palette ‘Hillside View’ gloss paint for the window frames and doors

 

JAMES FENNELL

 

Popham Design supplied the floor tiles in Sarah Vanrenen's home. Sarah topped a walnut commode with marble to create a basin unit.

 

TIM BEDDOW

 

Paint & Paper Library’s ‘Squid Ink’ paint was used on the Aston Matthews roll-top bath of Robin Muir's Cotswolds house, beside panelling in ‘Salvador’ oil eggshell by the same company. A painting by Doris Hatt from Denys Wilcox stands out against Robert Kime’s ‘Sunburst’ wallpaper in green. The curtains are in ‘Sari’ linen by Raoul Textiles and the stool is from Paul Dunn Antiques.

 

 

The en-suite bathroom in Tara Craig's tiny London flat has Balineum wall tiles and brass fittings from Catchpole & Rye. The pink and blue colour scheme runs throughout the flat and so the bathroom is in keeping with the rest of the space. It is accessed via a jib door covered in the same Marialida’s ‘Urbino’ cotton in azzurro/antique white from Tissus d’Hélène as the rest of the bedroom.

 

DAVIDE LOVATTI

 

In a 19th century house decorated by Nicola Harding, Farrow & Ball’s ‘Setting Plaster’ paint picks up on pink tiles by Emery & Cie in the bathroom. Howe’s ‘Mark Chair’ is covered in green towelling fabric.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

The bathroom at a divine Provençal house by Andrzej Zarzycki is clad in woods of various warm tones, including oak by the vanity area, fumed oak on the floors and oiled teak on the William Garvey bath. The chair was bought at the Marché aux Puces in Paris.

 

RICHARD POWERS

 

Salvaged wooden doors or screens can be a good alternative to the standard glass shower screen or curtain. Here, a pair of Chinese screens act as shower doors. Glass has been placed behind them to protect them from the water. Try Lassco for salvaged doors.

 

WILLIAM ABRANNOWICZ

 

Annabel Elliot chose Farrow & Ball ‘Cooking Apple Green’ paint for the bathroom of Prince Charles’s sixteenth-century house in Cornwall, which overlooks the Fowey Valley.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

A twin washstand designed by Rose Uniacke stands in the main bathroom of an airy Kensington flat. The walls are covered with tadelakt plaster, while the walk-in shower has a projecting marble base.

 

SIMON BROWN

 

A vanity unit with an eye-catching skirt made from Beata Heuman’s cotton-mix ‘Marbleized Velvet’, white honed marble surfaces, pink walls and shell-style wall lights have been combined in this loo by the designer to create a decorated and feminine feel.

 

 

Add drama to a room with inky blue colours. Background scenery from a Victorian photography studio hangs in this bathroom by designer Max Rollitt. The blue Senneh rug came from Edward Marnier, a Dorset-based dealer, who sells beautiful yet affordable old and antique rugs (from around £375 for similar).

 

MEL YATES

 

The bath and sink in this eighteenth-century house in Bath are both vintage and the rag rug is from Sweden. The industrial wall lights are from Felix Lighting Specialists. Nicola chose Paint & Paper Library's ‘Deep Water Green’ in an oil eggshell finish to give the vintage bath a new lease of life (£68 for 2.5 litres).

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

Sandberg’s leafy ‘Raphaël’ wallpaper offers a charming backdrop for antique prints and a salvaged oak washstand in this bathroom designed by antiques dealer Jack Laver Brister. Bear in mind that if you are using wallpaper, the space will need to be well ventilated.

 

 

Maria Speake of Retrouvius has created bright borders of blue and green zellige tiles from Emery & Cie either side of a central Iznik-style panel in this striking bathroom. The symmetrical arrangement of the tiles is visually pleasing and frames the bath, which has a plain, reclaimed iroko-wood surround and simple unpolished brass fittings.

 

 

In the bathroom of this classic Manhattan house designed by Rita Konig, walls painted with faux panelling conceal storage and add to the country theme found throughout the house.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

Jonathan Tuckey has used a panel of apple-green zellige tiles to enliven white and chrome sanitaryware from Edwins, set against tongue-and-groove boarding. Two green pendant lights – Hector Finch’s ‘Lucia L Bracket Wall Light’ is similar – complete the look.

 

 

The walls in this eighteenth-century house in Bath, painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Railings’, match the Emery & Cie cement floor tiles. Designer Nicola Harding bought the vintage bath in one of the bathrooms on Ebay. To get the look without having to trawl online, try Heritage Bathrooms’ similar ‘Porto Santo Bateau’ cast iron double-ended bath, which you can paint in the colour of your choice. It measures 67.5 x 170 x 68cm and costs £1,595, including the chrome feet.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

In Edward Bulmer's Herefordshire house, the bathroom features pink 'Cuisse de Nymphe Emue' paint from Edward's range, which provides a backdrop for black and white artworks.

 

LUCAS ALLEN

 

Two mirrors by William Emmerson from Ralph Pucci hang above the double sinks in this monochrome bathroom from a Shalini-Misra-designed London house.

 

MICHAEL SINCLAIR

 

The curved wall that separates the bedroom from the bathroom in Julia Barnard's Somerset cottage was inspired by a window with a curved reveal. The bath was salvaged from Julia’s daughter’s flat in London and re-enamelled in Lancashire.

 

SIMON BROWN

 

The family bathroom of restaurant owner Keith McNally's Notting Hill home is lined with tongue-and-groove panelling. The delicately tinted areas of the map are subtly echoed by the pastel colour scheme in the main bedroom. Map specialist Jonathan Potter is a treasure trove for antique maps, charts and atlases. A similar example recording the eight routes of the European crusades, measures 48 x 40cm and costs £380.

 

SIMON UPTON

 

Textiles dealer Susan Deliss lives in a beautiful eighteenth-century country house deep in the heart of Burgundy. Her bathroom is painted a pretty pale blue. This soothing colour works well in a bathroom - the antique tiles and oriental rug add warmth.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

Interior designer Suzy Hoodless worked with the owners of this west-London town house to create a glamorous effect, using mid-century pieces and a dark colour palette that occasionally breaks in to splashes of brightness. In this bathroom petrol blue tiles have been paired with bright yellow rugs for a surprisingly graphic look.

 

SHARYN CAIRNS

 

A freestanding bathtub and chintzy wallpaper in the bathroom of Atelier Vime's eighteenth-century hôtel particulier, Hotel Drujon, decorated by our Acting Decoration Editor Ruth Sleightholme for a scheme in House & Garden's August 2017 issue. Ruth decorated with French textiles, antiques, twentieth-century pieces and rustic Provençal pottery, within the atmospheric setting.

 

WALLS Wall in 'Petit Parc' (rose), cotton/linen, £247.20 a metre, from Pierre Frey. Similar metal wall light, £324, from W Sitch; with raffia lampshades, by Audoux-Minet, ¤300 each, from Atelier Vime. FURNITURE Similar copper bath, from £8,050, from The Water Monopoly. Side table, as before. ACCESSORIES Antique brass bath bridge with copper soap trays, from £950, from The Water Monopoly. 'Ambre' bath and shower gel, by Côté Bastide, £24, from Cologne & Cotton. Oak and tampico-fibre nail brush, £9.75, from Balineum. Soap, as before. Forties metal candlestick, £490, from Quindry.

 

ANDREW MONTGOMERY

 

With a characteristic respect for the fabric of this eighteenth-century house in Bath, designer Patrick Williams has carefully transformed it into a welcoming home and B&B. During the restoration the owners enriched the house with all sorts of additions that look as though they have always been there - a corner cupboard on a landing or pilasters in the family bathroom, for instance. When the project started, Patrick spoke to several reclamation yards asking them to put aside any suitable elements for a Georgian house. He also trawled Ebay. Jig Baths offers a similar round tub to the one used here.

 

MICHAEL SINCLAIR

 

The artist owners of this London house called on interior designer Beata Heuman to create a family home full of fun, distinctive design and punchy colours. A highly original space, unapologetically theatrical and oozing energy. 'The owners are both artists. They have quite wild tastes and they love strong colours,' says Beata. An en suite bathroom is painted in an emerald green with black border.

 

RACHEL WHITING

 

Pink walls the colour of setting plaster, contrast with deep pink curtains in the bathroom of Henrietta Courtauld of The Land Gardeners'. Her London house, redesigned by architect Maria Speake of Retrouvius, features reclaimed marble running up to dado height, and finished with a band of antique bevelled mirror for a touch of sparkle. The clawfoot bath, positioned next to the window is a deep aubergine purple.

 

ELSA YOUNG

 

A butler sink is an unusual choice for a bathroom, but it works beautifully with the wooden surround here. The brass taps are original to the house at Carskiey in Scotland. For similar, try Catchpole & Rye's 'English Basin Pillar Tap' in aged brass (from £300 a tap).

 

DAVIDE LOVATTI

 

The owners of this London house called on interior designer Beata Heuman to create a family home full of fun, distinctive design and punchy colours. A highly original space, unapologetically theatrical and oozing energy. 'The owners are both artists. They have quite wild tastes and they love strong colours,' says Beata. The opulent, free-standing bath was copied from a Twenties design that Beata spotted in an old magazine. 'It was quite difficult to work out how to make it. Fortunately, we had a very good joiner and we discovered a specialist timber from the Netherlands that is used in boat building and can be submerged in water for 10 years without any ill effect.'

 

RACHEL WHITING

 

'If you don't have good storage, your life is a mess. It is expensive, and people don't like to put it into their budgets, but it's crucial,' says Rita. When asked how she did it all in her own London flat, she reels off a long list, which includes losing 12cm off the length of the sitting area to make room for the full-length bath in the bathroom.

 

Playing on the lack of natural light in the bathroom, Rita had the bath area covered in horizontal and vertical boards, painted in a high-gloss 'Deep Brunswick Green' from Papers and Paints.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

This Georgian house, once inhabited by Huguenot silk weavers, has been carefully restored by architect Chris Dyson. In the bathroom a slipper bath stands on a Carrara-marble plinth.

 

 

A small bathroom with panelled walls in the home of designer Robert Moore has a feeling of warm, understated glamour.

 

 

Shunning our throwaway culture, interior designer Patrick Williams, of Berdoulat Design used salvaged finds and traditional techniques to imaginatively restore his Victorian flat in east London in a sympathetic manner. Around the bathroom walls, above matchboard panelling, runs a narrow shelf made from oak from a table his parents had when he was a child. A bigger piece forms the loo seat. The old bath was bought for £80, and the Victorian taps were reconditioned and de-chromed, as was the shower-curtain rail and waste pipe. The basin is from Labour and Wait - Patrick got a deal on it as it was chipped; for him this is welcome patina.

 

 

Rather than opting for white bathroom walls, stronger neutrals like this putty colour used by Ilse Crawford in Stockholm's Ett Hem Hotel, offer a kind of modern glamour when combined with gold and glass, that is undeniably warm and inviting.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

Interior designer Hugh Leslie transformed this west London terrace house for his clients into a smart family home. Behind the glamorous main bedroom is this simple panelled en-suite bathroom with hand-built units. The walk-in shower, lined in teak, was designed by Hugh and feels a bit like entering a first-class compartment on a vintage train.

 

SIMON BROWN

Country Bathroom with Clawfoot Bathtub | Bathroom Ideas

COUNTRY BATHROOM WITH CLAWFOOT BATHTUB | BATHROOM IDEAS

Framed pictures and comforting signs of wear give the main bathroom in Harriet Anstruther's farmhouse a lived-in feel, while a jar of flowers freshens the room.

 

NGOC MINH MGO

 

On the second floor of Clare and Mark's Georgian house, the bathroom features a whole wall of églomisé mirrored glass, which Clare produces and restores for designers and private clients. The room is furnished with an antique dressing table and a small sofa bought at a flea market, covered in a fabric from Claremont.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

If you have the space, opting for free-standing storage allows you to use furniture not specifically designed for the bathroom. Here, Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay has chosen a glass-fronted wooden cabinet, which, teamed with an antique rug, creates an unstructured aesthetic.

 

 

This bathroom is within a Medieval manor house on the Nyetimber Estate. The vanity top was handcarved by Belgian designer Joris Van Apers from a block of Belgian blue stone. The rest of the room has been kept very simple and functional - wooden shutters fold over diamond glazed windows.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

After visiting her friend Kathryn Ireland in France's Tarn region, Anne Halsey bought a French farmhouse retreat there and set about creating a relaxed space perfect for entertaining. A free-standing red bath occipies one of the bedrooms - the vibrant red matches the more delicate Kathryn M Ireland fabric 'Toile' which was used for the curtains, headboard and footboard. This bath is of course also perfect for making a bold colour statement in the bathroom.

 

TIM BEDDOW

 

This owners of this eighteenth-century country house in Dorset enjoy the luxury of their own bathtubs, vanities and mirrors. The vanities are in fact Regency chests of drawers that have been updated with basins and marble tops - ask a local carpenter if you are keen to recreate the look.

 

The claw-foot tub, comfortable seating and floral blind complete the English country house-style scheme. Like the chair? Try George Smith's 'Buttoned Bedroom Chair', from £2,501.

 

SIMON UPTON

 

Known for their restoration of historic buildings in Scotland, conservation architects Nick Groves-Raines and Kristin Hannesdottir relished the challenge of saving Lamb's House in Leith, where they now live and work. A reclaimed, re-enamelled bath was added in the bathroom.

 

DAVIDE LOVATTI

 

This green panelled bathroom with a rug makes for a cosy space with a country feel. Two inset windows allow light into the room, while white details contrast with the colourful walls. See our green paint ideas for more inspiration of this kind.

 

Near the site of a Sussex country house demolished in 1911, Richard Taylor and Rick Englert have built a Jacobean-style manor at Whithurst Park. It took a year to get planning permission and two more to build. The result is certainly striking and bears some of the signatures of the prodigy houses built in the era that its design evokes, such as Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire and Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. But as Kit explains, 'It was the site itself and essence of Sussexness that made me design it as I did.'

 

ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL

 

The master bathroom is the pièce de résistance in this grand London house designed by Maddux Creative. Inspired by Le Meurice hotel in Paris, it is a lavish marriage of unlacquered brass and Arabescato marble, with his and hers bowl basins and cut-glass hanging lights.

 

MICHAEL SINCLAIR

 

The upstairs bathroom in Sarah Stewart-Smith's Herefordshire cottage is made of oak, with white rubber flooring and huge exposed copper pipes, which give a good heat output and masses of towel space.

 

PAUL MASSEY

 

The main bathroom adjoins the master bedroom in Vanessa Macdonald's Oxfordshire home. A freestanding bath and hardwood floors make the bathroom unique and elegant as a room in its own right.

 

SIMON BROWN