10 Bathroom Design Ideas for Your Custom Home

July 3, 2018

When you get the chance to design every room of your dream home, the possibilities can be overwhelming. You may have an idea of what you want or you may not have a clear finished look in mind. No matter where you are when it comes to designing your dream bathroom, these bathroom design ideas can help you figure it out:

1. Pick a Theme

Deciding on a theme for your bathroom can help you get started. It will also help you narrow down options and figure out how all the other details will fit into the completed bathroom design.

Plus, picking a theme can help you create a cohesive design that also creates a comfortable atmosphere in your bathroom. The right theme and a few other items can help you create the right bathroom design for you and can also help create a welcoming guest bathroom if your custom home design includes one.

Beach

When your bathroom design centers around a beach theme, you can feel like you’re taking a mini-vacation every day. Clean, light, and bright colors paired with a lot of light and neutral tones can help create your bathroom beach paradise.

You can also add in stone, tile, or glass accents to help create a beachy feel. Once you have the big elements locked down, then you can start adding accessories to truly create the beach feel.

Nautical

A nautical theme for your bathroom is similar to a beach theme in that it deals with the beach and the ocean. Oftentimes, nautical bathroom decor has a rustic coastal touch to it. It can also take on a clean, simple look with some oceanic or naval decor elements. 

Dramatic

You can also pick a bathroom design theme that is more conceptual or abstract to help guide your design choices. When you choose a dramatic theme, you know you’ll be making some bold design choices that grab attention and stand out.

Small, contrasting tiles on the walls can create a pattern, make a bold statement, and create a dramatic atmosphere. Large mirrors can become statement pieces. Artfully placed recessed lights can highlight or frame design elements and contribute to the atmosphere of the room.

Elegant

Drama can be elegant and so can simple statement pieces. With a bathroom design concept like “elegant”, you have a lot of freedom in deciding what that means for you. Open walk-in shower units with custom tile can add a sense of luxury and elegance to a bathroom. You can also add fixtures behind-the-scenes, like heated floors, to provide that total sense of elegance and luxury in your bathroom design.

Retro or Vintage

For older souls with a nostalgic taste, a retro or vintage bathroom design theme can help you create the bathroom of your dreams. A claw-foot bathtub adds a luxurious and vintage element to your bathroom. Mirror shapes, lighting fixtures, and faucets can all work together to create the retro feel you’re looking for.

Farmhouse

Farmhouse and modern farmhouse are popular interior design trends and you can use them in your bathroom as well. There are plenty of ways to create a master farmhouse bathroom. Following this theme can give your bathroom a relaxing, clean, and rustic look with a modern twist.

2. Decorate Around a Unique Element

As you plan out what the bathrooms in your custom home will look like, it can be helpful to determine your focal points and go from there. Decorating around a unique element or specific focal point can help you create a nice flow in your bathroom. Plus, it will help you keep things consistent and cohesive. In doing so, everything looks like it belongs together and nothing looks disjointed.

3. Use Glass in Interesting Ways

Glass is a versatile material that opens up a lot of design options for you. Glass countertops can create a modern look and help to illuminate your bathroom. That, paired with mirrors and glass tiles on the walls can create the perfect atmosphere for your bathroom. And, because glass comes in a variety of colors and textures, it can fit in with just about any theme.

4. Put Tile to Work

Another one of the bathroom design ideas for your custom home is to make use of tile. Tile offers versatile and flexible design options. It’s available in glass, ceramic, stone, and a variety of other materials to help you create exactly the look and feel you want. Plus, it’s one of the best bathroom countertops.

Tile can be incorporated into your design in small accents here and there or in large statement pieces. It can also be customized and combined for a unique look. Custom tile can take your walk-in shower to the next level. You can even use it in your flooring to create unique patterns, which is one of the popular flooring trends.

5. Integrate Mirrors Into the Design

A bathroom design centered around mirrors can focus on reflection as a general theme. Or, the bathroom design itself can revolve around the mirrors. This approach generally puts the majority of the room’s focus on the bathroom vanity with the mirror.

And, making mirrors a focal point is one of the home decor tips for using mirrors, which can make it a great approach for your bathroom design. The right mirrors can help you create a bathroom design with a light, clean feel while also providing function. If a lot of your morning prep time is spent at the vanity, this could be the right bathroom design idea for you.

6. Play With Light

Lighting makes a big difference in the atmosphere of any room and that includes your bathroom. A bathroom design that focuses on light might employ skylights, sun tunnels, or windows with a privacy treatment to allow natural light into the room.

It might also include decorative wall sconces and recessed lights paired with mirrors to illuminate and brighten the room. There are a lot of lighting choices available to help you get the look you want while also providing the light you need in your bathroom.

7. Consider the Vanity

When one is included, a vanity is usually one of the big items in a bathroom design. Whether you include a vanity in your bathroom design and the type of vanity that is included, all depends on the look and function you want for a bathroom.

In master bathrooms or bathrooms where multiple people may be getting ready, double vanities or a continuous vanity are popular options. Although a double vanity is more common, a continuous vanity is also an option if you’re willing to dedicate the space in your bathroom for it. There are also a lot of double vanity bathroom ideas to help you get the look and function you want.

What is a Continuous Vanity?

A continuous vanity is a vanity that crosses the entirety of your master bathroom. It tends to stretch further than a double vanity and also includes a drawer base, wall cabinets, and more between split sinks for increasing bathroom storage along with more access to the things you need!

You could even describe it as an extended double vanity. If you have a lot of things to store in the bathroom, but you don’t want to sacrifice square footage for a closet, a continuous vanity could be one of the bathroom storage solutions you need.

8. Get Creative With the Shower

A walk-in shower provides many benefits and can be a great addition to your bathroom design. One of the bathroom design ideas you can use is to get creative with the shower. It’s a great way to add an extra touch without taking up extra space.

Tiles can be used to create unique patterns and designs. You can also include built-in shelves or compartments or other shower niche ideas to add an interesting look while also adding functionality. In addition to the design inside the shower, you can also get creative with the shower itself.

Walk-in showers have come a long way from simple standalone stalls and you have a lot of options available. Walk-in showers with frameless glass shower doors or even curbless showers with no doors are just a few of the shower options you have available.

You also have a lot of options when it comes to the fixtures inside the shower. Showerheads come in a variety of styles and designs and can be integrated into your shower in many unique ways, as is the case with rain showers, body sprayers, etc. On top of that, you also can opt for a steam shower.

A steam shower offers all the things a traditional shower does, but it has the added benefit of giving you the option of a steam room. Plus, because it’s integrated into the shower unit, you don’t need to sacrifice additional space for an in-home sauna. This is a great option to make a cold bathroom warmer while also adding a luxurious spa element to your bathroom design.

9. Upgrade the Fixtures

Upgrading the fixtures and faucets in your bathroom is another one of the great bathroom design ideas. Not only does this upgrade the overall look of your bathroom, but it also often adds functionality and makes things easier to use. Consider some of these upgrades to standard fixtures to add a little something extra to your bathroom design:

Hands-Free Faucets

You’ve used versions of these in public spaces for years. Now, convenient hands-free faucets are going residential and popping up in high-end home bathrooms. Not only do these motion-activated fixtures tend to save water, but they also tend to cut down on counter clutter. Because there is no need for additional knobs, hands-free faucets tend to create a clean, modern profile.

Rain Showers

Rain showers can turn your morning scrub into a relaxing, soothing experience. Rather than being mounted on the shower wall like traditional showerheads, rain showers are mounted to the ceiling to create the sensation of stepping out into a summer shower or ducking under a waterfall. Plus, there’s no need to dance around trying to rinse under a small stream, oversized rain showers are generally larger than eight inches in diameter and will cover you, shoulder to shoulder, in gracefully falling water.

Body Sprayers

Why should the top of your head get all of the attention in the shower? Body sprayers turn a basic shower into a full-body experience. These fixtures are integrated into the shower wall and spray water straight out. The result is a full-body water massage that is sure to wake you up even on the groggiest of mornings. You can also combine these with a rain shower, a traditional showerhead, or a hand-held sprayer for the ultimate luxury shower.

10. Opt for Heated Flooring

Another one of the useful bathroom design ideas is to opt for heated flooring. Winter comes every year without fail, which means your tile floors can feel frigid to your feet in the early morning hours. Sometimes, a rug just doesn’t cut it. Heated bathroom floors can be a great addition to your bathroom design.

Every time you step onto the floor, your tootsies will be comfortable and warm, so you don’t have to hop your way from the sink to the shower and back again. Consider programmable thermostats so that your floor is toasty warm for you when you wake up in the morning.

There are several ways to approach bathroom design and many more bathroom design ideas to help you determine what you want. When it comes to your custom home, working with an experienced builder that has an in-house design/build process can help you bring all of the details together. Contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090 to get started on the path towards your dream home!