9 Bathroom Island Ideas to Consider For Your Bathroom Design
June 24, 2025Bathrooms are high-use areas. It’s important for them to be designed well, and even more so if you want your bathroom to be a relaxing retreat. It’s also important to have enough storage. For larger bathroom designs, especially those taking a more relaxing, spa-like approach, a bathroom island could be a good fit. Here’s what to know and some bathroom island ideas to consider and help you determine if one makes sense in your bathroom design:
What is a Bathroom Island?
A bathroom island, which is also referred to as a vanity island, is similar to a kitchen island, but it is designed specifically for bathrooms. It’s a piece of freestanding furniture that provides extra storage space, more counter space, and similar benefits of kitchen islands, but in a bathroom. They are usually placed in the center of a bathroom layout and are separate from the walls. They can be used to break up space in a large bathroom layout and create a focal point.
Bathroom islands usually feature cabinets for storage. As with kitchen islands and bathroom vanities, bathroom islands are customizable and can feature open shelves instead of cabinets or a mixture of storage options. This also means size, configuration, materials, features, and more can all be customized to work with your specific needs and bathroom design.
A bathroom island, or vanity island, can be a great feature in a large bathroom design, especially in bathrooms that are used by multiple people. This can make them a good fit for primary bathrooms, which are more likely to have the square footage to accommodate a feature like this without disrupting flow or function. A feature like this can also help you create a relaxing bathroom retreat and a spa-like ambience in your bathroom design.
Bathroom islands can also be a great feature if you’re going for a bathroom lounge look and feel. Although they are most commonly used for extra storage and counter space, bathroom islands can also be other fixtures. Vanity or sink stations that are located in the middle of the bathroom, which are vanity islands, or even freestanding tubs on a raised platform or island-style base, can be considered bathroom islands.
9 Bathroom Island Ideas to Consider For Your Bathroom Design
If you think a bathroom island could be right for you, here are some bathroom island ideas to consider and inspire you as you think about incorporating one into your bathroom design:
- Make it a vanity island and include a sink.
- Showcase luxurious materials.
- Mix materials and textures.
- Use various storage options.
- Feature the bathtub.
- Incorporate seating.
- Consider a different shape.
- Adjust the height to match your needs.
- Create a column.
1. Make it a Vanity Island and Include a Sink
If you will want to use your bathroom island as an extra space to get ready, think about making it a true vanity island and including a sink. This could be in addition to a traditional wall vanity or instead of one. In some layouts with double vanities, it could make sense to have a wall vanity and a vanity island instead of dual wall vanities. This is a double vanity bathroom idea to consider as you think about your bathroom design.
If a wall vanity might feel disconnected or not quite right for your large bathroom layout, it may make sense to opt for a vanity island that is more centrally located, or at least separated from the walls. Not only can this improve function and flow, but it can also personalize your bathroom design a little more and allow for storage and counter space on all sides.
2. Showcase Luxurious Materials
Because bathroom islands tend to be centrally located, they often become focal points. Why not upgrade materials and fixtures to elevate it even further? This is a great opportunity to get the extra function you need, while also showcasing luxurious materials and enhancing the overall look and feel of your bathroom.
Marble countertops can be the perfect countertop material for a bathroom island. Marble is a classic, elegant material that can add a touch of luxury to your bathroom design. Additionally, you can pair this countertop with custom cabinetry or shelves on the island base and opt for luxe metallic fixtures to round out the look.
If you don’t want or need all of the sides for storage, you can elevate the look further by going with a bathroom island featuring a waterfall countertop. Not only does the countertop flowing from the top down on either side add an interesting detail, but it also creates a seamless, cohesive look and feel while doing so.
3. Mix Materials and Textures
Another one of the bathroom island ideas is to mix materials and textures. Whether you’re going for opulent luxury, rustic farmhouse, or another style, mixing materials and textures on the bathroom island can help you achieve it.
Wood and metal are classic combinations when it comes to cabinets and pulls or handles. Switching things up and choosing a metal for the base can enhance a modern or industrial look. You just want to make sure whatever you choose can handle the high-moisture, humid bathroom environment.
You can also explore other bathroom countertop options. Marble is a classic choice, but it’s not the only one that works well in bathrooms. Granite, Slate, and Soapstone are other natural stone countertops that can work well in bathrooms. Ceramic or porcelain tile countertops are another classic option. Provided it’s polished and sealed properly, concrete is even an option.
4. Use Various Storage Options
Although cabinets tend to be a popular choice for bathroom islands, you’re not limited to them if that isn’t quite what you need or you want a different look. If you prefer open shelves or storage cubes, you can customize a bathroom island similar to how you would customize vanity storage. Cabinets, drawers, open shelves, and more are all bathroom storage solutions that can help you get the extra storage you want in your bathroom island with the look and function you want.
5. Feature the Bathtub
It may be less common, but bathtubs can be bathroom islands, too. Plus, soaking tubs are still bathroom design trends, at least in larger bathrooms and luxury bathrooms. If you want to make a freestanding soaking tub a focal point in your bathroom, consider placing it more centrally and away from the walls to make it a bathroom island.
Wrapping it in an island base or placing it on a raised platform can help you make your tub a bathroom island. Depending on the look and function you want, you can also customize the base around the tub to include some storage, decorative details, or other features. You can even underlight the platform to give the tub a floating effect.
6. Incorporate Seating
Another one of the bathroom island ideas to consider is to incorporate seating. If it will be a vanity island, including space for a chair and a countertop mirror might make sense. Even if the bathroom island won’t necessarily be a vanity, adding a comfortable seat can help create that spa look and feel.
One end of the bathroom island could integrate a comfortable cushioned bench. This still leaves some storage space in the bench or in the base of the seating area if you would want to use it. Plus, you still would have the rest of the bathroom island to benefit from extra storage space, counter space, etc.
7. Consider a Different Shape
Like kitchen islands, bathroom islands tend to be rectangular. Sometimes square islands can work well. These shapes still make sense for bathroom islands, but you can consider different shapes for your bathroom island.
A circle may not make sense, but an oval or an elongated oval might work well in your desired bathroom layout. An oval bathroom island can be slightly easier to maneuver around. Rounded shapes like this can also offer a softer look and feel. Additionally, if you’re not a morning person or tend to run into things, opting for an oval or rounded corners can help prevent painful collisions.
8. Adjust the Height to Match Your Needs
Just as you can customize the height of bathroom vanities to suit your needs, you can do the same with bathroom islands. If you’ll be using it as a vanity and sitting, then it may make sense to go for a lower bathroom island. If it’s large enough to make sense and it will be multi-purpose, you can even opt for a split-level bathroom island.
9. Create a Column
Another bathroom island idea to consider is extending it to the ceiling to create a column-like fixture from floor to ceiling. With something like this, the bathroom vanity, including the sink and mirror, would be a vanity island.
The vanity and sink would be the base, and the mirror and potentially upper storage cabinets would essentially be a column that extends into the ceiling. This also provides a place for targeted lighting fixtures that are better suited to temporary task lighting than ceiling fixtures might provide.
This could work well for a bathroom design that requires double vanities and forgoes wall vanities. In this case, the vanity island could include both vanities. Depending on the layout of the bathroom and the design, the column of mirrors and cabinets could separate the sinks for essentially one vanity on each side of the island, or both sink areas could be on one side. A column-style vanity island could also work well with an oval island base.
Design and Build the Custom Home You Want With CHG
Bathroom islands may not be the best fit for every bathroom, but they can offer additional storage and other benefits for bathroom designs where they make sense. These are just a few bathroom island ideas to consider for your bathroom design if you think including a bathroom island is right for you.
Whether you know what you want in a home or are still figuring out the details, an experienced custom home builder can be a valuable resource, especially if they have an in-house design/build process. Not only will you get design options personalized to your tastes and styles, but you can also rest assured that you will end up with the custom home you want and need. If you’re ready to get started on your own custom home in Central Pennsylvania or Northeastern Maryland, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090!