How to Design a Master Bathroom

Adding a bathroom to a home increases the value of that home by almost 6%.

If you want to add value to your home, adding a master bathroom is a great way to do it. Of course, there’s more involved with how to design a master bathroom than just throwing a toilet in a room. Let’s take a look at what you can do to have the best master bathroom possible.

Here are some tips and tricks that deal with designing yourself the perfect bathroom.

Why Should You Design a Master Bathroom?

It’s vital that you have at least a rough idea of what you want in mind. This way you can communicate to your contractor what you need and want. This helps to ensure that the bathroom you end up with is the one that you want.

Having a design in mind can help save time and money. It gives you a plan and a way to budget the cost of materials. The more organized a building or remodeling operation is, the more efficient it will be.

Don't Forget the Basics

There are a few things that are central to a master bathroom. A master bathroom design should include a shower/tub, a toilet, and a sink with hot and cold water.

This may seem obvious, but it is easy to overlook things when a design gets too complicated or involved.

How to Start Designing

Now that you know why, let’s get into how to design a master bathroom. The very first thing to remember is that you should envision and plan how it will look from the entrance. This means focusing on basins and shower placement first, and then the toilet will be secondary.

There should be one piece that stands out and captures the attention of anyone entering. It could be a walk-in tub or a fantastic standing shower. Whatever you decide, make sure that the room revolves around the centerpiece.

Maximize Floor Space

When designing a master bathroom, try to find ways to create as much open space as possible. If that’s not possible, make sure it appears as open as possible. One great way to do this is to include wall-mounted fixtures instead of floor-mounted ones.

By mounting fixtures, you free up a lot more of the floor. This can help make the room seem larger than it is. If you want your master bathroom to stand out, think outside of the box when it comes to the size and shape of your fixtures.

Master Bathroom Design Tips

Here are a few areas where classic design ideas and thoughts can be helpful. You can go as wild and independent as you want, but often professionals do things a certain way because they work.

Know the Layout of the Pipes

It is essential that before you start designing your bathroom, you understand where the pipes are located. You don’t want the location of a sewer pipe ruining your ideas for a bathroom layout. Ensure that you know where the water pipes, drains, and sewer lines are all located.

Color & Decoration

Most master bathrooms are connected to the master bedroom. This means that the main closet, bedroom, and bathroom create one unit in the home. If possible, use this as a way to create a consistent design theme, and have each room compliment the other.

Color schemes and design choices are all at play here. The classic look of a master bathroom should blend in with the bedroom, almost as if they were one room. This creates a harmony that makes all the rooms more enjoyable to look at.

The only time this isn’t the case is that sometimes designers like to switch it up. An example would be doing a bold color in the bedroom and a neutral color in the bathroom, for instance. This can also be a treat for the eyes, and make the bathroom appear cleaner and crisper.

Lighting in the Bathroom

Lighting can make or break the way a room looks. If you have a small master bathroom, a single overhead light and mirror light may be sufficient. If you have a larger bathroom, you should consider recessed lighting as a way of illuminating the bathroom with gentle, pleasant light.

Don’t be afraid to use scones or area lighting to enhance the appeal of the room. If you want to emphasize art on the wall, or beautiful fixtures, do so. Lighting them up will draw the eye to them.

Separate the Toilet

If you have enough room in your bathroom, consider having a separate room for the toilet. This room can contain just the toilet or a toilet and sink. This room could then have a light and fan, being out of the way and not detracting from the beauty of the bathroom.

Control Spacing

It is essential to have enough space between fixtures that everything is usable and looks great. You want to avoid having too much empty room in the bathroom. Emptiness makes a room feel cold and sterile, not warm and inviting.

Use All Available Space

If there’s enough room, you should consider splitting things up a bit. Try removing the toilet we already talked about. You can also split up the shower and tub. Having a walk-in shower separate from the tub can make the room look large and opulent.

The key is to balance the use of space with cluttering it up. You need to avoid emptiness, but you also want to avoid a cluttered, hectic, or overstuffed look. You don’t want the shape or design of your bathroom to cause stress to those who are using it.