45 Splashy Ways to Build Character Around Your Bathtub

If you aspire to epic soaks but lack the space and wherewithal to build a private spa, you’ve come to the right place. A fashionable bath doesn’t demand epic elbow room or a trust fund, and we’ve got dozens of spaces that prove our point. Tap into this collection of cleverly-deployed tile treatments, impactful patterns, unexpected palettes and utterly ducky design moments to find ideas that can foam up into something grand at your place in no time.

When Restored by the Fords design maven Leanne Ford gave her 112-year-old Los Angeles cabin a “make-under,” she knew that nothing she added should feel “too done”— and she created a “secret concoction” to weather the exposed pipes surrounding her traditional fixtures. The clawfoot tub’s well-textured exterior matches her antique wall-mounted sink trough sink, and the mirrors she layered on a wall hook are pitch-perfect finishing touches. True story: the vibe Leanne established in this new-old bath was so compelling that Lana Del Rey snapped the property up a few years later.

Don’t fancy flashing the neighbors or bathing in a crepuscular cavern? Split the difference by adding a curtain rod across tubside windows and obscuring their lower portions with an eye-catching patterned fabric like this geometric neutral. Its toasty tone complements the warm stains on the vanity and stool as well as the landscape painting above the towel bar.

This contemporary guest bath makes a massive statement in close quarters with hand-glazed, claret-colored tiles that complement its walls and linens. Counterbalance color-drenching like this with a slim, stone-topped occasional table that hints at the same hues without repeating them, then deploying a dark, neutral tile in another shape underfoot. For maximum drama, paint the baseboards to match the wall; to make the most of the tiles’ impact, in turn, use a slim glass panel like this one in lieu of a shower curtain.

This cool, color-blocked bath combines a kaleidoscopic array of patterns and finishes in a way that feels like a series of surprises rather than a haphazard patchwork. Its secret? While you can technically see the trendy terrazzo underfoot, the dark marble on the countertop, the ridged charcoal tile surrounding the tub and the shower’s checkerboard from this angle, you’re only getting a faceful of a few of those patterns at any one time (and experiencing mere hints of the others). Make the most of a compartmentalized bath like this one by transitioning between finishes each time your perspective changes; it’s a bold move, but it can pay off beautifully.

This itty-bitty bath in a Queen Anne Victorian a properly maximalist moment, thanks to unexpected blush paint framing the window and elevating the wainscoting surrounding the tub. The playful combination of a delicately traditional, silver-on-black botanical pattern on the wall and a colorful, larger-scale pattern on the shower curtain is much, much more than the sum of its parts.

The retro charm and graphic punch of penny tile on the floor is delightful, but have you tried tile-drenching a whole kid-friendly contemporary bath with it? While a larger black tile deployed in the same way with contrasting white grout could begin to feel overwhelming, this diminutive choice reads as texture rather than individual components. Black marble topping the sleek teal vanity offers a bit of organic texture to counter all that formal geometry, and graphic Dusen Dusen towels add another hint of color.

A vertical soldier stack in midcentury-inspired olive green, in turn, creates a dramatically-tiled grid in this contemporary wet room. Here, the variegated marble hex tile underfoot and the veining in the saddle threshold’s slab soften the walls’ right angles, and the lozenge-shaped white soaking tub stands out in style.

With horizontal white shiplap, a rattan-wrapped vanity mirror and a beaded pendant, this mostly-neutral contemporary coastal bath was due for a bold infusion of color. The ocean-blue, handcrafted subway tile enveloping the bath does just that: The barely-there glass slider separating it from the vanity area functions like a picture window overlooking the water.

To riff on coastal style in another way, might we interest you in a space that feels like the best kind of math-class doodles? This grey-and-white contemporary bath treats its dramatically-flared soaking tub as a thesis statement and erupts into angles of all kinds in its tilework, textiles and art. Large-format, rectangular white tiles add subtle texture to the walls, and a playful mix of smaller-scale hexagons create interest underfoot; grey tiles in a diagonal herringbone pattern add interest to the recessed shelf beneath the window.

Occasional tables are the logical choice in many baths, but if your floor plan can accommodate a foyer-worthy fellow like this one, why not go for it? The unexpected choice of a tall, antique pedestal table beside the tub in this farmhouse bath — topped with a fabulous, full-size arrangement of textural greenery, no less — adds a strong vertical silhouette that interrupts the space’s many horizontal lines.

Making a just-constructed soaking spot feel timeless is all about selecting classic focal pieces — like this clawfoot tub and the shapely traditional pendant centered above it — and layering your space with antique additions like the landscape framed above the beadboard wainscoting and the Windsor chair positioned as a towel caddy. Finish the vignette with semi-sheer cafe curtains that admit light and add softness to the scene.

Cultivate contemporary farmhouse chic and score somewhere to perch accessories by texturizing your wall with tone-on-tone board-and-batten paneling, then adding in a shallow, matching floating shelf. While this bath is very nearly monochromatic, the varying surfaces its primary hue covers — and the way light and shadow play across their angles, textures and finishes — keep the eye busy.

While combining the functionality of a multigenerational bathroom and a home gym with a tub that requires adults to squat beside the tub at family bathtime has a certain ruthless efficiency, might we suggest making things easier for everyone and dropping a pint-sized vessel in a quartz countertop/bench? This minimalistic room is a breeze to clean and surprisingly cozy.

If you’re looking to create a feature wall in a long, narrow space like this one, consider installing it underfoot. This contemporary wet room’s large-scale, Navajo-inspired patterned cement tile is a visual feast on an unexpected surface (garnished with an equally-graphic, all-weather wicker side table. (Pro tip: Look for unexpected wet-room accessories among outdoor-furniture offerings.)

This pedestal tub has three best friends: The intricately-patterned Moroccan cement tiles on the wet room’s narrow rear wall, the black penny tiles on the floor and in its niches, and the white subway tiles installed in a staggered horizontal pattern on each of the long walls beside it. Traditional chrome hardware recedes against the niche behind the tub, while sleek black shower hardware contrasts beautifully with the pale shower tiles.

A backdrop of Calacatta subway tiles establishes an opulent mood in this stark-but-not-Spartan contemporary bath, where the soaking space itself is small but the design decisions are major. Since the tub is bathed in natural light, the dramatic black marble on the faucet wall and the black ceiling(!) feel bold rather than gloomy; though the insect art on the wall is a series of crisp silhouettes, their delicate shapes complement the trio of curvaceous vessels beside the window.

This two-tone acrylic tub is the sleek centerpiece of a California-chic coastal bath with black hexagonal flooring, dazzling white walls and organic accents. That unexpected finish is what makes this space feel like a fresh take on contemporary west-coast style: the rattan, pale wood and monochromatic color scheme are all par for the course, but that highly-reflective element is a glam little surprise.

Make the most of a pitched ceiling by highlighting an adjacent wall with graphic, high-contrast tile, then framing that wall with white subway tile and paint. In this contemporary cottage bath, a shallow cabinet across from the vanity adds a bit of additional storage and organic warmth; the soft grey tiles on the floor, in turn, serve as a half-step between the room’s dark and pale extremes.

Since standalone tubs tend to see less traffic than shower stalls, they offer the opportunity to layer your bath’s design with a high-impact floor covering — like this intricate jewel-toned runner, where intricate knotwork complements the antique art above the towel rack. When selecting an accessory like this one, look for a low-pile rug that won’t absorb too much moisture, then keep an extra towel beside the tub to place on the rug before you step out after bathing.

While we’re considering semi-controversial bath textile choices, it’s worth noting that leaning into the unique character of a clawfoot-tub-and-shower combo and reaching for an extra-long shower curtain like the one in this eclectic space celebrates the old-school feature in a way that feels indulgent but not hugely impractical. Feel free to hedge your bets by using an invisible-from-the-outside liner to reduce wear and tear on your higher-stakes shower surround (no water-puddling here, please and thanks).

This low- and high-tech combination of ways to keep bathtime private is fashionable and functional: the Roman shades’ colorful landscape-print fabric adds visual texture to the design, and the tech-enabled frosted windows can toggle between clear and frosted. (If you live in a rental or aren’t quite ready to invest in next-generation window coverings, privacy film works as well.)

Double down on the showmanship of a dark vessel like this one by pairing it with an equally-dramatic asymmetrical pendant. This combination is especially satisfying because the pendant’s whisper-light visual weight is the opposite of the substantial bathtub’s; the fixture is as minimalistic as the clawfoot is solid.

Transform a built-in tub’s exterior as designer Jewel Marlowe did in this eclectic, flourish-filled bath: She built a wood frame, then attached caning and brass trim to create a one-of-a-kind, midcentury-inspired installation. (The pale blue tiles are products of another hands-on makeover: Jewel refreshed them with a coat of epoxy tile paint.)

Floor-to-ceiling, matchy-matchy baths tend to feel retro in a stagnant way. This bold space, on the other hand, conjures disco-era glamour with a graphic tile grid, a glossy black tub and sleek, matte black fixtures. The keys to this look are to fully commit to the room’s monochromatic scheme and vary its textures rather than its hues. (Psst: The console sink and toilet are black as well, of course.)

Elevate the look of your shower-tub combo by creating ‘valance’ with a curtain rod raised to ceiling height, then draped with custom fabric trim. Once that installation is in place, mount a second rod just below it and use it to hang a pair of longer, traditional panels instead of a shower curtain. Clever, no?

This pleasantly-pink moment is both suitable for the wearer of that hooded unicorn towel and a thoughtful installation that will still feel age-appropriate a decade from now, thanks to the rich texture and sophisticated variegation in the handmade tiles.

This Vermont bath evokes its forested surroundings with layered greens: Hexagonal tiles with white grout frame the shower, and a slightly-desaturated version of that color recurs in the paint surrounding a soaking tub glowing beneath the vaulted ceiling’s skylight. Porcelain floor tiles in a dusky gray with white veining, in turn, create a moody base for the sunlit space.

This bedroom adjoining a bunk room will see a lot of wear and tear, and it has the sturdy finishes to support splashes, spills and smudges of all kinds. It also has a sophisticated and practical style flourish in the form of long, hexagonal tiles installed to create a graphic, easy-cleaning design moment around the tub.

Squeezing embellishments into a tiny home’s even-tinier bathroom calls for clever customizations. The mosaic-with-a-message (and tailored border) created here in black-and-white penny tiles is cost-effective and space-conscious.

A Victorian row house’s diminutive upstairs bath channels Parisian chic with a small, contemporary soaking tub and a retro-Continental, floor-to-ceiling penny tile treatment. Instead of creating contrast with reflective metal hardware, Leanne Ford leaned into her monochromatic look with a matte black showerhead, then perched a few textural container plants beneath the window for a hint of color.

With easy-cleaning, graphic tile that carries across the floor and up the side of the tub plus (in what must be a bath-toy-storage-in-a-private-home record) six niches for everything from gentle shampoo and soap to turtles and crabs, this space is exceptionally ready for pre-bed bathtime.

This Tribeca loft bathroom’s thoughtfully-designed tub area demonstrates that one can experiment with eye-popping colors without committing to a retina-searing feature wall. Here, comparatively-neutral faux-bois-patterned-tile creates a backdrop for bold-as-you please orange shower hardware; if said hardware isn’t as pleasing a few years from now, it’s relatively simple to swap in the fixtures’ chrome equivalents.

Standardizing all of your bath area’s hardware — and carrying that finish up to the shower rod and out into additional fixtures like towel pegs, the toilet paper holder and vanity accessories — is a low-intervention way to make your soaks feel special without investing in a serious renovation.

Create a more atmospheric bathing space by skipping an overhead pendant and installing gentler downlighting on the walls beside a soaking tub like this one. In lieu of a statement pendant, establish a softer focal point by centering an impressionistic artwork.

Thanks to an understated glass shower stall, the bold blue-and-white striping that begins at one end of this bathroom and carries past the soaking tub makes the two areas feel like a single, spacious zone.

This country home’s traditional bath gains Victorian-inspired drama with crisp black paneling beneath its opulent botanical wallpaper. In the context of a paler space, the clawfoot tub would feel fairly standard; here, by contrast, it has an air of Gothic romance.

This deceptively-simple soaking spot has a few accessories that make all the difference. An extra-wide, thin metal towel ladder is both stable enough to lean against the wall at a steep angle that claims almost no floor space and large enough to accommodate generously-fringed towels that soften up the bath's stone, glass and porcelain. The natural wood stool, in turn, provides a perch for supplies and adds another hit of organic visual interest.

Who needs a pedestal or pony wall to make a transitional bathing space feel special? This understated freestanding tub’s integrated and streamlined faucet and taps have a warm, oil-rubbed bronze tone that complements both stain on the fern-topped occasional table tucked in the corner and the intricate vintage rug unfurled beside them. The café-au-lait paint on the upper portion of the walls pairs beautifully with the warm gray stone tiles beneath the tub.

This double-ended pedestal tub with an exaggerated roll top very nearly fills the niche it’s occupying, so visual flourishes in this space are subtly space-conscious. Matching framed artwork and towel bars on either side of the tub establish satisfying symmetry, and a pair of vases on the windowsill balance out the wooden caddy to the right of the faucet, and darker marble inlaid as pencil tile near the top of the tub surround creates contrast that doesn’t protrude into the room.

Letting this contemporary soaking tub’s silhouette disappear against a white painted wall would be positively criminal; contrasting it against these handcrafted Mexican cement tiles, on the other hand, presents it like sculpture. Barely-there hardware mounted directly into the wall lets other fixtures and finishes claim attention, and a gleaming pendant adds a hint of warmth and elegance.

The ceiling-mounted rain showerhead, wall-mounted handle and gooseneck faucet with exposed hardware in this punchy little tub niche are all lovely, but the high-contrast stars of the lot are unquestionably the WASH hooks mounted on the rear wall. Non-textual versions could have performed a similar role here, but where’s the fun in that?

Dazzling white baths and high-contrast contemporary suites are well and good, but have you tried playing with shades of velvety gray to create a sleek-yet-sensual spa bath? There are a few right angles and strong tones, to be sure — the pedestal table and window hardware are black, and the floor tiles are square — but grayscale and curves are the story here.

This monochromatic space packs opulence into small quarters, thanks to carefully-chosen details like the barely-there white window cornice and black-and-white photograph, both of which echo the soaking tub’s dramatic angles. The marble subway tile surrounding the tub and the glossy chrome gooseneck faucet coordinate with finishes on the vanity, and the small-but-mighty flush-mounted chandelier offers just enough contrast to add interest without making the tub area feel cramped or cacophonous.