It's called the primary bathroom for a reason—it deserves to be the best one in the house and, more importantly, a place that inspires peace and calm. After all, if you're going to soak in the bathtub, you should love your surroundings. The best primary bathroom ideas expertly blend form and function, as a bathroom's design needs to handle some slippery situations.
When designing a primary bathroom, there are several elements to consider. Hard finishes can help evoke different design styles. For example, choosing subway tile can create a modern look, while hardwood flooring can inspire a farmhouse aesthetic. Swapping out metal fixtures such as faucets, showerheads, and vanity hardware can instantly elevate a dated primary bathroom. From natural lighting to your bathroom's color scheme, the design potential is limitless.
Whether you need a starting point for an upcoming primary bathroom remodel or are planning an entirely new space, be sure to check out the 50 best primary bathroom ideas from designer spaces. Covering a range of square footage, design styles, and layouts, these options are sure to provide you with plenty of inspiration.
Editor's Note: In accordance with guidelines from the National Association of Home Builders and other real estate organizations, we now use the descriptors "primary" or "main" instead of "master" due to the latter word's discriminatory history.
For a true spa-like feel, designer Allison Wilson tucked her soaking tub back into an alcove in this primary bathroom. Now, she can relax with a view without being disrupted by her partner's nighttime routine.
It may seem like a design faux pas to place a vanity directly underneath a wall of windows, but designer Katie Hodges embraced the awkward layout. By floating a mirror down from the ceiling, you can still touch up your makeup without limiting any natural light.
Your primary bathroom should feel like an escape, no matter where you live. Take inspiration from your favorite destination, like this bathroom with a Scandinavian sauna next door to the spacious shower.
While neutral tones are most common in primary bathrooms, we invite you to throw out the rulebook. Designer Isabel Ladd embraced a maximalist, warm-toned palette for this bathroom. Mixing and matching patterns is made easy when the base hue is the same.
It can be difficult to know what to adorn your bathroom walls with, but British tastemaker Lucinda Chambers found a solution that was equally chic as it is waterproof: dinner plates. Plate walls are scattered throughout her Shepard's Bush home, but we're particularly partial to this one that brightens up the taupe wall paint.
Bring lively energy into your primary bathroom ideas with rich, jewel-like colors, as designer Kati Curtis did in this Boston-area home. She used Dark Burgundy by Benjamin Moore to give it a moody feel. A purple chandelier and tropical curtains brighten up the space.
In designer Alison Victoria's Atlanta loft, she created a simple yet elevated display. “I wanted a real accent wall that wasn’t all paint,” she said of the Phillip Jeffries grasscloth wallcovering hand-painted with 24-karat gold. A solid bronze doorframe from an old elevator elegantly frames it.
A crisp black-and-white color scheme can make a bathroom feel super clean, even when it's not completely spotless. For the primary bathroom in a slope-side chalet, designer Sarah Richardson went bold with marble walls and flooring.
For a cozy, lived-in feel, customize your vanity to make it look like an antique dresser, like the one by Midland Cabinet Company in this main bath by designer Regan Baker.
When you have a home overlooking postcard-perfect scenery, it's crucial to make the most of it—even in the bathroom. In his California home, designer Eric Olsen added a glass door (that leads to an outdoor shower!) off the main bath.
The checkerboard flooring made of reclaimed marble and an antique marble tub (fashioned from a single slab!) in this main bath by designer Sheldon Harte makes it feel luxurious yet organic. Stick with neutral accents, like tan shades and soft white towels, for a serene oasis.
To make the relatively new bathroom in her family home—built in the 1800s—feel original to the house, designer Hadas Dembo added vintage French cabinet doors and a window bordered in Spanish encaustic tile. A few aged pieces can instantly make an entire bathroom feel like another era.
If you want to make your bathroom feel extra airy and large, consider leaving an open doorway as Nicole Dohmen of Atelier ND Interior did for this ensuite bath.
With a freestanding clawfoot tub, gold chandelier, black fireplace, and marble tiles, this bathroom by designer Krystal Matthews has an unmistakably lavish atmosphere. Incorporating even just one of these elements will easily elevate your own space.
While this room designed by French & French Interiors is technically a guest bath, it has a creative concept worth applying to any primary bathroom idea: Create an arched backsplash and pair it with an arched mirror for a soft effect.
There's nothing quite like a copper tub to steal the spotlight in a bathroom, and this one is no exception. But it also needs to be practical. So if it's too deep for you to step into, simply add a marble ledge to make it easier without compromising the style of the space. The weathered look of the tub and exposed beams is juxtaposed with the more elegant marble step and striking white paint, as exemplified by this primary bathroom idea, designed by Darryl Carter.
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Take Inspiration From Travel
Bethany Nauert
Bring back inspiration from your travels, whether it be from a memorable view or a stylish hotel stay. Here, Joy Cho collaborated with designer Cleo Murnane of Project M Plus to create a serene yet unstuffy and fun primary bathroom in her home. Murnane fell in love with the beauty of zellige tiles while traveling in Marrakech, Morocco and incorporated them into this primary bathroom idea.
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Balance Between Grand and Grounded
Simon Upton
Varying shades of white and gray, a wooden chair, and a storage cabinet that looks like a piece of antique furniture give this primary bathroom idea a cozy, cottage-inspired feel. Plenty of natural light and high ceilings are the cherries on top.
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Bring In the Spa Vibes
Studio Griffiths
Turn your primary bathroom into a home spa by adding a sauna. Studio Griffiths gave this wood paneling a dark black stain and then backlit the walls for a sexy glow and touch of drama.
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Repurpose Vintage Storage Items
Stephen Kent Johnson
Built-ins can seem like a necessary storage solution for small bathrooms, but you don't actually have to drill anything into the wall just yet. Instead, consider repurposing a vintage storage piece as Robert Stilin did here.