Bathroom Design Ideas That Refresh, Revitalize, and Beautify
Discover home designer pro tips to refresh and revitalize your bathrooms—however large or small—using affordable, distinct, and DIY-friendly faux wall panels and ceiling beams.
By ABBY winstead
Design Specialist
A bathroom is often the smallest room in a house, but don’t overlook the power it has to increase your happiness with your home. The right bathroom design ideas can make your bathroom a more relaxing, inviting space—rather than a stress-producing problem room.
As such, many homeowners are searching for bathroom design photos to find bathroom redesign inspiration and project execution pro tips. Our Barron Designs team specializes in DIY-friendly upgrades for bathroom walls (outside of the shower) and ceilings. We’ve compiled—and are excited to share with you—our favorite bathroom design trends and what you’ll need to bring them to life!
- Be simple and sophisticated with stone
- Give it an industrial edge
- Enhance vaulted ceilings
- Install architectural beams
- Think timeless and traditional
- Create a vacation getaway
- Make it light and bright
- Add an accent wall
- Seek serenity
- Recreate a resort
Bathroom Wall Design Ideas & Trends
Looking for an easy place to begin your DIY bathroom design? Upgrading walls with faux stone and brick wall panels can immediately refresh the space without a major renovation. Barron Designs’ faux panels are water-resistant, rot-resistant, lightweight, and easy to install without mortar and professional masons or installers.
Important Note on Showers: We do not recommend applying any wall panels on shower walls.
Keep It Simple & Sophisticated With Stone Wall Panels
With shower walls being the only restriction in play, faux stone panels can add elegance and interest to any bathroom wall. Consider creating a sink or bathtub backsplash with textured panels, like Anson Fieldstone Faux Stone Wall Panels.
You can also take your redesign to another level by installing panels on every wall surrounding your bathtub or shower. For example, Hampton Cobblestone faux stone wall panels are subtle and elegant enough to improve your bathroom’s style without feeling overpowering.
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Give It an Industrial Edge
For a more urban/industrial ambiance, turn to faux brick panels. Installing Traditional faux brick wall panels or Old Chicago panels showcases a distinct downtown city loft style. If you’d prefer a more modern effect, try whitewashed brick with a unique pattern, such as our Opus Herringbone faux brick wall panels.
The comforting news is that you can achieve these looks without the high cost and labor-intensive burden of installing real brick.
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Bathroom Ceiling Design Ideas & Trends
By nature, most bathroom ceilings are plain and don’t contribute anything to the room’s overall appearance. Transforming your ceiling to reflect your aesthetic—whether farmhouse chic or minimalist—can add character to the room. With our water-resistant, rot-resistant, lightweight, and easy-to-install DIY-style faux beams, Barron Designs offers an ideal solution to update your ceiling design.Enhance Vaulted Ceilings
Bathrooms with vaulted ceilings usually look larger, but homeowners often don’t put that advantage to good use. One of the best bathroom ceiling ideas is installingfaux wood beams to draw the eye upward and fill those blank spaces.
Choose beams that align with the mood of the room. For example, Rough Hewn Faux Wood Beams are a good choice for a cabin-inspired bathroom, while Driftwood Faux Wood Beams offer a versatile range of appealing style pairings, such as modern, urban,beachy, and nature-inspired themes.
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Add Dimension to Flat Ceilings
Bathrooms with flat ceilings can also benefit from exposed beams. They serve as a dramatic design element in an otherwise subdued room without taking up space or cluttering your counters. Resawn faux wood beams, for example, instantly make your bathroom more rustic and warm.
You can opt to use a central beam to break up the surface and give an industrial edge, or install a series of beams with different spacing and patterns. Because these beams aren’t load-bearing, you can choose the layout based entirely on what you think looks best in your bathroom.
Master Bathroom Design Ideas & Trends
The bathroom design inspiration you draw for your master bathroom might differ from your ideas for guest bathrooms because you’re updating your private space. Fortunately, you can achieve a gorgeous master bath without heavy, hard-to-install materials like real rocks and stones and solid wood beams.
The bathroom design inspiration you draw for your master bathroom might differ from your ideas for guest bathrooms because you’re updating your private space. Fortunately, you can achieve a gorgeous master bath without heavy, hard-to-install materials like real rocks and stones and solid wood beams.
Think Timeless and Traditional
A master bathroom doesn’t have to be elaborate and inventive—it can also embody the classic elements that make you feel most peaceful. Even better, these designs are unlikely to go out of style, so they’ll still look stunning whether you live in your house for another 5, 10, or 50 years.
For example, Carlton fieldstone faux stone wall panels from Barron Designs are an excellent foundation for a timeless bathroom. While they add visual interest to the walls, they’re also well-suited to essentially any style. If you decide to update the hardware, sink, or wall decor down the line, you won’t have to worry about starting from scratch.
Create a Coastal Getaway
When you go on vacation, you’re calmer and let your worries slip away. Build your bathroom design around your preferred travel destination to enjoy that same sensation at home.
If your favorite vacation escape is by the sea, try capturing the marine magic of modern coastal design using reclaimed shiplap faux barn wood wall panels in light shades. Add some bright tropical flowers, nautical decor, and pendant lights to finish the look.
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Small Bathroom Design Ideas & Trends
If your bathroom feels cramped, a few simple updates can refresh the space and make it more comfortable. Thoughtfully selected colors and patterns are essential to a tasteful small bathroom design.
Make It Light and Bright
The worst thing you can do to an undersized bathroom is make it seem even smaller with dark colors. Instead, opt for tones that will make it feel spacious and airy.
The first step is to make your walls brighter and more welcoming. Rather than covering them in dark paint, choose white panels that add texture with minimal effort, such as Old Chicago Faux Brick Wall Panels in Glacier. Installing a single ceiling beam that doesn’t look heavy, like the Heritage Faux Wood Beams from Barron Designs, also creates the illusion of more space.
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Add an Accent Wall
Although white or light-colored bathrooms usually look bigger, some people prefer a more dynamic design. In that case, let your creativity run wild with an accent wall that you decorate with whatever color and pattern you prefer.
Accent walls contrast with the rest of the space, creating a focal point that distracts you from the bathroom’s actual size. Because you’re only covering one wall, you don’t have to worry about how busy, dark, or colorful it is. For instance, Colorado Dry Stack Faux Stone Wall Panels bring depth, texture, and a variety of colors to your bathroom’s accent wall.
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Luxury Bathroom Design Ideas & Trends
Luxurious bathrooms should be an option for everyone, not just those with lavish homes. Fortunately, you don’t need a huge bank account to make your bathroom look like it belongs on the cover of an interior design magazine.
Seek Serenity
Exposed beams like Driftwood faux wood beams have the ability to set the stage for a rustic spa setting—all while offering a more affordable price point and installation ease compared to solid wood beams.
Perfect the peaceful backdrop for your in-home spa session with authentic stone wall looks. Barron Designs’ Lehigh cobblestone faux stone wall panels come in a range of colors that can inform the rest of your design. Finish the effect with decor and fluffy towels in rich jewel tones, soft lighting, and candles you place artfully around the room.
Recreate a Resort
Grand hotels and resorts might seem impossible to replicate without investing in real marble and stone. Fortunately, faux panels and carefully selected decor can have the same impact at a fraction of the cost.
Use Carolina chiseled faux stone wall panels to achieve the feel of a typical resort. If your favorite hotel is by the river, bring the outdoors in with river rock faux rock wall panels.
Whichever wall panels you prefer, complement them with quality fixtures, elegant light sconces, and large mirrors. Finally, including natural elements, such as small plants or floral arrangements, will help transport you to a different world every time you enter your bathroom.
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DIY Bathroom Design Installation Resources
A bathroom remodel sounds intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Barron Designs’ beams and panels are lightweight so you can install them DIY-style without heavy tools and caulk.
If you have concerns at any stage of your redesign, we can help. Our faux panel interior installation instructions and flush-mounted box beam installation instructions are detailed and easy to follow. If you can’t find the answers you need there, browse our responses to frequently asked customer questions.
Discover More Bathroom Design Inspiration
Redoing a bathroom can create the sanctuary you’ve always wanted. And a revamped bathroom design can also more seamlessly connect to the design style of the rest of your home.
At Barron Designs, we know how a beautiful and on-trend bathroom design can change the feel of the space. We design lightweight DIY project materials with simple installation steps to help make your bathroom design ideas come to life. Explore our faux panels and faux wood beams to find charming, cost-efficient design products for your updated bathroom.