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Guest Bathroom Decor and Design Ideas (2024)

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Guest bathroom decor and design is made simple with these easy design tips! Learn how to decorate your guest bath to create a welcoming atmosphere in just a few steps.

Guest Bathroom Decor and Design Ideas

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Guest Bathroom Design Ideas

Designing a guest bathroom can present certain challenges.

You want the space to be beautiful, clean and organized. However, it also needs to serve a specific purpose and function for your family on a daily basis. After all, most guest bathrooms are used daily by our own families!

Bathroom countertop with candle.

In most homes, a guest bathroom may be the only bathroom on a main level. So, it needs to serve our families daily while also being a clean and tidy spot for guests when they are over.

Here are a few ideas for designing a guest bathroom so it can serve both purposes.

  • Invest in closed storage. Open shelving is beautiful, but cabinets are most functional for a guest bathroom. Whether this is a full vanity, countertop tower, or floor to ceiling cabinet, design with cabinetry in mind.
  • Pair down to the essentials. Many times bathrooms become the landing zone for clutter. Instead, utilize linen closets, bedroom closets, or laundry rooms to store items you don’t need on a daily basis.
  • Tuck away essential toiletries in obvious places. Example: extra toilet paper should be stored under the sink or next to the toilet so guests aren’t searching for it if in need.
  • Corral daily used countertop items on a pretty tray to keep it tidy, yet accessible.
  • Elevate the space with a few simple swaps. I’ll dive into this in more detail next.

Simple Swaps to Elevate your Guest Bathroom Decor

Let’s face it, the bathroom is one of the main places in a home where we need to have “ugly” items accessible.

Shower with shampoo bottles.

Shampoo bottles, skincare regimens, kleenex, q-tips…all these things aren’t the prettiest to look at, but we don’t always have space to hide them away.

Shower stall with porcelain tile.

Instead, invest in a simple swap to elevate your guest bathroom decor. Here are a few items that we typically need to have accessible, that can be swapped for a prettier and just as functional version.

You can shop all my favorite bathroom essential and simple swap ideas in my storefront.

Guest Bathroom Decor Ideas

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics of design, and a few tricks of the trade for masking everyday essentials in plain sight, let’s talk about decor.

In my humble opinion, guest bathroom decor should be very simple.

Woman standing at a bathroom vanity.

A piece of art. A simple wall treatment. Perhaps some pretty wallpaper woven into the bathroom design. Or even just very nice hand towels that go well with your color scheme.

All of these things can serve as decor, without having to actually add decor.

The more decor you add to a guest bathroom, the more cluttered and cumbersome it becomes. Especially if it is a small bathroom.

So, instead of adding a ton of decor to bathrooms, I like to put my time and money into quality finishes during the design or remodel process.

Bathroom mirror and lighting.

Instead of focusing on decor, focus on these finishes to decorate a bathroom:

  • Quality faucets, towel bars and hooks
  • Statement lighting
  • Timeless tile
  • Millwork or wallpaper if you’d like to elevate the overall look of the room
  • Clean toilets (Quite literally. Clean, modern lines are lovely, but a clean toilet is truly all a guest needs.)

When you focus on the design of the bathroom, rather than the decor, it essentially decorates itself. Here are a few articles on bathroom design that can help if you are thinking of remodeling.

My Bathroom Sources

Our 70s home remodel included a full gut bathroom remodel.

Bathroom before remodel.
BEFORE

We knocked down all the walls, rebuilt them in a new configuration, added a shower and double vanity, and more! We took a tiny powder bath and transformed it to the guest bathroom of my dreams.

Bathroom after remodel.
AFTER

Why is it my dream bathroom? Because it’s very functional.

Shower stall with tile and shower head.

Not only is it the only bathroom on our entire main level, it also doubles as our laundry room and mudroom. You can watch the 4 month remodel process in this YouTube video!

Guest bathroom decor and design ideas.

Here are the design sources for our bathroom remodel if you are interested!

If you are looking for ways to fully design a bathroom, make sure to check out this article on designing a timeless bathroom that will surpass the trends for years to come.

Double sinks with a pocket door.

SHOP THE LOOK

Stay Connected

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope this has been helpful as you plan your guest bathroom decor and design.

Make sure to grab all my free guides, DIY tutorials and free printables available to my Grace Notes subscribers while you’re here.

You can also follow along daily on Instagram and weekly on YouTube!

~Sarah

3 Comments

  1. Whether you prefer a minimalist, spa-inspired retreat or a more eclectic and colorful aesthetic, there are plenty of ways to customize the design to suit your taste and budget.

  2. What type of baseboard trim did you use in the bathroom with shower, seeing it will have water exposure and humidity?

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