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Scroll through social media and you’ll find no shortage of gorgeous, luxurious bathrooms so many that figuring out where to even start can feel overwhelming. To make the hunt a little easier, we gathered a batch of modern bathrooms worth borrowing from. Think of these as a jumping-off point for the fun part: dreaming up your own reno.
01 Pick a Sleek, Colorful Tile
Modern doesn’t have to mean colorless. Neutrals are a safe bet in modern design, sure, but a little color can make a space feel more like home. Here, an ocean-blue ceramic subway tile warms up against the brown undertones of a custom walnut vanity.
02 Turn Stone into a Sink
An integrated sink keeps the lines of this bathroom sleek and clean. Viola marble paired with white oak makes for a contemporary look that never tips too cold, thanks in part to the warm veining running through the stone. The limewash walls help too sealed for water resistance, they bring a softness to the room. Not sure what an integrated sink actually is? The basin is carved from a single piece of stone, built right into the countertop as one continuous surface.
03 Mount the Vanity and Toilet
Mounting both the vanity and a good toilet can make a tiny bathroom feel more open and airy—exactly what happened in this tight room. Floating the fixtures has another payoff, too: it shows off more of that beautiful blue cement tile.
04 Mix Up Two Tiles
In another bathroom, a bold sapphire ceramic tile lines the shower and practically glows under the skylight above. It’s paired with porcelain tiles, laid in an unusual pattern that adds movement to the curbless, zero-access shower where the floor runs straight into the stall. Blending two tile styles gives the room a fresh, slightly eclectic look that still feels pulled-together. Instead of a full door, a simple glass partition contains the water while keeping the space open.
05 Install a Unique Sliding Door
This sliding door breaks from the usual shower setup. Its black track shows off exposed, oversized rollers, adding charm and character to the stall. The black was a deliberate choice mixing metals, the dark frame plays off the brass shower fixtures and adds some depth.
06 Install Tiny Tiles
The coolest thing in this bathroom? The teeny tiny tile. Half-inch penny rounds in a blue blend run smaller than the standard size, which reads as more modern and a little more playful. To keep all that tile from feeling busy it covers the full shower, the room, the shower floor, and partial walls the vanity is made entirely of Arabescato marble, a second big statement that balances everything out.
07 Mix the Finishes
Want something moodier? This washroom became a statement space with a coat of emerald, green paint Roycroft Bottle Green by Sherwin-Williams. Brass hardware woven in with black finishes keeps the dark color from feeling too heavy.
08 Hang Halo Mirrors
This hotel bathroom nails the retro-meets-modern thing. The pill-shaped mirrors are backlit, and their golden glow happens to match the yellow grout. A custom vanity offers a fresh take on classic shaker style, finished with simple black hardware. The tile carries a Scandinavian floral influence, and look closely the pattern actually tells a story through tiny bees and the hotel’s initials, which gives it a custom, almost secret-message feel.
09 Choose Extra-Long Handles
One easy way to make cabinetry look expensive: oversized handles. The brass hardware on this custom walnut vanity adds a little glimmer to an otherwise muted palette. Vertically stacked tiles reinforce the modern feel, while the beige tone, creamy honed limestone, and wood tones soften the whole room.
10 Extend the Countertop Material
Here’s a clever idea we haven’t seen much of yet: extending the countertop material up into a semi-backsplash. This one uses dedalus marble, and a reeded white oak vanity makes the look even better.
11 Go with All-Black Finishes
Pink feels bold to a lot of people, and tiling an entire bathroom in it is bolder still. Even so, the shade stays sleek and grown-up here, balanced by black hardware. The small-scale tile keeps things contemporary, with a grid-like effect that has a modern edge. Those little mosaics make the room feel bigger, too, especially set against the large-format terrazzo on the floor.
12 Use a Full Stone Slab for the Walls
Behind this vanity, a full slab of Arabescato Corchia marble takes the backsplash idea to a whole new level. It’s a luxe alternative to tile and it skips the tedious grout cleaning. Highly veined marble leans traditional, so to freshen it up, a custom concrete vanity with smooth, hardware-less fronts provides a solid, grounding contrast.
13 Build In a Shower Seat
A different angle on the same bathroom reveals the shower stall, wrapped in tiles that create a multi-tone, dimensional effect. The built-in seat is topped with the same Arabescato Corchia stone, which ties the room together. It’s an easy spot to relax, and it doubles as extra storage.
14 Create an Accent Wall
To blend modern style with more classic materials, lean on contrast. The smooth, sharp lines of this floating sink a dark Carnico Grigio stone slab play off textured backsplash tiles with an aged, weathered look. And that “pipe”? It’s actually a sneaky light fixture.
15 Drench Your Space in Color
Color drenching coating a whole room in a single hue is having a moment. It’s not common in bathrooms, partly because it’s tricky and pricey to undo once you tire of it, but done well, you may never want to. This one embraces a blush pink, warmed up by a mix of textures like Venetian wax plaster and terrazzo against clean, modern lines. The terrazzo brings a casual, laid-back feel that still reads luxurious and suits the coastal setting nicely.
16 Install Cool Lights on the Mirror
The lighting in this ultra-graphic bathroom takes an unusual route: holes were pre-drilled into the vanity mirror so the fixtures could sit right on the glass, creating a fun floating effect. The stained oak vanity pairs nicely with the avocado green tiles and oddly enough, the stain reportedly came from a process using mushrooms.
17 Hang Pretty Shower Shelves
Instead of plastic caddies and stick-on hooks, try wood shelving for a more put-together look. Here, teak shelves complement the green ceramic tile. Wood in a bathroom can be risky, but teak holds up well it’s naturally water-resistant.
18 Leave the Pipes Exposed
Exposed structural details are a modern classic worth keeping around. In this green wallpapered bathroom, the sink is the star industrial but still polished, and an easy way to make a space feel one-of-a-kind. Using less material trims the cost, too.
19 Enclose the Tub
This modern oasis came from a simple goal: a soaking tub without blowing the budget. The fix was to install the tub inside the shower stall similar to an alcove tub-and-shower setup, but you still get the true feel of a soaking tub. It contains spillage nicely, too.
20 Get a Copper Bathtub
If you’ve got the room, a copper bathtub is hard to beat sleek, timeless, and right at home in a modern bath. Some come patinated for a more rustic touch. Copper has practical perks, too: it’s naturally anti-bacterial, anti-corrosion, and environmentally friendly.
21 Highlight Multiple Tiles
This bathroom features a trio of tiles in different styles, yet still reads clean and modern thanks to light-colored cabinetry in an Italian laminate. Pattern can absolutely work in a contemporary space. The colors here stay fairly neutral and monochromatic so the patterns can shine, with a hand-painted accent tile as the focal point and a smaller, matte floor tile chosen for grip.
22 Install Wall-Mounted Faucets
Wall-mounted faucets are everywhere right now, and for good reason they free up precious counter space. These brass faucets lean slightly traditional, but the streamlined white oak vanity keeps them from feeling dated.
23 Don’t Forget a Towel Warmer
For real spa energy, add a towel warmer. It was the finishing touch in this smartly designed bathroom, where the rack’s silver finish picks up the cool undertones of the vertical blue tiles. The tiles are staggered, too a nod to classic subway, turned vertical for a little fun.
24 Add an Unconventional Bathtub
Full of light and easy, flowing lines, this bathroom is built for a long soak. The real showstopper is the tub. Its unconventional shape brings instant drama without fighting the room’s simple, minimal lines.
25 Choose a Sink with an Elevated Basin
Sinks can be strictly functional, or they can be a moment. This marble basin is firmly the latter. Its rounded shape contrasts the straight lines of the counter and echoes the round mirror above, and the different material makes it pop even more.
26 Use Cement on Walls and Counters
Cement doesn’t sound luxe, but in the right setting it turns chic and a little extravagant. Its slightly textured surface plays beautifully against the smooth finishes of a modern bath. Add wood accents and you get an earthy but refined feel and it costs far less than marble or stone.
LEARN MORE: 8 Retro Bathrooms That Prove Modern Isn’t Always Best
27 Install a Picture Ledge
Hanging art in the bathroom makes the space feel more personal, but a little ledge takes the idea further. Load it up with paintings, small objects, and books then swap things out whenever the mood strikes.
28 Give the Tub a Stage
When the tub is this pretty, you show it off. A wood platform raises this green tub up and locks in its place as the room’s focal point.
29 Frame the Shelves
Start with the brass hardware, which already makes this bathroom feel luxe and modern. Then look at the shower shelves: a bit of brass molding turns a plain functional element into something genuinely eye-catching. Smart.
30 Add a Glass Room Divider
Bathrooms tend to be small, so walls and dividers can quickly make them feel cramped. The clever workaround here: a window-pane-inspired glass wall between the bath and shower areas. It carves out distinct zones without closing the room off.
LEARN MORE: 9 Gorgeous Small Primary Bedroom Ideas