Bathroom layout planner: design your bathroom online for free

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ApaPlan is a free bathroom design tool that runs in your browser: draw the room with exact dimensions, place a bath or shower, toilet, basin and storage from a catalog of real products, and check the clearances in 2D and 3D. You can start immediately, without signing up.

Bathroom clearances to plan around

In a bathroom every centimetre counts, and the fixtures cannot be pushed around later as easily as furniture. These are common planning values; local building codes may set their own minimums, so check them for your area.

Standard baths are about 170 × 70 cm in Europe and 152 × 76 cm (60 × 30 in) in North America. A wall-hung toilet projects about 50–55 cm (20–22 in); a floor-standing one 60–70 cm (24–28 in).

Common bathroom layouts

Bath across the end wall

In a room 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) wide, a 170 cm bath fits exactly between the side walls at the far end, with the basin and toilet along one long wall. This is the arrangement behind the classic North American 5 × 8 ft bathroom, and it is very close to the 1.7 × 2.4 m example above.

Shower instead of a bath

Replacing the bath with a 90 × 120 cm (3 × 4 ft) walk-in shower usually frees space for a washing machine or a tall cabinet and makes the room feel larger.

Everything on one wall

Placing toilet, basin and shower on one “wet wall” simplifies plumbing and is often the cheapest layout to build. It works in narrow rooms from about 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) wide.

Separate zones in a larger bathroom

From roughly 6 m² (65 sq ft) you can separate the toilet behind a half-height wall, add a double basin (about 120–140 cm, 4–4 ft 7 in wide) or place a freestanding bath.

Small bathroom layout tips

• Choose a wall-hung toilet and basin. Visible floor underneath makes the room look bigger and saves 5–10 cm of depth.
• Use a sliding or outward-opening door so the door swing does not take up the space in front of the toilet.
• Prefer a glass shower screen to a curtain or solid partition.
• Shallow basins 35–40 cm (14–16 in) deep exist for narrow rooms.
• Store vertically: a mirror cabinet and shelves above the toilet replace floor-standing units.

Plumbing and measuring checks

• Mark the soil stack and waste pipe: the toilet should be close to it, which limits where it can go.
• Note the position of water supply pipes, the heated towel rail or radiator, and the extractor fan.
• Measure the room at the floor and at about 1 m height; tiling will reduce each dimension by 1–2 cm.
• Check the door width — a bath or shower tray has to come in through it.
• Record the ceiling height and any boxing around pipes.

Moving drains is often the largest cost in a bathroom renovation, so try layouts that keep fixtures near existing connections first. Structural or plumbing changes must be confirmed by a qualified professional; the plan is for visualising and discussing options.

Bathroom design mistakes

• A door that hits the toilet or basin when it opens.
• Planning a shower tray smaller than 80 × 80 cm (2 ft 7 in square).
• No space to stand and towel off next to the bath or shower.
• Sockets and the washing machine placed in the splash zone.
• Forgetting storage for towels and cleaning products.

Storage, lighting and ventilation

A bathroom needs more storage than people expect: towels, toiletries, cleaning products and spare toilet rolls. A vanity unit under the basin, a mirror cabinet and a tall narrow cabinet 30–40 cm (12–16 in) wide usually cover it. Niches built into a boxed-in wall can hold shampoo in the shower without taking floor space.

Plan lighting in two parts: an overall ceiling light suitable for damp areas, and light at the mirror that falls evenly on the face rather than from directly above. Ventilation matters as much as layout — an extractor fan or opening window prevents condensation and mould, especially in an inside bathroom without daylight.

If the bathroom is part of a wider renovation, plan the whole apartment in one project from the ApaPlan home page, so walls and doors line up between rooms.

How to plan your bathroom in ApaPlan

Open the example with “Open this plan in the editor” or draw your bathroom: walls with exact lengths and thickness, the door and its swing direction, a window if there is one. Add a bath, shower, toilet, basin, washing machine and storage from more than 2,500 3D models, including real products from brands such as Roca and IKEA with their dimensions. Resize, rotate and snap fixtures to the walls.

Switch to 3D to see tiles and finishes from the material library, or upload your own tile texture. The first-person view shows what you see from the door. When you are happy, download a renovation PDF with plans, room areas and a finish schedule for your contractor. For more about materials and 3D views, read the 3D interior design guide; the kitchen planner covers the other room with plumbing.

How to do it in ApaPlan

1. Open the bathroom example. Click “Open this plan in the editor” or start a new project; no sign-up needed.
2. Draw the room. Enter exact wall lengths and thickness, then add the door and flip its swing to match reality.
3. Place the toilet near the drain. Start with the toilet next to the existing soil stack, then add the bath or shower.
4. Add basin and storage. Place the washbasin, washing machine and cabinets, keeping 45–70 cm of free space in front of each fixture.
5. Choose finishes and export. Apply tile and floor materials in 3D, then download the PDF with plans and the finish schedule.

Open this plan in the editor

Frequently asked questions

See also