Bath panels are surprisingly expensive, but they can be easy to DIY yourself and are an affordable way to offer a gentle refresh to your bathroom space.
Traditional white plastic bath panels can be uninspiring and lack personality. From an extension of your floor tiles to funky vinyl panels, let these bath panel ideas inspire this simple update to your bathroom.
Upgrade Your Bath With These 15 DIY Bath Panel Ideas
1.Ceramic Stone Effect Tiles
To create your own bath panel, you first need to build out a solid wooden frame. Experts recommend not making the wooden frame too rigid as you need to allow for room for expansion.
Once your frame is built you can add a covering of your choice. These dark ceramic stone effect tiles are an extension from the floor, and they add beautiful definition against the white wall tiles.
2. Simple Shaker Style Bath Panel
A shaker style bath panel is one of the easiest to DIY and it brings a timeless look to both traditional and modern bathrooms.
Paint it in the same colour as your walls, or opt for a bolder shade for a fun contrast in your colour scheme.
3. Shiplap Panelling Adds A Timeless Look
Shiplap style panelling is a great alternative to shaker, it is less traditional and brings an ultra relaxed yet stylish finish with it. You can buy custom made sheets of tongue and groove panelling which is the best option.
Fitting individual shiplap panels isn’t best practice as during heat changes the wood can expand, causing cracks in your caulk over time.
4. Rustic Wooden Panels
If you want to introduce a rustic, earthy scheme in your bathroom, opt for some rustic wooden panels. They add a lovely rustic feel to a bath, just ensure they are properly treated against humidity before installation.
5. Extend Floor Tiles Onto The Bath Panel
One of the most popular bath panel looks is to extend your floor tiles onto the bath panel. This creates a seamless flow throughout the space and avoids having to introduce another set of tiles or colour into the space.
Or take inspiration from the bathroom below, and use the same tiles all over the space. This style does run the risk of making the bathroom feel cold, albeit that it does take away a certain aspect of design fatigue during a bathroom remodel.
6. Natural Slat Wood Panelled Bath Panel
Slat wood panelling has grown in popularity in recent years, it lends a wonderfully modern approach to panelling and delivers gorgeous definition without it being black.
This bath panel looks incredible with the terrazzo wall and floor tiles, beautifully grounding the bathroom colour scheme.
7. Floral Vinyl For A Pop of Colour
Vinyl is not only cost effective, but it’s a great way to refresh an existing bath panel without going through the rigmarole of removing and creating a new frame and boarding it up first.
Use your bath panel as an opportunity to be creative with colour and print, this maximalist bathroom is a true feast for the eyes!
8. A Continuation of Your Wall Tiles For A Cohesive Feel
Is this not the most easy on the eye bathroom? We love the use of Bert and May tiles in this bathroom project. The colour symphony is perfectly executed and the continuation of vertically stacked wall tiles on the bath panel is intentional and ties the bathroom together.
We think green is always a great idea throughout an interior!
9. Black Bespoke Bath Panel
How stunning is this black bespoke bath panel? If you like natural slat wood panelling but would prefer something a bit more defining, this is a great alternative.
If you’re looking to create an ultra modern or contemporary bathroom space, this style of bath panel is bang on trend.
10. Herringbone Style Bath Panel
Herringbone style tiles remain a popular choice for tile play in a bathroom. Use the same layout and style of tiles on the wall and bath panel for a synonymous look in your bathroom.
11. Make It Fun!
Just in case you need any persuasion to try a vinyl covering for bath panels… This super fun and quirky peel and stick vinyl is created by jesrosevinyl.
If you want to make a quirky remark in your bathroom, there’s no better way to do it. It’s as simple as covering over your existing bath panels too for a quick refresh.
12. Pick A Bold Shade
Take inspiration from the below and paint your bath panelling in the same shade as your bathroom.
This is a great way to pull the space together, and it lends a more modern approach to a bathroom than using traditional white plastic bath panels.
13. Modern Zellige Tiles
Another gorgeous bathroom feature using Bert and May tiles throughout. We absolutely love natural Zellige tiles, there is something unexpected about the variation of tiles that catches your eyes no matter what angle you perceive them in.
There’s a lot to be said for these perfectly imperfect tiles, and they add a really beautiful dimension to a bath panel.
14. Fluted Bath Panel
Introduce texture and definition with a fluted bath panel. This style of bath panel creates instant texture in a bathroom space which can often feel flat with conventional tiles.
Choose a neutral or bold contrasting style for instant visual interest as you step into the bathroom.
15. Natural Wood Finish
We love how this bathroom has picked the same wood finish for their bath panel and vanity unit. The result is that it creates a cohesive and very intentional space.
The bath panel is finished with a gorgeous black border which really frames and adds a much needed touch of definition and modernity to the bath.
Which of these bath panel ideas is your favourite? If you have any questions, please leave me a comment below and I’ll come straight back!
