Knowing the best towel bar height, toilet paper holder height, and other bathroom measurements will help you knock out the final details of your bathroom remodel or makeover and know you got it right!
Since sharing our master bathroom renovation, I’ve been surprised by how many detailed questions I’ve gotten about measurements in our bathroom. Everything from toilet paper holder height to the height and size of our shower niche, and more. So today I’m sharing all the tips and measurements that you’ll need to make designing and decorating your bathroom a breeze!
Even if you didn’t just buy a towel rack or TP holder that you need to hang or you aren’t about to jump into a bathroom makeover, these tips are ones to keep on hand to refer to down the road!
Ready to get started? Let’s go (affiliate links included in post; full disclosure statement available {here})…
Towel Bar Height
The standard recommendation for towel bar height is 48″ from the floor to the center of the bar – I tend to hang mine between 44-48″ high. When determining the best towel bar height for your space, take into consideration how your bathroom is laid out (sometimes the placement of outlets and light switches can affect things) and who is going to use it (for example, you might want a lower towel bar height in a kids bathroom).
The towel bar above in our powder room isn’t the prettiest of options (it was here when we bought the house) but I bought {this towel bar} for our guest bathroom and really love it – classic yet updated! These are a few other favorite towel bars – most come in several finish options (Scroll & Click/Tap Images to Shop Them):
Towel bars typically come in three lengths – 18″, 24″, and 30″. An 18″ towel bar is great for small spaces and fits a single standard bath towel folded in half while a 24″ towel bar fits a single oversized bath towel folded in half. If you have the space, a 30″ towel bar is great for holding two standard bath towels folded in thirds. Of course another option for holding two towels is to get a 24″ double towel bar.
Towel Ring Height
And what about towel ring height? Hang them at the same height (measure from the bottom of the ring) as towel bars if they’re over the floor. If it’s over the vanity like in my guest bathroom, hang the towel ring 20-22″ above the vanity (again, measuring from the bottom of the ring):
Guest Bathroom Sources: Vanity faucet | Faucet handles | Chrome towel ring | Gray vanity (similar) | Brass and pearl vanity knobs
Robe Hook Height
Along with being used for robes, robe hooks are a great alternative to towel bars too! The recommended robe hook height in your bathroom is between 55-70″ above the floor. Mine are placed at 67″ high and about 10″ apart:
I used {these robe hooks} which come in four different finish options. Mine are the Golden Champagne finish:
Toilet Paper Holder Height
The recommended height for your toilet paper holder is 26″ from the floor to the center of the TP roll. It’s also recommended that the center of your toilet paper roll be placed 8-12″ in front of the front rim of your toilet. To find the best measurement within that 8-12″ to place it, sit on the toilet with your eyes closed and reach to where you’d expect to naturally find your TP roll (if multiple people use the bathroom, have them all do this and then mount it at the average distance). And yes, you will feel stupid while doing this – ha!
Sources: Brushed brass toilet paper holder (comes in other finishes too) | Toilet | Heated toilet seat | Woven trash can | Llama planter | Woven toilet tray – HomeGoods
Shower Niche Height
While there is no standard shower niche height, about 48-60″ is a good target range. The interior width of my shower niche is 12 ¾″ and width of the larger footrest niche (where I put my foot for shaving) is 7″. I added the heights that I chose for mine to a pic of our shower so you can see exactly what I went with:
Shower sources: Driftwood teak shower bench | Shower head (satin nickel) | Shower valve trim (satin nickel) | Hand shower (satin nickel) | Marble wall tile | Hexagon floor tile | Grout: Mapei Frost | Square shower drain (satin nickel)
A good tile person will take into account where the tile surrounding the niche begins and ends when determining the exact shower niche height and size. For example, you can see how my large niche up top is perfectly sandwiched between the surrounding shower tile with only full tile pieces both above and below it. When deciding for the size of my bottom footrest niche, I didn’t want it to be as tall as two full tiles so our tile guy lined it up perfectly on the bottom and then made it exactly 1 ½ tile pieces high.
If you’re going to divide your shower niche in half so that you have two shelves like mine, that also looks best when the shelf is aligned with the surrounding tile (the top of my shelf is aligned with the top of the surrounding wall tile). Exactly how you divide the two shelves is totally personal preference but I divided mine roughly in thirds with ⅓ of the space below (for soap and a sponge) and ⅔ of the space above (for shampoo & conditioner pumps):
On Shower Niche Shelves: Shampoo & Conditioner Pump Bottles (16 oz white/gold) | Body brush | Sea sponge
Sconce Height
There’s really no one “right” height to hang wall sconces since it depends so much upon where they’re being used. When they’re flanking a mirror in the bathroom mirror you typically want to hang them at eye level where they illuminate your face – but be sure not to hang them so high that the bulbs are visible when you’re standing next to them. In our bathroom, this meant that the distance from the floor to the center of the back plate of our sconces is about 62″.
Sources: Pedestal sink | Sconces | Mirror is no longer available but {this mirror} is similar
The standard recommendation for how far apart to mount sconces flanking a bathroom mirror is 36″ – 40″ but a lot depends upon the width of your mirror (and the position of the wall studs may also play a role). Our bathroom mirror is fairly narrow so our sconces are hung 33″ apart (measured from the center of one sconce to the center of the other). Trust your eye on this one!
Vanity Light Height
I’ve also gotten some questions about how I decided on the height of my vanity lights and mirror – honestly, I totally eyeballed it! But here are the exact measurements if you want to re-create the look:
Vanity Area Sources: Wood & rattan double vanity | Vanity knobs | Bathroom faucets – brushed nickel | Vanity lights | Vanity mirrors – gold | Woven seagrass tray on vanity | Cross base planter | Marble stacking dishes | Soap & lotion sink set with tray | Toothbrush holder | Bamboo toothbrushes | Gray & white striped towels | Robe hooks – golden champagne
I hope you guys find these simple measurements to be helpful for either now or down the road (be sure to Pin a pic or two from this post if you want to be able to find it later)! If you have any questions about sources for anything in the pics I shared, there’s a complete source list for our guest bathroom in {this post}, for our powder room in {this post}, and for our master bathroom in {this post}.
Another post you might enjoy if you missed it is {this post on my favorite bathroom decor} including storage & shelving, bath mats, hampers, stools, countertop accessories and more:
Thanks as always for stopping by,
Katy Beacher says
Thank you. I never gave much thought before about the height of towel racks and TP holders. But, now that you mention it I do hate where the TP holder is mounted in our master bath. Its about level with my elbow and about 2 inches from my arm. Awkward huh?
Hollie @ Stuck on Hue says
I was reading another designer’s blog tonight and someone asked a couple of these exact questions in the comments. Great timing for me to pass this post on to her, and pin for my upcoming bath reno. Thanks!
Kris Jarrett says
I’m so glad it came at a good time Hollie! 🙂
Anonymous says
Thanks so much, I’m in the process of remodeling and this is the exact info I needed. I’d appreciate your thoughts on my space. In the master, I am installing a double vanity with a middle cabinet
from the vanity top to ceiling which is flanked by walls. From the wall to the cabinet is 36″. My choices are wall sconces attached to the wall and cabinet for best lighting or above the mirror. I’m concerned that with even a slim profile of 3 or 4 inches on wall sconces the space might feel cramped as they would only be 28-20″ apart. Thoughts?
K says
I am doing same exact thing. I decided to put a canned light in ceiling on both sides above sink.
MD744 says
Doing a bathroom refresh. Husband and I disagreed on toilet paper height. HE was right. I had to concede. ☺ Other measurements were also very helpful. This was my first venture into your website. It certainly won’t be my last. Thanks!
Kris Jarrett says
Ha! Well I’m sorry you lost the bet but glad you found your way to my blog – welcome!
Craig says
would paper height vary for standard vs comfort height toilets?
Alison Ward says
Thank you!! We moved into a house and I knew the towel rings “felt” too low and the towels pool on the vanity! I am so glad I found this so I have proof to my husband and can now justify moving them all,
Catherine says
This was very helpful. Thank you
Rebecca says
Hi Kris! How high would you hang a wooden shelf above the toilet?
Kris Jarrett says
It would depend on the ceiling height and what’s going on the shelf so it’s going to differ a bit from bathroom to bathroom. I don’t have a one size fits all measurement for that unfortunately.
Thomas Gerlach says
Came for how high to hang the towel bar. 48 inches, perfect, will put it there. Thank you!!
Jeanne Feenick says
Hi there, found this post very helpful. My situation is that I have a very tight space to work with. The only place for a towel bar is beside the toilet. The installer put the rod at 58 inches, a bit over the high end to lessen risk of towel hitting toilet. I am using large bath sheets which when folded are about 7 inches longer than a standard towel. Ceiling height in the room is high at 11 feet. Am I ok with the 58 inches?
Stephanie says
Is there 33″ between the inside edges of your sconces, or 33″ from outside edge to outside edge? Thanks!
Kris Jarrett says
Ours are 33″ apart from center to center.
Kathy Lepp says
So VERY practical and helpful! And… good for the marriage. No more arguing about where to hang things in the powder room.
Thank you! Kathy
Tara Betsch says
I am hanging a towel ring AND a telescoping mirror on the wall to the right of my vanity. Where are the proper places to hang them? Vanity is flush with the wall on the right. Toilet is to the left of the vanity. A Cabinet is mounted to the wall above the toilet.
Thank you in advance!
Sheri says
I want to hang a small knick-knack shelf above my towel rack. Are there any recommended distances from the bottom of the shelf to the top of the towel rack?
Tasha says
I love those two mini, white shelves about your sink for holding the soap and flower! What would you call that/where would I find it? Thanks!
Karen B. says
What would we do without you? Even though I’m not remodeling anything right now, your information is so well-researched and your analysis of what works is priceless.
Have a wonderful upcoming week.
xo,
Karen
Kirsten Valentine says
Thank you so much for all this info!
It is extremely helpful.
I love all your finished and products but was wondering if you could include the small bench seat in your shower photo. I didn’t see it listed. ( I might have missed)
Thank you!
Ellen | Ask Away Blog says
Super good info to know!
Michele says
How far apart did you space the robe/towel hooks?
Patti says
This email couldn’t be more timely! The TP holder in my new build master Ensuite is so far back you practically have to pivot on the seat to reach it! Now I have the precise measurements to fix it! Thank you!
Melissa says
Very helpful post! My pet peeve is toilet paper that is hung “behind you” where you have to turn back for it lol. FYI – there are no links for the accessories in the bottom graphic.
Kris Jarrett says
Ha! I had that in an old house and it was the type of TP holder that was built into the tile – drove me nuts! And if you want sources for any of the accessories at the bottom of the post, you can find them here: https://www.drivenbydecor.com/bathroom-decor-ideas/
La says
I’m remodeling my standing shower and love your design. I’m curious about the shower doors. Looking for something minimalist with brushed nickel handles. Suggestions?
Jeremy Horn says
Very helpful information, thank you !!!!
Lisa Hutchison says
Thank you so much for this wonderful information! So helpful!!
Deana Rabbach says
Hi! What are the dimensions of your shower floor to ceiling and how wide is your niche?
Kris Jarrett says
The ceiling is only about 8′ on the end that the long shower wall is on. The niche dimensions, including width are in the post.
Thomas says
For me, 52” towel bars made more sense for adults and had 42” for the littles. I’ve also done double bars next to a walk in shower where you can’t have the depth of a double bar because of how the dirt opens and hung one at 42” and the second at 72”.
Kris Jarrett says
The 26″ height is standard for both standard and comfort height toilets but if it feels too high or too low for you depending on your toilet, mount it an inch or two lower or higher at your discretion.
Terry says
Thank you for sharing all these measurements. Has been so helpful! I bought the same robe/towel hooks you show above. How far apart did you space yours?
Kris Jarrett says
Mine are about 10″ apart 🙂
Hope says
Hi! I love your taste, I’ve used your IG for a ton of inspiration for our home. We just redid our master bathroom and in the water closet were going to add 2 floating shelves above the toilet. Do you have a suggestion for height for that?
Karleen says
Thanks for this! I just removed hand towel rings placed at a height for giants in my new house, and was wondering what the proper height was. I actually bought a towel bar and am trimming it to fit the width of disposable hand towels for my guest bath. This helps a lot. Here’s a question though, not exactly measurement related: Which direction should a horizontal post tissue roll holder go? Open toward or away from the toilet?
Alex James says
Thank you for sharing this helpful information. I found your article really impressive.
Kristen says
Where did you get your footrest niche. Was it custom built? I can’t find a niche box that small
Tara Seth says
I would like to hang a train rack above the toilet. How high above the tank should the rack be located? I would like to hang towels from the rack and don’t, of course, want them to touch the toilet tank lid.
Thank you.
Nicole says
What height do you recommend hanging train racks over toilets?
Shiel says
Hello, this is a great post and we love your new bathroom. Can you let me know how deep the shower niche is. Looks like 4 or maybe 5 inches deep. I can see the other measurements in the post but not the depth. Thank you.