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Updated: Sep 28, 2022 by Kris Jarrett

Must-Have Bathroom Measurements (Towel Bar Height, Toilet Paper Holder Height & More!)

The best towel bar height, toilet paper holder height, and other bathroom measurements to help you get the final touches on your bathroom right!

Since sharing our master bathroom remodel, I’ve gotten a ton of detailed questions about measurements for various things 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…

All the bathroom measurements you need to know! Toilet paper holder height, towel bar height, robe hook height & more!

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).

Helpful info on towel bar height and other bathroom measurements!

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 towel rings 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 so the bottom of your towels hang at least a few inches above the vanity which is typically 18-22″ above the vanity (again, measuring from the bottom of the ring):

Great advice on towel right height and other measurements for your bathroom!

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! 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:

The best towel hook height - so helpful!

I used {these robe hooks} which come in four different finish options. Mine are the Golden Champagne finish:

Gorgeous towel and robe hooks - some of the beautiful bathroom decor ideas in this post!

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!

Want to know the best toilet paper holder height? This post has all the measurements you need!

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

Being intentional with your shower niche rather than having it be a last minute thought when you remodel or do a new build is one of my top 10 master bathroom remodel ideas I share {here}. 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:

Our shower niche height measurements! Lots of other helpful bathroom measurements in this post too!

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 on 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):

Details on shower niche height including spacing of shelves!

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″.

Great sconce height tip when you're mounting them in a bathroom!

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:

Our vanity light height and mirror spacing in our bathroom!

Vanity Area Sources: Wood & rattan double vanity  |  Vanity knobs  |  Bathroom faucets – brushed nickel  |  Vanity lights  |  Vanity mirrors – gold  |  Woven seagrass tray on vanity  |  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 plus several guest bathroom ideas {here}, sources for our powder room plus details on how I painted our bathroom’s ceramic tile floors {here}, and sources for our master bathroom remodel {here}.

Another post you might enjoy if you missed it is my post on favorite bathroom decor ideas {here} including storage & shelving, bath mats, hampers, stools, countertop accessories and more:

Stylish bathroom decor! Love all of these countertop accessories - soap pumps, trays, tissue boxes, & more!

Thanks as always for stopping by,

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Categories: Bathrooms

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katy Beacher says

    October 20, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    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?

    Reply
  2. Hollie @ Stuck on Hue says

    October 25, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      November 10, 2017 at 4:58 pm

      I’m so glad it came at a good time Hollie! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    November 19, 2017 at 7:58 am

    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?

    Reply
    • K says

      May 10, 2021 at 2:10 pm

      I am doing same exact thing. I decided to put a canned light in ceiling on both sides above sink.

      Reply
  4. MD744 says

    March 28, 2018 at 10:27 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 29, 2018 at 6:12 pm

      Ha! Well I’m sorry you lost the bet but glad you found your way to my blog – welcome!

      Reply
      • Craig says

        March 03, 2021 at 10:32 am

        would paper height vary for standard vs comfort height toilets?

        Reply
  5. Alison Ward says

    May 17, 2018 at 8:43 pm

    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,

    Reply
  6. Catherine says

    November 01, 2018 at 7:27 am

    This was very helpful. Thank you

    Reply
  7. Rebecca says

    December 16, 2018 at 11:15 pm

    Hi Kris! How high would you hang a wooden shelf above the toilet?

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      January 02, 2019 at 1:28 pm

      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.

      Reply
  8. Thomas Gerlach says

    March 17, 2019 at 9:32 pm

    Came for how high to hang the towel bar. 48 inches, perfect, will put it there. Thank you!!

    Reply
  9. Jeanne Feenick says

    June 03, 2019 at 8:44 pm

    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?

    Reply
  10. Stephanie says

    October 30, 2019 at 12:44 am

    Is there 33″ between the inside edges of your sconces, or 33″ from outside edge to outside edge? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      January 31, 2020 at 1:26 pm

      Ours are 33″ apart from center to center.

      Reply
  11. Kathy Lepp says

    February 04, 2020 at 6:26 pm

    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

    Reply
  12. Tara Betsch says

    February 26, 2020 at 11:09 am

    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!

    Reply
  13. Sheri says

    June 15, 2020 at 8:16 am

    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?

    Reply
  14. Tasha says

    September 05, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    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!

    Reply
  15. Karen B. says

    October 04, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    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

    Reply
  16. Kirsten Valentine says

    October 05, 2020 at 9:29 am

    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!

    Reply
  17. Ellen | Ask Away Blog says

    October 06, 2020 at 10:26 am

    Super good info to know!

    Reply
  18. Michele says

    October 06, 2020 at 12:56 pm

    How far apart did you space the robe/towel hooks?

    Reply
  19. Patti says

    October 07, 2020 at 8:55 am

    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!

    Reply
  20. Melissa says

    October 19, 2020 at 10:17 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      October 20, 2020 at 9:29 pm

      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/

      Reply
  21. La says

    December 04, 2020 at 10:36 pm

    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?

    Reply
  22. Jeremy Horn says

    December 22, 2020 at 12:31 am

    Very helpful information, thank you !!!!

    Reply
  23. Lisa Hutchison says

    December 28, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    Thank you so much for this wonderful information! So helpful!!

    Reply
  24. Deana Rabbach says

    February 08, 2021 at 10:00 pm

    Hi! What are the dimensions of your shower floor to ceiling and how wide is your niche?

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      February 09, 2021 at 3:56 pm

      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.

      Reply
  25. Thomas says

    February 21, 2021 at 7:09 pm

    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”.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 11, 2021 at 9:50 am

      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. 

      Reply
  26. Terry says

    April 28, 2021 at 7:15 pm

    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?

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      May 01, 2021 at 1:13 pm

      Mine are about 10″ apart 🙂

      Reply
  27. Hope says

    May 06, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    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?

    Reply
  28. Karleen says

    May 15, 2021 at 10:38 pm

    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?

    Reply
  29. Alex James says

    June 23, 2021 at 9:17 am

    Thank you for sharing this helpful information. I found your article really impressive.

    Reply
  30. Kristen says

    October 11, 2021 at 9:03 am

    Where did you get your footrest niche. Was it custom built? I can’t find a niche box that small

    Reply
  31. Tara Seth says

    December 26, 2021 at 9:57 pm

    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.

    Reply
  32. Nicole says

    March 25, 2022 at 11:34 am

    What height do you recommend hanging train racks over toilets?

    Reply
  33. Shiel says

    May 06, 2022 at 11:30 pm

    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.

    Reply
  34. Dori says

    November 12, 2022 at 8:17 pm

    Kris! you were a LIFE SAVER and straight up angel! This article was our guide when we had to design and remodel our master bath. I can’t thank you enough for sharing all of this information! I wish I could post pictures in my comments! Thank you again so much for taking the time to write and post this article my sanity appreciates you more than you know!

    Reply
  35. Morgan says

    November 15, 2022 at 4:40 am

    Great article. Very descriptive. Love it. Thank you.

    Reply

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