Bathrooms
Beautify Your Bathtub With This Budget-Friendly Designer Trick
Updated on April 15, 2022
A beautiful bathroom relies on a beautiful tub. If a stunning soaker or classic clawfoot isn’t in the cards, here’s how you can make your shower remodels more stylish: Clad the outside of your tub in tile, wood planks, or painted-out panelling for a custom look without the price tag. Click through to see this designer trick in action.
Designer Sarah Hartill clad her tub in large square tiles in the same color and veining as the subway tiles used on the walls. It creates a cohesive look that is also durable.
In editor-in-chief Beth Hitchcock’s bathroom, designer Cameron MacNeil fronted the tub in the same subway tiles as the walls for continuity.
Shaker-style wood panelling dresses up a built-in tub and adds warmth to this elegant bathroom.
Using classic white subway tile across the front of a tub created a simple backdrop for the bold, floral shower curtain in senior design editor Stacey Smithers’ bathroom.
A continuation of the cabinet fronts onto the tub creates a consistent look, which is especially useful if you’re updating an old tub to match a new vanity.
In more modern homes, cladding a tub in mirrors feels like a natural choice for a bathroom.
If your tub is hidden behind dated tile, paint it out for a budget-friendly solution. Here, a deep blue camouflages old tile while also adding some depth to the room.
If you already have a basic built-in surround but it could use some visual interest, add faux-panelling. Wooden molding cut to size and affixed with glue is a quick and easy way to get the luxe finish of plaster molding.
Cedar planks, stained a deep brown, create a luxe front as well as a shallow ledge for perching on while getting in and out of the tub.