13 Versatile Beadboard Bathroom Ideas

Add Depth With This Elongated Wood Paneling

By
Anabelle Bernard Fournier
Anabelle Bernard Fournier
Anabelle Bernard Fournier is a freelance writer who specializes in home decor and interior design. She's been writing about interiors since 2012 and focuses on bathroom design and personalizing a home.
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Updated on 05/02/22
Small bathroom with white walls split with navy blue beadboard treatment

The Spruce / Christopher Lee Foto

Beadboard wall treatments are a beautiful and traditional way of adding visual interest to a bathroom. Whether you install some halfway up your wall or over its entire surface, it's sure to make your bathroom cozy and welcoming.

What is Beadboard?

Beadboard is a type of wainscoting known by its panels made of characteristically narrow vertical wood planks. Though the terms beadboard and wainscoting are often used interchangeably, there's a difference; Wainscoting is an umbrella term for types of decorative paneling, including beadboard.

If you like the homespun style of beadboard, here are 13 pretty beadboard bathrooms to inspire your next remodel.

  • 01 of 13

    Horizontal Beadboard

    A beadboard bathroom in medium-dark wood
    Seth Benn Photo/houzz.com

    This cozy cottage bathroom by Seth Benn Photo via Houzz features an unexpected twist to the beadboard theme: horizontal installation. Although beadboard is usually installed vertically, you can always break the mold. The horizontal effect draws you into the space and balances its depth. It's like walking into an old cedar closet.

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  • 02 of 13

    Monochromatic Beadboard

    beadboard bathroom in neutral tones
    Jessica Helgerson Interior Design

    In a monochromatic bathroom, you can use beadboard to create slight contrast with the wall color. This cozy bathroom by Jessica Helgerson Interior Design shows you exactly how to do it. The light gray of the beadboard and mirror frame contrast the paler wall for a chic effect. After all, there are many shades of neutrals.

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  • 03 of 13

    Minty Beadboard Bathroom

    beadboard bathroom in a mint green
    Lindsey Cheney

    This soft, family-friendly design by Lindsey Cheney of The Pleated Poppy is a great example of how you can successfully use color and beadboard together. There's a lovely sense of movement here. The all-over beadboard contrasts with the nearly square mirrors, adding a vertical dimension to them. Plus, the combination of mint green, white, and tan is simple and beautiful.

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  • 04 of 13

    Beachy Beadboard

    A beadboard bathroom with light blue wall paint and a blue tile floor
    Courtney Blanton Interiors

    The beadboard in this beach-style bathroom by Courtney Blanton Interiors via Houzz is pretty typical. But what makes this space special is the combination of a beadboard wall and a mosaic tile floor. The two together avoid a cookie-cutter feel and add lots of personality. It's a cozy-yet-fun space that isn't afraid to play with textures.

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  • 05 of 13

    A Touch of Beadboard

    A beadboard bathroom vanity with yellow wallpaper
    Phoebe Howard

    Although the yellow-striped wallpaper in this beach house bathroom by Phoebe Howard looks like beadboard, it isn't. The beadboard here is used as an accessory on the vanity doors. It's a clever use of the beadboard look, without having to install it all over the walls. It also adds a sense of height to this mostly white vanity. 

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  • 06 of 13

    Farmhouse Beadboard Powder Room

    A beadboard bathroom in a rustic farmhouse style
    Farmhouse 5540

    If you have low ceilings, beadboard can make a room look taller by drawing the eye up. For example, this small farmhouse powder room by Farmhouse 5540 is greatly enhanced by the white beadboard that goes all the way up to the original wood-beam ceiling. The large, decorative mirror is another great touch to make the room feel bigger.

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  • 07 of 13

    Beadboard at Varying Heights

    A beadboard bathroom with a white vanity
    Taste Design

    This primary bathroom by Taste Design via Houzz shows how to use beadboard at different heights to add movement to a large space. The wall treatment is stacked at three different levels: under the large window, halfway up the wall just before the corner, and above the large vanity. Don't be afraid to play with heights. It can make your space feel more playful.

    About This Term: Primary Bathroom

    Many real estate associations, including the National Association of Home Builders, have classified the term "Master Bedroom" (or "Master Bathroom") as discriminatory. "Primary Bedroom" is the name now widely used among the real estate community and better reflects the purpose of the room.


    Read more about our Diversity and Inclusion Pledge to make The Spruce a site where all feel welcome.

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  • 08 of 13

    Dark and Defined Beadboard

    A dark beadboard bathroom with white towels hanging
    Kristin Petro Interiors

    You don't have to add beadboard to every wall. You also can use it to define a small area within a larger space like this stunning bathroom by Kristin Petro Interiors. The black beadboard contrasts with the neutral light shade of the wall and sets apart the area where towels hang. 

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  • 09 of 13

    Cute Beadboard Powder Room

    A beadboard bathroom with gray walls
    Stacey Michaud

    "Cute" is the word for this powder room by Stacey Michaud. The neutral gray and white with a dash of yellow creates a small space with a lot of personality. The beadboard here is used in a pretty traditional way, about halfway up the wall. But it does have the effect of framing the beautiful pedestal sink and toilet and leaving the mirror and shelves to shine by themselves.

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  • 10 of 13

    Almost All-Over Beadboard Primary Bathroom

    A bathroom with beadboard up the walls and on the ceiling
    Bauman Photographers

    In this traditional primary bathroom by Andrea May via Houzz, beadboard stretches almost all the way up the walls. There's just a small band of color between the edge of the wall beadboard and the ceiling, which is also covered in beadboard. This draws they eyes up giving the illusion of a higher ceiling. Also, the top edge of the painting to the right is higher than the edge of the beadboard, a trick that gives more importance to the space.

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  • 11 of 13

    Black-and-White Beadboard

    A beadboard bathroom with black walls and white beadboard
    Bella Mancini Design

    Black and white is a bold choice in bathrooms, and beadboard can work well to create this contrast. This cottage bathroom design by Bella Mancini uses beadboard as the bottom white half, installed against the black wall color. Instead of flat white paint, the beadboard offers some interesting texture, which gives the space movement.

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  • 12 of 13

    Levels of Beadboard

    A beadboard bathroom with traditional vanities
    Tom Stringer Design Partners

    This elegant primary bathroom by Tom Stringer Design Partners via Houzz features a two-level beadboard wall. The levels of beadboard add depth and help to frame all of the different elements of this bathroom, especially the eye-catching vanity space. Any element that touches the floor stays on the lower beadboard level, while the mirrors and light fixtures are on top. It's a great way to break up a large space to make it feel more intimate.

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  • 13 of 13

    Minimalist Beadboard Bathroom

    A minimalist beadboard bathroom
    JAS Design Build

    Take a hint from this minimalist attic bathroom by JAS Design Build: Beadboard is an excellent solution to minimize low ceilings. This space would feel oppressively small if it weren't for the heightening properties of the narrow beadboard. Adding it along the drop-in tub gives the space a sense of harmony and continuity, the essential elements of minimalist style.

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