The Bathroom Layout Mistake Designers Are Begging You To Stop Making

Bathrooms are some of the easiest places at home to renovate, particularly when you have multiple water closets, and can therefore allow one to be unusable for a bit. Whether you've been itching to add in some textured trendy bathroom floor tiles that are all the rage in 2025 or wanting to install a new shower head that captures the ever-popular waterfall design idea, there are plenty of trendy ways to add a modern look and feel to your bathroom design. However, one bathroom design tip is a timeless rule of thumb that designers are begging more people to follow: Make sure your toilet isn't the focal point. 

Having an open, visible toilet is a major way to bring bad feng shui into your home. The idea of having a toilet visible through a doorway is a feng shui no-no, and could also lead to another faux pas: having the toilet seat open and in view, which according to feng shui experts, drains a home of chi. And designers agree that even without considering the feng shui elements, this design tactic isn't great. Sandra Diaz-Velasco, principal architect of EOLO Architecture + Interiors, told The Spruce that the decision to have a toilet view can be off-putting to guests and is a potential privacy concern. Instead, designers and feng shui experts alike recommend moving your toilet so it's out of sight when the bathroom is first opened.

The easiest way to avoid having a potentially offensive and design-adverse toilet view in your bathroom is to simply design a bathroom with a toilet that's out of sight. In a dream world, you'd have enough space to potentially even put the toilet in its own separate nook, far away from the door. Or, if your bathroom isn't big enough for two separate spaces but still has room for the toilet to be off to the side, you can place a chic shower curtain to give some distance between the toilet and the rest of the features. You can even make the most of a small bathroom by placing the toilet on the side of the room that isn't exposed when the door is a bit open. 

If your bathroom toilet simply isn't moveable, don't fret: there are other small ways you can still avoid having a toilet view. For one, you could consider reinstalling your door so that the opening doesn't align with a view of a toilet — re-hinging a door is likely more DIY friendly than completely moving a toilet and redoing the plumbing. Otherwise, you can look to enhance other features in your bathroom to make them the focal point so that the toilet isn't taking center stage: Add more height to your sink and cabinetry, more color to your rugs and shower curtains, or more plants around the perimeter.