A 6x8 bathroom (72 × 96 in, 48 sq ft) is a 5x8 with one more foot of width, and that foot opens the room up. The 6 ft end wall takes a 72 × 36 in tub wall to wall, the toilet and the vanity can face each other across the room, and a 60 × 36 in walk-in shower fits along the 8 ft wall. Two sinks fit too, beside a corner shower.
Four 6x8 layouts, drawn to scale
The dashed boxes are the code’s clear spaces in front of each fixture, and the brass line marks the toilet’s centerline. Open a plan in the layout planner to move things or try your own door.
- Clear in front of the vanity: 39 in
- Sink centerline to the side: 21 in
- Toilet centerline to the side: 15 in
- Clear in front of the toilet: 42 in
Layout A: a 72 in tub across the end
The 6 ft end wall takes a 72 × 36 in alcove tub wall to wall, 12 in longer than the usual 60 in tub. The toilet goes on the long wall with its centerline 15 in from the tub and 42 in of floor in front, and a 36 in vanity sits on the end wall beside the door with 39 in in front.
- Best for: a soaking tub, with the door in the end wall.
- The trade-off: the toilet is at the code’s 15 in from the tub, short of the 18 in designers suggest.
- Clear in front of the vanity: 45 in
- Sink centerline to the side: 21 in
- Toilet centerline to the side: 18 in
- Clear in front of the toilet: 45 in
Layout B: the tub along the long wall
Run a standard 60 × 30 in tub down the 8 ft wall from one corner. A 36 in vanity takes the end wall beside it, its sink 21 in from the wall and from the tub, and the toilet goes on the opposite end wall, 18 in from the side wall. This one passes every comfortable-spacing check, with 45 in of floor in front of both the toilet and the vanity.
- Best for: the roomiest full bath in 6x8, with the door in the end wall.
- The trade-off: the fixtures sit on both end walls, so the plumbing does too.
- Clear in front of the shower: 36 in
- Clear in front of the vanity: 33 in
- Sink centerline to the side: 18 in
- Toilet centerline to the side: 18 in
- Clear in front of the toilet: 36 in
Layout C: a walk-in shower on the long wall
A 60 × 36 in shower base runs down the 8 ft wall from the corner, with 36 in of floor in front of it, and a 36 in vanity takes the rest of that wall. The toilet sits on the end wall next to the shower with 18 in on each side, and an 18 in linen cabinet fills the corner across from the vanity.
- Best for: a shower-only bath with storage.
- The trade-off: the sink is 18 in from the shower, a little short of the 20 in designers suggest.
- Clear in front of the shower: 48 in
- Clear in front of the vanity: 37 in
- Sink centerline to the side: 18 in
- Toilet centerline to the side: 15 in
- Clear in front of the toilet: 45 in
Layout D: two sinks and a corner shower
A 38 × 38 in neo-angle shower fills one corner, its door in the angled face with 48 in of floor in front. The toilet sits beside it on the end wall, and a 60 in double vanity sits across the far end with its sinks 30 in apart. The door moves to the middle of the long wall.
- Best for: a shared bath that needs two sinks.
- The trade-off: the sinks are at the code’s 30 in apart (36 in is the comfortable aim), and the toilet is 15 in from the side wall.
What the plans assume. The fixtures are drawn at the planner’s nominal sizes, in a room measured between finished walls, with the door where it’s shown. A plan that passes keeps the code’s spacing for those sizes; it doesn’t show that a particular product fits. Check the spec sheet of each fixture you buy. A tub or a shower base goes in against the studs before the walls are finished, so fit it to the stud-to-stud opening its installation sheet gives, not to the finished width: on Kohler’s drawing of its Villager tub, the finished end wall laps ⅞ in over the tub. How each rule is read: what the planner checks.
The double vanity. The planner’s 60 in double vanity sets its sinks 15 in from each end and 30 in apart. Real ones differ: Kohler’s 60 in Hearthaven has its sinks 35½ in apart and 12-9/16 in from the ends of its top, so set wall to wall they would sit closer to the walls than the code’s 15 in. Check your model’s basin centers against whatever stands beside it, and leave a little open wall at each end if you need to. More in how wide a double vanity needs to be.
What one foot changes
| 5 × 8 ft | 6 × 7 ft | 6 × 8 ft | 6 × 9 ft | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floor area | 40 sq ft | 42 sq ft | 48 sq ft | 54 sq ft |
| Longest tub across the end | 60 in | 72 in | 72 in | 72 in |
| Toilet and vanity facing each other | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Widest vanity with a 60 in tub | 60 in | 48 in | 72 in | 72 in |
| …with comfortable spacing | 36 in | 42 in | 42 in | 48 in |
| Widest vanity with a 60 × 36 in shower | 30 in | 36 in | 60 in | 72 in |
From the BathDraft layout planner, with an elongated toilet, a 21 in deep vanity and a 30 in door that opens into the room, in any of six common spots. Facing each other, a toilet (30 in deep) and a vanity (21 in) need 30 + 21 + 21 = 72 in of width, which is why a 5 ft wide room can’t do it. The widest vanities sometimes need the door in the middle of the long wall. More plans: 5x8, 6x7, 6x9 and 8x8 bathroom layouts.
Questions people ask
What is the best layout for a 6x8 bathroom?
With a tub, the 60 in tub along the 8 ft wall (Layout B) is the roomiest: it passes every comfortable-spacing check. For a deep soak, the 72 in tub across the end (Layout A). Without a tub, the walk-in shower along the long wall (Layout C).
Can you fit a walk-in shower in a 6x8 bathroom?
Yes: a 60 × 36 in shower base along the 8 ft wall with a 36 in vanity, or a 38 in corner shower with a 48 or 60 in vanity. Across the 6 ft end, a 60 in shower leaves 12 in for a shelf or a thicker wall.
Can a 6x8 bathroom have two sinks?
Yes. A 60 in double vanity fits across the far end with a corner shower (Layout D), or along the long wall facing the toilet next to a 72 in tub, with 21 in between them, the code minimum.
What size tub fits in a 6x8 bathroom?
A 72 × 36 in tub across the 6 ft end, or a standard 60 × 30 in tub along the 8 ft wall.
Is an 8x6 bathroom the same as a 6x8?
Yes. People write the size either way; these plans fit any room 6 ft wide and 8 ft long, whichever wall the door is on.
How many square feet is a 6x8 bathroom?
48 sq ft (6 × 8), about 4.5 m².
Sources
- 2021 International Residential Code, chapter 3 (R307.1 fixture clearances, R305.1 ceiling height) and chapter 27 (P2705.1 fixture spacing, P2708.1 showers), read in Colorado’s adoption without amendments on UpCodes
- Larimer County, Colorado: Figure R307.1 bathroom clearances
- NKBA’s free bath planning guidelines: the roomier spacing (18 in beside a toilet, 20 in beside a sink, 36 in between two sinks, 30 in in front of each fixture, a 36 × 36 in shower, a 32 in door opening, a 36 × 66 in toilet compartment). Its newer, paid editions change some numbers.
- Kohler 7236 (K-1159-R) spec sheet: a 72 × 36 in alcove bath, 15 in of water depth
- Kohler Underscore alcove tubs, 60 × 30 in and 60 × 32 in spec sheets
- Neo-angle shower bases: MAAX Neo-Angle Base 38 (38⅛ × 38⅛ in, 33½ in inside) and Neo-Angle Base 36 (29⅝ in inside); Kohler Memoirs K-9542, 42 × 42 in; and a 22 in walk-through on Sterling’s 38 in neo-angle shower kit
- Toilet depths from the wall: Kohler Cimarron round and elongated spec sheets
Checked October 19, 2026. All plans and the comparison were worked out with the BathDraft layout planner; centimeters are converted from inches.