A square bathroom works best with the tub or a 60 in shower across one wall and the toilet and the vanity on the two side walls, facing each other. A corner shower is the other square-room move: it frees the middle of the floor. A 7x7 bathroom (49 sq ft) takes a 60 in tub with a 48 in vanity, a 60 × 36 in walk-in shower, or a corner shower with a 60 in double vanity.
Four square 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: 33 in
- Sink centerline to the side: 30 in
- Toilet centerline to the side: 18 in
- Clear in front of the toilet: 33 in
Layout A: 7x7 with a tub
The 60 in tub runs from one corner along the far wall. Below it, a 48 in vanity and the toilet face each other across 33 in of floor, and the toilet has 18 in to the tub. Every comfortable-spacing check passes.
- Best for: a family bath with a tub and a long counter.
- The trade-off: the 24 in past the tub’s end is open floor; a shelf unit or a thicker wall can use it.
- Clear in front of the shower: 48 in
- Clear in front of the vanity: 33 in
- Sink centerline to the side: 24 in
- Toilet centerline to the side: 18 in
- Clear in front of the toilet: 33 in
Layout B: 7x7 with a walk-in shower
Swap the tub for a 60 × 36 in shower base and the rest stays the same: a 48 in vanity and the toilet face each other below it, and there’s 48 in of floor in front of the shower. This one passes every comfortable check too.
- Best for: a tub-to-shower remodel of a square bath.
- The trade-off: a 60 × 36 in base comes 6 in farther into the room than a 30 in deep tub, so a tub’s alcove has to grow to take it.
- Clear in front of the shower: 35¼ in
- Clear in front of the vanity: 25 in
- Sink centerline to the side: 24 in
- Toilet centerline to the side: 19 in
- Clear in front of the toilet: 33 in
Layout C: a corner shower and two sinks
A 38 × 38 in neo-angle shower fills one corner with its door on the diagonal. The planner draws a typical angled front, and real bases differ (MAAX’s 38 in base is 33½ in across inside), so how much floor the shower leaves depends on the one you buy. That leaves a whole side wall for a 60 in double vanity, its sinks 30 in apart, and the toilet sits across from it, 19 in from the shower.
- Best for: two sinks in a 7 × 7 ft room.
- The trade-off: the sinks are at the code’s 30 in apart (36 in is the comfortable aim), with 25 in of floor in front.
- Clear in front of the shower: 39 in
- Clear in front of the vanity: 39 in
- Sink centerline to the side: 24 in
- Toilet centerline to the side: 18 in
- Clear in front of the toilet: 57 in
Layout D: 9x9 with a tub and a shower
At 9 × 9 ft (81 sq ft) a square bath takes both. The tub runs along one wall from a corner, a 48 × 36 in shower fills the far corner of the side wall, and the toilet sits between them, 18 in from the shower. A 60 in double vanity takes the opposite wall.
- Best for: a primary bath in a square room.
- The trade-off: the sinks are 30 in apart, the code minimum.
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 fits in each square size
| Room | Floor area | What fits |
|---|---|---|
| 5 × 5 ft | 25 sq ft | A half bath; a 60 in tub only with a wall-hung toilet and an 18 in wall-mounted sink |
| 6 × 6 ft | 36 sq ft | A 36 × 36 in shower with a 24 in vanity, or a 60 in tub with a shallow vanity |
| 7 × 7 ft | 49 sq ft | A 60 in tub or a 60 × 36 in shower with a 48 in vanity; a corner shower with a 60 in double vanity |
| 8 × 8 ft | 64 sq ft | A 60 × 36 in shower with a 48 in vanity, or two sinks with a 48 × 36 in shower |
| 9 × 9 ft | 81 sq ft | A tub and a separate shower with two sinks; a 42 in corner shower and a 72 in vanity, all comfortable |
| 10 × 10 ft | 100 sq ft | A tub and a 60 × 36 in shower side by side, with a 72 in double vanity |
From the BathDraft layout planner, with an elongated toilet unless noted and a 30 in door that opens into the room. More plans: 5x5, 6x6, 8x8 and 10x10 bathroom layouts.
Questions people ask
What is the best layout for a square bathroom?
The tub or a 60 in shower across one wall, with the toilet and the vanity facing each other on the side walls (Layouts A and B). Both pass every comfortable-spacing check in a 7 × 7 ft room.
Where should a corner shower go in a square bathroom?
In a corner away from the entry door. A neo-angle base’s angled door then opens toward the middle of the room, where the code’s 24 in of clear floor in front is easiest to keep.
Can you fit a tub in a 7x7 bathroom?
Yes: a 60 × 30 in tub across one wall, with a 48 in vanity and the toilet facing each other below it (Layout A).
Can a 7x7 bathroom have two sinks?
Yes, a 60 in double vanity on one wall with a 38 in corner shower (Layout C). With a 60 in tub or shower, the widest vanity is 48 in.
How many square feet is a 7x7 bathroom?
49 sq ft (7 × 7), about 4.6 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.
- 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
- Kohler Underscore alcove tubs, 60 × 30 in and 60 × 32 in spec sheets
- Kohler Veil wall-hung toilet spec sheet: 21 in from the finished wall to the front of the bowl
- Toilet depths from the wall: Kohler Cimarron round and elongated spec sheets
Checked October 19, 2026. All plans and the size table were worked out with the BathDraft layout planner; centimeters are converted from inches.