Towel Rails & Rings

A towel rail is a horizontal bar for bath towels, a towel ring is a hoop for a hand towel by the basin, and most bathrooms want one of each. The fixed towel rails and rings picked out in this guide are all wall mounted, so they keep your worktop clear, and some come as a matching pair: the Litchfield fluted ring and bar share the same brushed brass finish and detailing, so the basin and the bath tie together. Chrome, brushed brass, gunmetal and matt black are all in the mix, ready to match your taps and the rest of your bathroom accessories.

If you only need a short bar or a single hoop for a hand towel, the bathroom towel holders range covers those too. The guide below takes you through ring versus rail, single versus double, finish and fitting, with quick answers at the end.

What to look for in towel rails and rings

Start with the towel, not the fitting. A hand towel at the basin wants a ring or a short hand towel rail. A bath towel wants a full rail, and a double rail if more than one person uses the room. Once you know the format, pick a finish and stick to it across the basin and the bath, so the room looks pulled together rather than mismatched. Wall mounting keeps the worktop clear, but it does mean drilling and fixing into the wall, so this is a proper install job, not a sit-it-on-the-shelf one.

Ring or rail: match it to the towel. These do different jobs, and plenty of bathrooms end up with both. A towel ring is a hoop for a single hand towel next to the basin, and it takes up the least wall space of any format. The Litchfield Fluted Brushed Brass Towel Ring at £34.99 is a round ring with ridged, fluted detailing in a warm brushed brass finish, if you want a bit of texture by the basin. In matt black, the Melbourne Matt Black Towel Ring at £24 keeps it simple, comes with its fixings and is the cheaper of the two rings.

A towel rail, or towel bar, is the bath towel answer, because a bath towel needs room to hang flat and actually dry. A single rail is fine for one towel. The Litchfield Fluted Brushed Brass Towel Bar at £49.99 is the matching bar to the ring above, so the same fluted brushed brass look runs from basin to bath. In chrome, the Melbourne Chrome Towel Rail at £36.99 is the safe all-rounder, durable and moisture resistant, and it undercuts the fluted bar.

A double rail puts two bars in one footprint, so two bath towels dry side by side instead of sitting on top of each other. It earns its place when two people share the bathroom. The Roma Brushed Brass Double Towel Rail at £67.99 is the brushed brass double in this guide.

Buy the ring and the rail as a set. The point of shopping rails and rings together is that you can match them. The fluted Litchfield ring and bar come in the same brushed brass finish with the same detailing, so the hand towel hoop at the basin matches the bath towel bar on the wall. It is a small thing that makes a room look designed rather than assembled from odds and ends. If you want a double rail in the same set, the Roma double is also brushed brass, but it comes from a separate range, so let the product photos tell you whether the tone and detailing are close enough for you. For a full set, pick the finish first, then take the ring, the rail and, if you need it, a double rail in that one finish.

Match the finish to your taps. The finish is what makes the room look cohesive, so match the rail and ring to your taps and other accessories rather than buying each piece in a different metal. Chrome is the safe all-rounder and goes with almost anything. Brushed brass is the warmer metal. Gunmetal is the darker, moodier alternative, and the Litchfield Fluted Gunmetal Towel Bar at £47.99 gives you the fluted look in that finish for slightly less than the brushed brass version. Matt black is the bold, modern choice, and the Melbourne ring’s finish is made to be durable and moisture resistant, which matters in a room that steams up at least once a day.

Fitting is a drilling job, so plan it. Every rail and ring in this guide is wall mounted, so factor the install in before you buy. Drilling into plaster or masonry is straightforward, but on a tiled wall you need a tile or diamond bit to get through the glaze without cracking the tile, so take it slowly and let the bit do the work. Check what the wall is made of, too. A plasterboard stud wall needs the right fixings, or ideally the screws landing on a timber stud, otherwise a loaded bath-towel rail can work loose over time, whereas a ring holding a light hand towel is far less fussy. Set the rail height so the towel hangs clear of the floor and the skirting, and keep a hand towel ring close enough to the basin that you are not dripping across the worktop to reach it. As for what is in the box, the Melbourne matt black ring comes with its fixings. For the others, check the individual product page, and have wall plugs to suit your wall type ready before you start, because the plug that works in masonry is the wrong one for plasterboard.

Quick answers

What is the difference between a towel ring and a towel rail? A towel ring is a hoop for a single hand towel by the basin, and it takes up very little wall space. A towel rail, or towel bar, is a horizontal bar sized for a bath towel, so the towel hangs flat and dries properly. Most bathrooms end up with both: a ring or a short bar at the basin, and a rail by the bath or shower. Some ranges do both in one finish, such as the Litchfield fluted ring and bar in brushed brass.

What is the best towel rail for a bathroom? It depends on the towel and the room. For bath towels, a single rail is fine for one person, and a double rail makes sense if two people share, so two towels dry side by side. For a hand towel at the basin, a ring or a short bar is neater. Then match the finish to your taps. For example, the Litchfield Fluted Brushed Brass Towel Bar at £49.99 pairs with its matching ring, or the Melbourne Chrome Towel Rail at £36.99 is a straightforward chrome option.

Do you have a black hand towel rail or towel ring? Yes. The Melbourne Matt Black Towel Ring at £24 is the matt black pick for a hand towel at the basin. It has a durable, moisture-resistant finish, it comes with its fixings, and it is the lowest-priced rail or ring in this guide. For a hand towel, a ring does the same job as a short rail in less wall space.

Are these towel rails and rings wall mounted, and are they hard to fit? The ones in this guide are all wall mounted, and fitting is a straightforward DIY job for most people. You are drilling and screwing into the wall, so the main thing is matching the fixings to your wall type. On a tiled wall, use a tile bit to get through the glaze without cracking the tile. On plasterboard, use the right fixings or land the screws on a stud, especially for a bath-towel rail, which takes real weight once the towels on it are wet. A light hand towel ring is much more forgiving than a loaded rail.

Do I need a single or double towel rail? Single is fine for one bath towel. Go double if two people share the bathroom, because a double rail gives you two bars in one footprint, so two towels dry without overlapping. The Roma Brushed Brass Double Towel Rail at £67.99 is the brushed brass double option here.

Can I get a matching towel ring and towel rail set? Yes, and it is the main reason to shop this page rather than picking pieces at random. The Litchfield fluted line is the clearest example: the Litchfield Fluted Brushed Brass Towel Ring at £34.99 and the matching bar at £49.99 share the same finish and fluted detailing, so the hand towel hoop matches the bath towel bar. Pick your finish, then take the ring and the rail, and a double rail if you want one, in that one finish so the whole room ties together.

What finishes do towel rails and rings come in? The rails and rings in this guide cover chrome, brushed brass, gunmetal and matt black. Chrome is the safe all-rounder, brushed brass is the warmer metal, gunmetal is the darker tone and matt black is the bold, modern look. The Litchfield fluted line comes in both brushed brass and gunmetal, with the Litchfield Fluted Gunmetal Towel Bar at £47.99 as the darker option, if you want the same detailing in a different metal.