There've been a bunch of threads on this, including this very long one in the Home Decorating forum.

IMHO, living in a humid climate, hooks just don't let the towels dry quickly enough. Others have different opinions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Towel bar free

If your home/bathroom are formal, then the towel bar would seem to work with that. If you and your home are more informal, hooks would fit that better. Also, kids may have an easier time with hooks.

We are doing hooks - actually pegs, which are a bit larger and probably easier on the towels. We are building a log home, which is rather informal, so pegs will work well there. Also, I've never felt that towel bars look neat - no matter how carefully dh and I hang our towels on the bars, they've always seemed to look sloppy.

gladys- thank you for articulating the point about towels on bars looking sloppy. Of course it would help if we more carefully folded our towels on the bars but I know DH is never going to do that. The hooks are actually more aesthetically pleasing IMO - the way the towels gracefully fall. We bought towels that have little loops already on them at Ikea - and there is no "band" that bunches up over time. Our bathroom is rather modern so that might make a difference and our house is small but I don't plan to ever use anything but hooks if I have anything to say about it.

My dh is very precise, and it's just us adults. But no matter how careful we are when we hang towels on bars, they always look messy. We're thinking of a towel ring by each sink - still easier than towel bars (we're doing a bear theme in the master bathroom - have found the most terrific bear towel ring!)...when I suggested that we ditch the towel bars, he was very enthusiastic about it.

I do like the look of hooks. However, we are going with the 18" bars on either side of the vanity, as I like to embroider on my hand towels, and I want to spread them out to showcase that.
We have door hooks, and DH uses the interior door hook to hang his night clothes on. I HATE this. But I've broken him of so many other habits that destroy my idea of good decor that I'm worn down, lol.
Hook tabs are easy enough to sew on. You can just buy some Wrights bias binding.

Hooks on the back wall where they won't bump the door sound like an excellent option for larger towels and my hair turbans.

I have both. I also live in a humid enviroment, so I prefer to hang my bath towel on a bar. DH is not so great at folding his towel over one, so he gets a hook.

This is our guest bath, where I have a towel bar by vanity, a double towel bar by shower, and 5 towel hooks in hallway. I like to hang dry a lot of my clothes, so ALL those bars and hooks get used a lot. It's also handy when having multiple guests to have a hook for everyone, couldn't really do that with bars. For kids, and many husbands, a hook is easier than a bar...

I've always liked the way towels hang on a towel hook and they are much easier to hang up! We live in a humid climate and I think they don't dry as quickly, but I still like them. I posted recently with the problem of where to put my towel hooks since the glass shower door would be opening into the towel hooks. I am glad to say that I have found a solution that also keeps you from putting holes in your towels. Also the towels will not slide off the hook. I liked my solution so well that I used it on both hooks, even though only one hook would hit the shower door.
I was using a chrome hook with a three fourths inch diameter knob on the end (Delta Cassidy). I attached a rubber tip slight smaller diameter (five eights inch diameter and stretched it onto the tip. It's on tight and all my problems are solved. You can see the tip on the right hook. The tip doesn't show since I always have a towel hanging up.

That is very clever, Karenseb! I'll have to look for something like that for the skinny hooks DH insisted on. Something like that would make them a bit fatter, and keep things from slipping.

Karenseb, what a great solution! And the white tip probably matches your sink ;)

I am going to find a white cap to put on DS's hook to keep his towel from slipping off!

Now, if someone can come up with an ingenious hack to get a teen boy to put his towel ON the hook in the first place I will be set!

Sorry to hijack a little - Spotty, I agree that bars are more formal, but harder to keep looking neat and hooks are space-saving and more casual. There are lots of factors including the climate in your area to consider, but for me, functionality always trumps form, especially in an area that gets such regular use. We will be going to hooks in the new bath, with towel rings near the sinks for hand towels.

Thanks everyone!
I decided hooks for ease of use...especially for my teen boys! For my powder bath and pool bath I did bars so I could hang some pretty show towels...hubby calls them show towels because he says they are for show and not use!
I love the idea f the rubber tip! Patent that idea!!!
I love the ikea towels with the loop!!
Thanks again!
Pam

You are welcome. I love your GW name. I just named one of our barn kittys "Tiggy". She is such a sweet thing and getting friendly. She is under foot as I go down from the house to their feeding spot.

I love that I just came across this thread while pondering the bars vs hooks decision. Glad to hear that other people are forgoing bars. I was worried that my decision would look too different, but they never get used at all in my household! I am going with hooks for my remodel.

towel bars for me!

www.esteamshower.com

For me, it's all about quick drying and avoiding a funky, unfresh smell, so towel bars for me, no question.

Is there any reason not to use robe hooks instead? Many of them look better to me, but they also need to hang onto the towels. The white rubber tip is ingenious, but I'm thinking about how they look when empty (these would be for guests, they could also use them to hang up their clothes when showering.) I have also thought of sewing the loops on the towels, but it seems like that would make them hang even more compressed, and less likely to dry. But in our climate, if you stay so long your towel smells moldy, it is probably time to go home! (But I have lived places where that seems to happen almost immediately, so your mileage may vary)

Are some shapes better than others for keeping the towels on? At my in-laws, they fall off before you even turn around, so it's something I'm sensitive to.

Lori,

I use the term towel/robe hook interchangeably, I think what I have are technically double robe hooks. I have never had a 'towel hook' that was so 'sharp' that it put holes in the towels. I think there are lots of hooks out there that have ceramic or metal 'knobs' on the end that perform the same function as the rubber tip. Since I have so many in my guest bath, they are usually not covered, so I wouldn't be too keen about using the rubber tips. though my doubles couldn't really hold two towels, having the two tips (each goes sideways) helps hold the towels securely, and they will hold a super heavy robe too!

Good point, raehelen, (and I use the terms interchangeably as well, although there is probably a distinction.) I see what you mean about the double hooks grabbing more securely. I have seen some that stick straight out and I wonder if those are as secure (without a loop in the towel)? Karenseb shows the double with the under-over design, and I've also seen some that have a small bar-like shape that curves downward. Those probably really are robe hooks.

I vote towel bars. My towels don't dry well on hooks...and smell musty faster.

It all depends on where you live. A thick towel on a hook will take just as long to dry as a thick towel folded in thirds hanging on a bar. Do you have AC or live in a high humidity location? Out here in CA, you can put a towel wadded up on the floor and it will be dry by morning. Do what looks best and works best for you. If hooks don't work, fill in the holes and put in a towel bar. If a light is too bright put in a lower wattage bulb...same deal. These things are not PERMANENT.

-Babka

Definitely depends on where you live. Some of ours will be on tiled walls, though, so not as simple as some spackle and paint if you want to change them out. Nothing wrong with trying to get it right the first time.

We just moved to Oregon and have not experienced the full rainy season yet. I did buy JCPenney everyday towels and I really like them and so far they have been drying well on the robe hook. I'll know more in a couple of months of rainy weather.

Karenseb- Hopefully the cooler rainy season triggers the furnace and the inside air gets dryer. That is what happens here in CA.

-Babka