A towel rail is positioned from where a wet person actually stands. Not from where someone might walk, or from where a designer might put it for symmetry, but from the exact position where a wet person reaches for a towel with one hand while dripping. That position is different from where a person stands at the sink or the toilet. It is adjacent to the shower or the tub, within arm's reach, at a height that does not require reaching up or bending.
Reaching for a towel while wet is reaching for something to grab. The hand is wet, the grip is not secure, and reaching for something at the wrong height or distance is awkward. The rail or hook has to be where the reach is natural. For a person getting out of the shower, that is typically 24 to 30 inches from the corner of the tub, and at a height between shoulder and hip. For someone reaching from beside the toilet, it is at arm's reach, at a height between shoulder and elbow.
This position is where the hardware goes, and that position is determined by where the shower ends, where the tub edge is, and where the person is standing. These details are known during the framing stage when blocking is installed. If the blocking is not in the right place, the hardware cannot go in the right place. If the hardware is positioned during finishing based on guesswork, it ends up in the wrong place for reach and ends up being repositioned later.
Fixing hardware into blocking is different from fixing it into board with an anchor. An anchor into drywall can hold a light hook, but a towel rail that is grabbed and put weight on needs to be fixed into framing. The blocking is a piece of lumber behind the drywall, sized to take the load. The hardware is fastened through the drywall into the blocking. This is a framing-stage decision that sets the hardware's future.
Finish is chosen once, across all rails, hooks, holders and handles. Mixing finishes — brushed nickel rails with chrome hooks — reads as unplanned. A single finish across all hardware gives the room coherence. The finish choice is made during the specification stage, and all hardware is ordered in the same finish. Changing finishes later — replacing a hook with a different finish — disrupts the visual continuity.
The timing trap is real: hardware positions have to be decided before the walls close. If hardware positions are thought about after drywall is up, the options are limited to wherever blocking happens to be, or to anchors in board, which are weaker. The right positions are thought about during planning, blocking is installed, and hardware is fixed into that blocking. Deciding late means compromising on placement.