What does luxury mean to you? Lots of space? Expensive materials? Opulent decor? State of the art digital smart products? A hotel spa vibe? Luxury really means something different to each of us. But the common denominator for a luxury bathroom is that it’s all about turning the space into a place to escape for tranquillity and relaxation.
Creating an idyllic bathroom sanctuary with an atmosphere of calm luxury usually means a minimalist space. It means focusing on a statement tub or statement vanity and sinks. And then adding high-end fixtures and fittings that suggest affluence. Above all, luxury bathrooms dwell on the use of stunning natural materials.
Let’s jump in and take a look at how to evoke the feeling of a wellness retreat or day spa at home with a stunning luxury bathroom.
1. Simplicity
Less really is more. In bathrooms, luxury doesn’t always mean excess. In fact it’s often the lack of visual clutter that spells luxury. And that’s why so many luxury bathrooms feature heavily pared-back styling and a focus on just one luxury feature. This is typically a freestanding tub with wow factor, but a feature vanity or feature tile wall is also popular. The aim is to create a simple, minimal space with clean lines and allow the luxe materials and stylish details to convey sumptuousness.
2. Comfort
One of the most important factors in creating a luxury bathroom is a focus on serious comfort. Start with an ultra-comfy soaker tub. Add comforting elements like underfloor heating and heated towel rails. Stimulate all the senses with scented candles and little organic touches such as flowers or plants.
Finally, make sure everything is within reach when soaking. A ledge above the tub holds everything you could possibly need for your bath while keeping things looking airy and uncluttered.
3. Spaciousness
Having an expansive, generous space to work with is definitely a hallmark of bathroom luxury. But if you haven’t got quite as much room, you can fake it somewhat by using larger format or slab tiles. These have fewer grout lines and lessen visual clutter which helps to enlarge your space.
4. Artisanal
A direct route to conveying luxury is to embrace “impassioned making” and install a stunning artisanal statement tub or basin. Many luxury bathroom brands work in close collaboration with craftspeople and artists to create products rich with personality and passion. Often one artisan works on a product from beginning to end, hand-sanding and hand-finishing and polishing to produce a high quality, authentic product.
5. Smart
Commanding your shower to start before you even get out of bed. Having it set at precisely your ideal temperature. Changing up the temperature while your hands are full. Instructing your bathroom to play your favourite songs on integrated speakers. Amusing yourself watching the water change colour. Using a sensor-activated, self-cleaning toilet with a seat warmer. The list goes on. Enhancing your bathtime experience is easy with the variety of voice and digital controls, apps and LCD screens on the market today.
As a bonus, smart showers, tubs and toilets are also designed to be extra water-efficient, so they’re a smart investment as well.
6. Sustainable
Sustainability in design is sexy. And so is choosing your bathware from luxury brands that celebrate innovation in their engineering and manufacturing processes and products. Just looking luxe is only half the equation. The best brands conspicuously pursue emission-free, low-impact, environmentally-friendlymethods and materials. While at the same time delivering high quality goods that look the part.
7. Golden
A luxury bathroom certainly does not need to boast a solid gold toilet. But adding some metallic touches is always a sure way to create an opulent atmosphere. One option? A deluxe gold feature wall as a backdrop to your chic freestanding bath.
8. Chiaroscuro
Luxury dark bathrooms often make effective use of the chiaroscuro technique. This is the classic method used by artists like Rembrandt, Caravaggio and da Vinci. With chiaroscuro, it’s all about contrast and balance between light and shadow create the illusion of more light. For instance, a dark and moody colour palette combined with beautiful tiling and a black freestanding tub. The chiaroscuro technique definitely creates a visually stunning minimalist contemporary bathroom.
9. Neutral
Luxury bathrooms tend to make use of a neutral colour palette which allows the focus to remain on the opulent materials and textures. Go for all-white or soft nature tones that pick up the colours of your stone, timber or other natural materials. But make sure to add in some plant life for a refreshing green contrast.
10. Organic
Another feature of modern luxury bathrooms is the incorporation of elements with organic, irregular shapes. This ties in with the wellness trend. There’s the desire to include calming, nature-inspired décor, referencing the planet Earth and its processes. For example, check out the range of elongated, asymmetrical shaped bathware by Rogerseller. I especially like their Carrara marble sink that mimicks the crater shapes caused by volcanoes!
11. Materiality
One of the most obvious things you notice about luxury bathrooms is their emphasis on beautiful materials. Other décor elements are often stripped right back so that the eye can simply take in the stunning materials with little distraction. Go for simple minimalism but with the lavish use of glass, stone, tile and warm metal.
12. Marble
Marble is naturally a luxurious material and especially so when large slabs of the stone are used. If you love marble bathrooms, check out more ideas here.
13. Concrete
Concrete bathrooms work really well for a luxury focus on contemporary innovation. This modern material is now being poured into a huge variety of products including tubs, sinks and vanities. Especially suited to a modern, minimalist bathroom, concrete contrasts beautifully with tile and terrazzo. And its contemporary nature is reflected in the addition of sleek, wall-mounted tapware. Handmade-to-order concrete basins like this one can be made in a wide variety of colours. They instantly convey the so-called industrial-luxe aesthetic.
14. Tile
Walls of glorious colour and pattern provide a richly textured backdrop to your statement bathware., whether porcelain, ceramic or marble tile.
Love floor tile? Speak to an expert on bathroom flooring or a bathroom tiler about how to create your dream bathroom floor.
15. Timber clad shower
Luxury bathrooms have an emphasis on real and natural materials. So timber is the perfect choice for creating a luxury spa/sauna atmosphere. Especially it’s ecologically-certified timber or timber finish. That is, using water-based or natural oils and waxes. Make wood the star of the show—even down to timber louvred shutters—with crisp accents added in white and chrome.
16. Timber tub
For a bathroom that’s a heavenly slice of serenity, how about a timber tub? For instance, the ‘Shell’ tub by architect Nina Mair is sculpted from a solid block of walnut using a computer-aided milling machine. The tub is hand-polished and oiled “many times” and looks amazing paired with a copper-piping spout. With its calming organic touches and tactile materials, it’s perfectly designed for a beautifully relaxing soak.
17. Rainfall shower
A large flush-mount ceiling shower together with a rainfall showerhead provides a generous, fully immersive shower experience, as expected from a luxury bathroom. Need expert help with showerhead or exhaust fan installation?
18. Antique
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that traditional styling, vintage brassware, clawfoot tub, antique mirrors, furniture and light fittings will culminate to create a classic luxurious atmosphere. You might also like to check out our blog on Art Deco bathrooms.
19. Three dimensional tile
Create a sense of luxurious sophistication by combining moody dark walls with a designer sink with minimalist hardware. Add a cool, avant-garde touch by using concaved mosaic wall tile in a rich colour like bottle green. Increasingly popular in luxury bathrooms, three-dimensional ‘relief’ pattern tiles, or other textured tiles, give depth and interest to your space.
20. Updated fittings
Update tapware for an instant luxe look. Changing up the tapware is a relatively affordable and easy way to add sophistication and glamour. Matte black tapware instantly spells modernity. But brushed nickel and brass or warm gold-toned fixtures also look classically luxe.
21. Avant-garde
Love a modern aesthetic and enjoy being at the forefront of experimental design? Then you’ll love the intense colours and unexpectedly-shaped sinks and bathtubs created by the Italian company antoniolupi. Celebrating geometry, form and colour, the tubs and basins are made from a transparent resin, coloured in ten unusual colours. Eye-catching and creative, these unique designs offer a chance to really stand out.
22. Vintage
If you want to create an elegant, glamorous atmosphere in your bathroom, source a fabulous vintage vanity or cabinet and make it the hero. Contrast it with a contemporary basin and mirror. Add some pretty wall sconces and plant-life, and you have a luxurious space with loads of personality and character.
23. Coastal
Since bathrooms contain a lot of cold surfaces, it’s also important to generate a sense of warmth in a luxury bathroom. And this can easily be done by adding timber, potplants and organic woven textiles.
24. Hotel-luxe
Great Gatsby-style hotels are perfect for inspo in how to achieve the hotel-luxe look. Blend traditional and modern elements for a sense of timeless beauty and the modern-day luxury of five star hotels. Mix old and new décor, such as classic subway tile in a gorgeous unexpected colour, and brass tapware with inviting, clean white marble topped vanity.
25. Bold colour
A luxury bathroom needs to be an Insta-worthy space or else it doesn’t count, right? One way to incorporate loads of personality and style into your bathroom (and your bathroom selfies) is to inject the space with liberal doses of your favourite, vibrant colour.
26. Storage
A luxury bathroom should have plenty of bathroom storage. It may be a huge bank of vanities or perhaps recessed mirror cabinets or open shelving. This frees up floor space and keeps things feeling light and airy. Furniture is ideally floating or wall-mounted to add to sense of spaciousness. Don’t forget a handy built-in ledge!
27. Plants
Style up your luxury bathroom with an extravagant pendant plant, such as a quirky air plant arrangement. Juxtaposed with neat and tidy contemporary décor, a wildly sprawling collection of plants is a conversation starter with plenty of visual interest.
There are so many varieties of plants that love the hot and humid environment but make sure you get the right one. Here’s our collection of our favourite bathroom plants.
28. Luxury light fittings
Abundant light really makes a bathroom appear luxurious. Make the most of your natural light, of course, but also plan feature and task lighting that will set the mood and bring a luxe feel. Pendant lights or decorative wall sconces, LED backlighting and undershelf lighting are all options to explore. (And you might like to read our article on bathroom lighting for more ideas).
29. Windows
Luxury bathrooms tend to be infused with abundant light. Take advantage of all the natural light from a large window (it helps if you also have a heroic view, but even your backyard greenery will do). With the window the focal point in the bathroom, just a few other striking elements are needed. For instance a crystal chandelier, deep soak tub and a few curated objets d’art.
30. Skylight
A luxury bathroom should be bathed in light, both from natural sources and additional task lighting for self-care duties. Adding a skylight is an easy way to create that spa vibe and bring in more natural light (and it also makes night-time bathing that much more magical).
31. Understated
Simple and serene, a subtly luxe bathroom has everything you need and nothing more. Unfussy, honest and functional, it can be styled as an idyllic retreat to unwind and pamper and clear your mind from the distractions of everyday life.
32. Overstated
An over-the-top, bold coloured or patterned bathroom tends to imply luxury for one simple reason: remodelling isn’t exactly cheap. And yet an intense design may tire or date faster, so you’re gambling on potential future remodels. A bold aesthetic suggests an attitude of “I don’t care, I want what I want and hang the costs!” It suggests throwing caution to the winds, being daring and extravagant—just what you’d expect from a luxury homeowner.
33. Fluffy robes
And finally, don’t forget the robes! Keen on the hotel luxe aesthetic for your master bathroom? Reinforce it by hanging two white bathrobes on a rail and keep other décor hotel-style and minimal.
As you can see, luxury is in the eye of the beholder. And it’s not really about ostentatiously showing off–honestly, all that matters is that it feels luxurious to you!
I hope this has given you some inspiration for your bathroom remodel or build. You can always find an expert in bathroom renovation who will be able to guide you further. And don’t forget to view our blogs on general bathroom ideas, master bathroom ideas and bathroom décor trends.
Already looking for a plumber? You can also view our price guides to find out how much a plumber costs generally, or, for example, how much mixer tap installation costs.
Now over to you – what does luxury mean to you? Let me know in the comments below!
Good Information
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