How to Make Your Bathroom Feel More Luxurious

It’s arguably the most functional room in the house, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t also have form. With a few tweaks—some simple, some a little more of a project—your bathroom can become a luxurious powder room or spa that is a joy to use for even the most mundane of personal ablutions. As a benefit, all these tips are landlord-friendly, so renters can indulge in fabulous bathrooms as well.

Easy Ways to Make Your Bathroom Feel Luxurious

Add Plants

Probably the easiest and most inexpensive way to give your bathroom a sense of luxury is to add a couple of plants. Look for easy care plants (nothing worse than a pile of dead twigs in the corner) that can handle the humidity of the space, preferably with lots of lush, green foliage. Ferns are a good choice, as are peace lilies, Zanzibar gems, orchids and snake plants. Hang a plant somewhere it won’t get in the way, pop a larger one in a corner or on a small stool, and place a tiny one on the vanity for a pop of colour.

Another way to get greenery into your bathroom, especially if it doesn’t have a lot of room for plants, is to place plants outside the window as a natural privacy screen. Bamboo is a good choice if you’re on the ground floor, or you can hang creepers above the window frame to hang down.

Put Things Away

There’s something inherently calming and luxurious about clear spaces and empty surfaces, so put away as much as you can. The only thing you really must have on your vanity is hand soap (though we do like to have our toothbrushes close to hand too) so put everything else away in drawers and cupboards. If you’re low on storage space in the bathroom, invest in some nice storage boxes that you can put under the vanity or on a shelf, to keep make-up, spare toiletries and tools out of view. As for toilet paper—under no circumstances should you keep an open packet of rolls beside the toilet. If you don’t have space in the cupboard, a discreet basket or a roll holder should keep them out of view.

Upgrade your Containers

Speaking of containers, you can do everything else right, but if your bathroom is stocked with cheap supermarket liquid soap dispensers, you’ll miss the mark. Instead, treat yourself to a beautiful ceramic soap pump and matching toothbrush cup. As well as making your vanity feel instantly more classy, you’ll be doing the environment a favour when you fill it with one of the many sustainable soap concentrates on the market instead of constantly throwing out plastic bottles.

Treat Yourself to New Towels

How often do you buy new towels? Probably not often enough. A new set of fluffy towels—including large bath towels, a few hand towels and a washcloth—is a great way to add a spa vibe to your at-home bathroom. For extra points, get them monogrammed.

Change the Mirror

Your average bathroom mirror doesn’t exactly inspire feelings of luxury, so it’s time to switch it for one that does. Choose a large piece (remember: mirrors add light and make spaces feel bigger) with a frame that suits your style. If your style is all about colour, choose something painted in blues and greens, or if you’re all about those metallic accents, go for something in gold, silver or brass. If your plain sheet of mirror is firmly affixed to the wall, a cheat is to hang a frame around it, but make sure it’s the right size.

Go for Gold

Brushed gold or brass fittings are having a moment, and if you’re in a position to upgrade your fittings can be used to great effect to give a bathroom an opulent, Art-Deco aesthetic. However, even if you’re not able to change your silver taps and handles, you can still get all your other metal elements in gold or brass—soap pumps, towel hooks, mirror frames, toilet brush holders—just make sure they’re in a shade and texture that complements, rather than clashes with, the existing silver.

Add a Feature Wall

A bold feature wall is a great way to minimise the starkness of a classic white bathroom. Look for rich jewel tones: emeralds, teals and plums feel luxurious and calming and pair well with the metal of your fittings. If you really want to splash out, go for wallpaper instead of paint—it’s a little more expensive but it creates the effect of your very own upmarket powder room. And yes, you can usually paint a feature wall if you’re renting, you’ll just have to paint it back to the original colour when you leave.

Change Your Lighting

If you have hanging lighting you can easily upgrade the boring light bulb cover and replace it with something more luxurious. This is another good place to add your chosen colour of metal accents or you can opt for coloured glass or a chandelier style instead.

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