As a Mum, on a budget, trips to the Spa are a bit of a rare event. Like, never. That said, one little treat that is a bit more accessible, and realistic is a lovely hot soak in a big bubbly bath.
With that in mind, when we redesigned our bathroom last year, we wanted to achieve a tranquil, relaxing environment where we could soak away the day.
Our existing bathroom was horrif – it was an olive green shell suite, with gold taps and peach tiles. Deciding to rip it out and start again was therefore not a difficult decision – it was pretty high up the home to-do list.
With a Spa mood board (in my head) we set about making it happen. Here are some hints and tips to recreate a Spa bathroom in your own home.
1. Keep lines consistent. By this I mean curves, squares, rectangles. Bathroom suites and accessories come in loads of different styles so keep one in mind and align all your choices along the same theme. We chose square, so all our key pieces were very defined, angular and where possible, cuboid. For example, a square drench shower head, a straight line angled shower bath, a square mirror, box shaped light, cube style toilet roll holder.
2. Keep materials natural where possible. As a key feature of our room, I wanted a wall of slate or natural stone tiles. We found and fell in love with some porcelain large tiles from Topps Tiles which were perfect. In order to maximise the effect we tiled one whole wall and one half wall. This really gave the room a luxurious feel when teamed with stainless steel fittings. Flooring and bath panel we went with a dark wood effect, in order to complement the natural textures of the tiles. Victoria plumb offered a wenge wood effect bath panel and we found some matching bathroom laminate from Karndean which we are really happy with. We are so glad we avoided a plastic bath panel, and for practicality reasons, tiling in the bath could have been a choice we’d regret if any maintenance was required.
3. Splash out on taps. You don’t have to spend a fortune, but to achieve the Spa style I would definitely pay an extra bit more for waterfall taps, and a drench shower. For practical reasons we chose a shower with an additional handheld head. Perfect for cleaning the bath, rinsing your hair etc.
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4. Disguise a frosted window. If, like us, the existing windows aren’t great, a plain white venetian blind goes a long way to adding style and hiding a world of sins. Ikea do a wide range at affordable prices; it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.
5. Wall paint. The remaining walls we painted with a Kitchen paint in pale grey – it was so much warmer than white and really worked with the slate coloured tiles. If the bathroom paint section doesn’t inspire you, a kitchen paint works just as well.
6. Towel rail radiator. This is a brilliant space saver in a small room as it has both style and substance. We chose small cube style from Victoria Plumb, where we bought the bulk of our bathroom suite from.
7. Finishing touches. Our Dune accessories (bin, toothbrush holder, toilet brush) follow the theme of natural materials and are a heavy stone effect, bought from John Lewis. Towels, also from John Lewis, combine the grey of the walls with the natural mood board. Our cow parsley design are no longer available but you can probably pick up something similar.
8. A touch of luxury. Every Spa needs to smell amazing…in a former life I did not appreciate ‘smellies’ as gifts…nowadays nothing makes me happier than a parcel from Rituals. A candle, some good quality bubbles, a luxe soap is exactly what you need to enjoy this heavenly retreat.
8. Bring it to life with plants. The room was lacking in something…it was only when we relocated a basket of plants to the room we realised what it was. Greenery. Pop some hardy plants on your window sill – Ivy works perfectly, or even a small palm, to complete the look.
9. Keep it real. Bathrooms have to work for everyone…that means in a family bathroom a multitude of bottles and potions, sponges, and of course toys. Lots of them. Grab a small basket to house all your toiletries, and a big storage bucket for the toys. That way, you can keep them to hand but also soak in peace…without an avalanche of duckies spoiling the moment.
If you would like to find any of the products mentioned, check out my pinterest board: Spa Inspired Bathroom.
x MMT
Franjones February 15, 2016
It looks lovely. Definitely an improvement on green. Our main bathroom was peach…. we ripped it out pretty pronto. That combined with terracotta walls was not pretty!!
Kaye February 15, 2016
Gorgeous bathroom and inspiration! I can’t flipping wait to be able to redecorate ours (which is also horrific) and love drooling over others amazing spaces. Thanks for linking up to #MarvMondays! Kaye xo
islandliving365 February 15, 2016
Lovely bathroom and great inspiration #marvmondays
littlebug February 15, 2016
These images are GORGEOUS, this is exactly what I want our en-suite bathroom to look! If we ever get round to it that is, have a kitchen to do first, eek. Thanks for sharing! x
This Mum's Life February 15, 2016
Oooh, I love an interior design post!! Interior designer is on my list of dream jobs! Great advice too! I totally agree with splashing out on taps, our bathroom was the first thing to be ripped out when we moved into our house, and we spent a lot on some Edwardian style taps! I love your tiles too. Grey is also one of my favourite paint colours, most of our downstairs is either French grey, or pale grey. It looks like you had a lot of fun designing it! And thank you for linking up to the very first #bigpinklink!!
thisdayilove February 15, 2016
The bathroom is the next on our list to do, great post
min1980 February 15, 2016
Where are the before pictures? That olive green, peach and gold sounded great! I was going to use that for inspiration! #MarvellousMondays
MMT February 15, 2016
If only they existed!! Funny enough there were none on the house purchase marketing shots…
Coombe Mill February 15, 2016
I may never come out if I had a bathroom as lovely as this, some great ideas for a little home SPA luxury #MarvMondays
mackenzieglanville February 16, 2016
great tips! I love those towels they are so lovely. I am a HUGE fan of white, there are so many shades and you can add colour in so many ways. I will be posting on interior design on Wednesday, I hope it is OK if I share a link to this post for anyone needing bathroom tips?
MMT February 16, 2016
Of course! I’d love that, thank you 🙂
Mama, My Kid Doesn't Poop Rainbows February 16, 2016
Lovely- looks really relaxing. I hope the renovations all go to plan.
#fartglitter
Robyn February 17, 2016
Lovely bathroom and great tips for remodelling. Love your bath tub, it looks really modern and stylish. I’ve never done a remodel before, I think I’d be overwhelmed with choice!
Caro | The Twinkle Diaries February 22, 2016
Aah it looks so LOVELY! What a transformation. I’m obsessed with going to a spa!! Before I had the boys it was never on my radar but since I’ve become a mama I can’t think of a more lovely, spoiling weekend away! So nice to be pampered — in peace! 🙂 Thanks for linking up 🙂 #HomeEtc