You can look at luxury fixtures all day. Spa-quality bathroom inspiration is everywhere. However, planning the perfect space for your unique property and habits is the only way to get a bathroom that truly feels like a million bucks.
Optimize everything from cleaning and accessibility to durability and storage first with 12 design tips for a five-star bathroom.
1. Only use natural materials that are right for your lifestyle.
Natural materials are sustainable, beautiful, and trending higher than ever. The trouble is that so much inspiration includes wood and marble in luxury bathrooms. Marble, on top of being expensive, can be difficult to maintain. In a very high-traffic bathroom, wood counters will show wear in a few years. Not exactly the Zen result you had in mind.
Leave the wood for open shelving. Granite is a great natural material for countertops. If it’s too costly for your kitchen, you may find the price is right when the slab scales down to bathroom sizing.
2. Go ahead and create a focal point.
It’s a design principle that feels like second nature in living rooms, bedrooms, and even kitchens. So why skip it in the bathroom? Add a star piece to your bathroom in the form of a highly decorative mirror, patterned tile floor, or overhead light fixture.
The key to making this worth your time and money is ensuring it’s part of the bathroom’s daily function. It conveys your style and makes you feel right at home without clutter or extra décor to clean.
3. When it comes to grout, you may have options.
White or off-white grout is classic and ideal for larger format tiles with narrow joints. But it won’t always enhance the look of your chosen tile. Don’t make the mistake others have and leave grout color up to someone else. Deeper (yet still neutral) grouts can help show off colored tiles much better and won’t look discolored as quickly.
4. Have a seat.
Make room to relax with shower benches. Or, space allowing, a bench or chair outside of the shower that makes drying off or dressing safer and more comfortable. A built-in or wall-mounted bench with cubby space below might be the closet-free bathroom storage solution you’re looking for.
5. Consider the benefits of wall-installed fixtures.
Wall-mounted toilets and bathroom vanities are great for modern aesthetics, save space, and make cleaning the floor much easier. If you’re interested in more wall-mounted features, discuss the strength of your wall structure with a contractor.
6. Small bathroom? A vanity isn’t the only choice.
Your bathroom has always had a sink/cabinet combo; you’ve never known anything else. If space is tight, swap it out for a slim pedestal sink. Storage cabinetry can be mounted over the toilet instead.
7. Double check the height of your showerhead and handles.
Showerheads are often installed at a standard height of around 80 inches, with controls at approximately half that height. Ask if this is optimal for yourself and others in the home.
Updating your shower gives you the opportunity to customize this one essential detail that can drastically enhance the power of your shower.
8. Customize your cabinetry’s hardware placement.
Heart set on a particular sink vanity with cabinet? You already know that changing the hardware is an easily feasible project. But if the placement of hardware doesn’t feel natural as you reach for it, customize that, too. This is one tiny, functional detail that almost everyone overlooks.
9. If there’s a way to add more natural light, do it.
Adding or expanding a window or skylight can improve your life more than the freestanding tub you’ll end up using once a month. It makes small bathrooms feel more spacious, but looks more flattering in every home. Plus, letting in some sun means you can include more plants.
Need more ideas? Bookmark our post on making small bathrooms feel bigger and brighter to read later.
10. Choose paint that’s easier to clean.
Don’t scrimp and pinch on bathroom paint. Avoid matte finishes that are tougher to clean in favor of semi glosses and satins. Finally, even if you’ve done the right thing in guaranteeing adequate ventilation, choose a premium paint with mold-resistant properties.
11. Make space for your routine.
Double vanity in the master bath? Take advantage of this remodel and include a recessed (and optionally, lowered) vanity area between sinks. If you don’t need that double sink at all, go for a low-profile single and add a vanity and storage station to the side.
A five-star bathroom is one where you can settle down and take your routine step by step.
12. Share your bathroom design ideas with a professional designer.
The Designery offers free consultations to those looking to remodel their bathrooms. That meeting may mean the difference between a three-star bathroom, and a five-star bathroom. In fact, “I would give them a sixth star if I could,” says our client, Luke, of working with The Designery on his recent bathroom remodel.
“The team took our ideas a mile and I cannot begin to express how great it turned out. Absolutely stunning work.”
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