Luxury bathroom ideas – 12 elegant designs for wash spaces

If you are looking for next-level luxury in your bathroom, exotic stone surfaces are the way to go.

There are few materials that can create a feeling of opulence in modern bathroom design that marble can. Elegant, understated and effortlessly beautiful, marble bathroom ideas can be used to great effect in a luxury bathroom. 

Consider the marble carefully for spaces where you are using it in swathes because no slab of marble is the same as another. If money is no object, book-matched marble is an elegant and timeless exotic stone so using it on both walls and floors will create a cohesive and yet striking look. 

'The interior designers I have spoken to, particularly since the pandemic, say that they are being asked to install saunas within clients' homes, and particularly within bathrooms,' says Lucy Searle, Editor in Chief, Homes & Gardens. 'Without fail, their clients are asking for this as an element of a home spa, and lots of soft texture, mostly within wood grain, is introduced to create an appealing space.' 

Bathroom art ideas are one of those elements that have crept into our wash spaces over the past few years, and with good reason: decorating with art makes bathrooms feel more curated, and therefore more luxurious.

'I would avoid choosing distinctly "bathroom" or "seaside" themed art for a bathroom. That's not to say these artworks don't have their place, but in a luxury bathroom, you will want to choose pieces that would be just as at home in a living space,' advises Lucy Searle.

Look to the beauty of natural timber for warmth – and a spa bathroom feel. Thanks to the desire to create a sanctuary at home, the bathroom has become a retreat, a private oasis to help restore mental and physical wellbeing. With this comes a move away from clinical style. Wood is now the material of choice for its natural beauty and warmth; it conjures the quiet luxury of a spa. 

‘Cladding walls in wood brings the spa-like quality of timber to a bathroom and help to reduce echo,’ says Yousef Mansuri, director of design, C.P. Hart. However, there are many ways to introduce timber to your bathroom scheme, from a simple small stool to a timber-fronted vanity. Wood baths are reminiscent of Japanese soaking tubs, while the warm dry air of a naturally scented wood sauna offers the ultimate indulgence. 

Curved shapes can visually transform a bathroom, adding softness and unparalleled luxury to a space notorious for its hard surfaces. Reminiscent of organic forms – a smooth pebbles, the bloom of a flower or a full moon – the latest luxury fittings are designed to bring a sense of nature into the bathroom. 

For maximum impact, the best way to introduce rounded shapes is to use them for the two key focal points – the basin area and the bath. If that’s not an option, then curved accessories, from tables to mirrors, can soften the scheme.

The move towards showers that offer a personalized experience provides an even greater opportunity to develop your bathroom as a sensual and luxurious retreat. 

As manufacturers have invested in shower technology, they are giving us more potential to enjoy the benefits of hydrotherapy at home. You could choose a sports-style directional shower head designed to deliver an invigorating experience and help relieve muscle pain, or a plate-style head with water that falls like soft rain to drench the skin and relax the mind. 

‘Buy from a quality manufacturer to achieve an even spray across the shower head,’ says Yousef Mansuri. ‘Luxury shower panels can measure 1,000-1,200mm in length, and need high water pressure to operate effectively.’

Tactile finishes please the senses and introduce visual style to a luxury bathroom. For many years, bathrooms have been all about ultra-practical smooth surfaces, brassware and tiles. But increasingly the design has focused less on pure functionality and more on practicality mixed with comfort and style – and the tactile quality of bathroom fittings have moved to the fore. 

The beauty of using texture in interior design is not just aesthetic, but also luxurious and sensual: how does a tap feel to touch? In many ways, the bathroom is where are are at our most vulnerable, so surfaces that feel pleasing can enhance the cocooning effect.

As permanent fixtures, colorful sanitaryware requires unswerving commitment, and is not for the faint hearted. 

‘Colored sanitaryware is definitely seeping back into bathrooms now, and we’ve had orders for stunning fittings in deep mustards, heritage greens and teal blues,’ reports Louise Ashdown, head of design, West One Bathrooms. 

‘If you’re still sitting on the fence, go for white sanitaryware with paintable exteriors, like cast iron baths and this retro basin – West One’s Broadway basin is similar. For a more discreet color pop, consider colorful brassware in statement fiery oranges and zingy limes.’

Exotic stones like Onyx and Marinace marble are stealing the show in luxury bathrooms. Celebrated for their jewel-like hues and crystalline sparkle, these rarefied stones can create incredible backsplash and shower backdrops. 

In areas that benefit from low maintenance, Bathroom Design Studio’s managing director John Naughten recommends manmade alternatives, like this basin custom made from 6mm-thick porcelain tiles in a convincing natural Agate pattern. 

‘Thanks to the many advances in surface technologies, the design of porcelains inspired by precious stones are now incredibly lifelike, yet offer far easier cleaning and no aftercare,’ he explains.

Whether you are having an energizing shower in the morning or a relaxing soak in the evening: good bathroom lighting ideas will help create the right mood in a luxury space, and is best planned right at the beginning of the project. Think about a combination of three types of light: ambient to light the space; task for a specific function; and accent to provide the magic.

Strategically placed mood lighting is the secret to creating a luxury bathroom that’s as indulgent as your favorite spa. If you’re a bath person, focus on atmospheric bathroom lighting to create ambience near the bath. Waterproof light fittings can be added inside the bath and shower, creating a luxurious spa effect as they shimmer through the water.

Technical advances in porcelain and ceramic production have revolutionized the variety of bathroom tile ideas on offer. Faux stone and wood porcelain tiles are now so advanced it’s hard to tell them from the real thing, and they are water, stain and scratch resistant, don’t require sealing and come complete with realistic color and graining variation.

'Formats are getting larger and larger,' says Jules Archard, sales manager, Surface. 'We are also seeing lots of interest in patchwork patterns and murals – the latest contemporary takes on traditional encaustic designs – and in vintage looks created by metro, hexagonal and concrete-look tiles.' 

But for some, there’s nothing quite like the natural beauty of real stone with its dramatic veining and sense of timeless luxury, even though it will require sealing and maintenance: a wall of book-matched marble behind a freestanding bath makes an eye-catching feature like no other.

Designed to steal the show and provide a luxurious deep soak, a well-chosen bath will prove a seriously good investment in a luxury bathroom scheme. Whether made from solid stone, classic cast iron or modern composite resin, statement baths are built to impress – and their desirability has soared in recent years.

 ‘These designs are synonymous with luxury and clients love the spacious bathing experience,’ says Joy Chesterton of Ripples. Most statement baths are made to be positioned away from walls; a central location has extra glamor and can boost the room’s sense of proportion. 

’Symmetry and balance are key to creating an elegant, serene interior,’ says Lucy Powell of Bathrooms.com. ‘Installing a really eye-catching bath in the middle of the room will provide a central axis that works as a natural focal point.’