Recreating the opulence of a spa in your own bathroom means you get many more benefits to this often overlooked room. Here we look at why and how you should do this.
Create A Spa In Your Own Bathroom for a Touch of Opulence
Bathrooms are integral to a home. We use the toilet in them, we maintain oral health in them, we apply our makeup in them, do our hair in them, we bathe the children, relax, pamper, preen – there are so many ways to use this extremely practical part of the home. If you have the budget or desire to create a spa bathroom, you’re onto a winner because it could provide you with:
- Many health benefits
- An additional part of the home to spend time in for enjoyment
- An increase in your home’s value
- Somewhere to enjoy with your partner
- A place with additional benefits to your beauty regime
Spa bathrooms are exceptionally desirable and it makes a lot of sense that anyone would want a spa bathroom. Visiting a spa can be so expensive, but we pay the price because the experience is so lovely and we leave feeling utterly relaxed and refreshed. Why not create something similar at home?
The Health Benefits Of A Spa Bath
Without even considering the enjoyment you would get out of a spa bathroom, there are actually lots of health benefits of having just one spa aspect to your bathroom, a spa bath. This is any type of bath which creates whirlpools in the water. It might also have relaxing lighting settings. This is usually the most expensive investment a person might make when creating a spa bathroom, but it is worthwhile, even if it’s the only way you create a more ‘spa like’ experience in your bathroom.
Here are some key ways a spa bath can boost your health:
- Boosting heart health – Whenever we sit in water that is above our heart, it puts pressure on the body which in turn makes your heart work a little bit harder. So even without the jets on, a nice deep bath should boost your heart health just with the pressure on the body.
- Helping with sleep – Relaxing in warm water helps us feel relaxed because it helps relax our muscles. When we are relaxed we are better able to drift to sleep. Clearly you should never fall asleep in the bath, but taking a bath before bed will aid relaxation and help you sleep once you go to bed.
- Relieving aches and pains – Hot water helps to relax aching muscles, and a spa bath is even more effective because the whirlpool streams stimulate the muscles and skin and help boost oxygen flow.
- Boosting skin health – The massage effect from the streams and whirlpools in the bath will massage the skin and promote oxygen flow, in turn helping skin health and aiding that healthy glow we all strive for. It also opens the pores of the skin, helping the water cleanse dirt and grime, giving us with cleaner skin.
- It reduces stress – It isn’t difficult to see why spa baths reduce stress. The warm water and bubbling jets relax our bodies and in turn help us feel less stressed.
- Headache reduction – Spa baths help us feel relaxed and warm, and help to dilate blood vessels which aids a decrease in the pressure in the head. This is a good way to help get rid of headaches, or at least help reduce symptoms.
- Preparing for the day – Spa baths help you feel more relaxed which in turn, calms and focuses the thoughts and helps you prepare for the day. When we are relaxed we are more able to cope with whatever stresses the day brings us.
- Helping with anxiety – Anxiety can be helped in a spa bath because it relaxes your body. The body and mind work together and often when one is tense, the other follows suit, but the same goes for relaxation. When your body relaxes, often your mind follows suit.
Other Features
As well as a spa bath, there are other water features you can add to your spa bathroom to make it more spa like.
- A water feature is a great example of a feature that will always make you feel more relaxed in that room. Studies have shown that the sound of running water makes us feel relaxed and connected to nature. So even if you’re just in there powdering your nose, a beautiful water feature will be helping you de-stress.
- A walk in master shower is a good choice if you don’t have or want a spa bath and prefer a shower. They are usually so big you can fit a bench in there, and they commonly have different settings like steam room settings, where you can sit and enjoy a steam to cleanse the pores.
- A freestanding bath is a stunning addition to any bathroom, and you will find them in many luxury hotel rooms. From traditional Victorian designs to larger, more modern designs, there is a style for every bathroom and they can provide a truly boutique spa feel.
- Rainshower shower heads are incredibly enjoyable to use and are an inexpensive way to make your bathroom more spa like.
- Recliners are a wonderful idea if you have the budget. They enable you to sit inside your walk in shower and relax with the music and lighting, along with the steam effect.
Adding Little Details
With spa bathrooms, clearly amazing features like a spa bath or walk in shower will bring you great joy in the use of that particular room, but smaller little details can also make a big difference. So if you want to make less expensive changes, or ensure your overall redesign has all the little touches to make it feel complete, it is important to focus on smaller details like this:
The Feel Of The Materials
An incredibly soft and fluffy bathroom rug, and the most beautifully soft and thick towels will instantly add a luxurious feel to your bathroom. Top end spas always provide gorgeous towels to use because you don’t want to be putting a scratchy stiff towel onto your freshly softened and relaxed skin. Pay more for high quality towels, rugs and dressing gowns that embrace you in their luxurious feel when you place them against your skin.
Tiles With Underfloor Heating
Floor tiles and tiles in general make a space easy to clean, and provide the quintessential spa feel. Heated floor tiles add a little bit more luxury and comfort, and should be an aspect of the room if your budget allows. Just don’t forget to ensure the tiles and the installation of the tiles is bathroom grade.
Focus On Lighting
The lighting should be both practical, and adjustable to the mood. The more high-tech you can get with the lighting, the better. Ideally you can enjoy different lighting in different areas as well. Perhaps the spa bath or walk in shower have colour changing LED’s, or the floor tiles contain recessed lights for safety at night when you go to the toilet. Maybe the main mirror or mirrors have bright lighting enabling you to apply your makeup easily, and perhaps you have soft lighting for a relaxing bath, or even lights inside the bath. Whatever you do, steer away from harsh overhead lighting.
Focus On All Of The Senses
Great spa bathrooms incorporate all of the senses, so make sure you do that with yours. Have safe areas to place candles, maybe incorporate a dry bath bomb jar or bowl, always have a bag of bath rose petals on hand, and consider using a high quality reed diffuser to bring a delicious scent into the space continually.
Bring Personality To The Space
You’re trying to recreate a spa style in your bathroom sure, but you don’t want to recreate a generic leisure centre spa. You must add personality to the space so that it is your spa bathroom, not a standard hotel spa bathroom. Adding ombre wall tiles in your favourite colour, or a big piece of artwork that you have created or that you love, or perhaps even some photography, will add colour and personality.
Add Furniture
This may seem to go against the idea of a spa bathroom because minimalism is key, but we aren’t talking about adding a 3 seater sofa. Add furniture in to aid in the convenience of the room, like a stool or chair to sit on while you moisturise your legs or paint your toenails following a steam and cleanse in your walk in shower.
Add Cute Accessories
Clutter is the world’s biggest no-no when it comes to a spa bathroom. You should have good inside and outside storage and just a few well chosen accessories to bring the space to life. Outside storage should only contain pretty things like jarred cotton balls, or decanted moisturiser, fluffy folded towels and slippers, and inside storage should have all the messy products and bits and pieces usually placed on the worktops, which should be left bare apart from one or two cute accessories. Hanging succulent gardens or pot plants, attractive pot pourri bowls and gorgeous vintage beauty boxes are all great accessories for display.
Add Green Things
Nothing says nature’s spa like plants, so why not add some to your spa bathroom? As mentioned above, a succulent garden is a fabulous idea, as is aloe vera or bamboo, as they will thrive in the environment.
Connected Living Applies To Your Spa Bathroom As Well
If you want your spa bathroom to be ultra-convenient, and worth its investment, then you need to ensure it has all the latest tech. Connected living should be a priority, so that your entire home is linked up to your gadgets and is smart and modern. Good examples to apply in a bathroom might be:
- A plant monitor – place one in the soil of your spa bathroom plants and it will update the water levels, soil condition, temperature and sunlight your plant is exposed to so you can adjust accordingly.
- Automated light monitors – if your home is connected you can apply sensors to your spa bathroom to turn the lights off when you exit the room, keeping you as eco-friendly as possible.
- Showerhead & wireless speaker – you can buy showerheads that also act as wireless speakers so you can stream music via your smartphone. You may want to use this if you don’t have speakers installed into your shower or bathroom.
- Shower & Bath remotes – these allow you to get your shower warmed up, or your bath run and heated to the temperature you like, from the comfort of your bed, or even on your way home from work. This is handy for timesaving.
- Cyber mirror – cyber mirrors work as mirrors, but also have built in internet access, freeview and much more. Perfect for checking your makeup, and watching a movie whilst you relax in your freestanding tub.
- Smart toilet – smart toilets are making their way over here, following popularity in Japan for years. They can do all sorts, from warming the seat, to adjusting the temperature of the bidet.
Remember To Take Your Time and Invest In Expert Help When You Can
If you are planning on designing your own spa bathroom, there are so many layouts, technologies and decor styles to consider. Your primary concern should always be seeking professional help as and when you need it. This is especially relevant with spa bathrooms where different ‘wet areas’ may expose different parts of the room to lots of moisture, and where electronics and technology are involved – it just isn’t worth the risk.
If you have the budget, invest it in small changes to give a spa feel.
Tiling the entire room with high quality water-grade porcelain tiles, changing the towels and adding some new fixtures and fittings will do your bathroom a world of good.
These small changes will give you a beautiful bathroom to enjoy. Don’t be tempted to be overly ambitious with DIY because it could cost you more than a bad looking bathroom that doesn’t work well. There’s nothing relaxing about bad DIY. However if you do have the budget to get ‘the works’ then it is a great area of the home to invest in. Do your research, buy the highest quality materials you can afford, integrate technology, and make the space your own, after all it is your own private spa sanctuary.