Maybe it's because I started reading Cleopatra: A Life, but I have luxury on the brain. Though I haven't come across any descriptions yet, I bet the Queen of the Nile's bathroom had some, if not all, of these five qualities of a truly luxurious bathroom.
Luxurious bathrooms have at least a few of the following:
1. Space. A utilitarian room, most bathrooms are small to allow for more room in other areas of the home. So instantly, a larger bathroom is a luxury. How To: Unless you're gut renovating, creating more square footage is not an option. Create the appearance of more space by removing visual clutter, choosing a monochromatic color palette, and using a few additional luxurious qualities.
2. Light. Skylights, walls of windows, beautiful views. Like space, light is a commodity that can be in short supply, and its abundance in the bathroom is a luxury. How To: If you're lucky enough to have large windows and no close neighbors, consider going bare. If not, stick to sheers or window coverings that let in the most light possible. For those with air shaft views or no windows, consider lighting that mimics natural sunlight.
3. Materials. Luxurious bathrooms use beautiful, natural materials on floors and walls. Granite, marble, river rock, teak: all luxury, all from nature. How To: If you're renovating, invest in quality natural materials. Not only are they luxurious, quality lasts forever and never goes out of style.
4. Texture. Texture wants us to touch. Whether feeling your feet go from the sleek stone floor to the plush sheepskin rug or enveloping yourself in a warm bath surrounded by velvet curtains, textures create intimacy. How To: Though easier to implement than the proceeding qualities, it's the hardest for upkeep. Bathrooms are warm, wet and steamy, not the best conditions for sheepskin rugs and velvet curtains. Consider varying texture in other ways: plush towels and bathrobes, a teak or rock mat to contrast with stone floors.
5. Detail. Fireplaces, sofas, tufted gold bathtubs, bronze statues- all are details that personalize the space. But detail doesn't have to be large and over the top. How To: Here is a quality that every bathroom can use to incorporate some luxury. Something as simple as a tray with a candle, a book and some tea, a chandelier or pretty decorative storage can elevate a space. Whatever your definition of luxury, you can recreate it in the details.
What are your tips for a luxurious bathroom at home?
Images: 1. Popular Wealth via Apartment Therapy; 2. Breakcode; 3. This Architecture; 4. & 6. Elle Decor; 5. ArchZine; 7. FSNshow; 8. House Beautiful; 9. FreshHome.
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Great post! Hoping to inject at least some of these qualities into my guest bath remodel.
Are these any different from the qualities of any luxurious room?
HernandoHouse, I love that lead photo! That curvy bathtub setting is to die for!
I splurged on a heated towel rack.
Here are my tips on how to create the ultimate sensory bathing experience to go along with your luxurious bathroom http://tinyurl.com/3pl9c4c
6. Live-in help to clean the bathroom constantly.
I look at those and think - OMG it would be horrid to keep it looking likt that.
The third one is just ridiculous. You have that beautiful space and you put your toilet in it? Plus, who has a view of you when you're taking care of business. No. Just. No.
That 7th picture bathroom~ ooh la la!
"5 qualities of luxurious bathrooms: lots and lots of money."
I think most of those bathrooms are larger than my living room and one of them looks bigger than my whole condo. I agree about the third one. Who wants to see a toilet? If you have enough money for this kind of luxury bath, you've got enough money to put the toilet in its own separate room. I know if I could do a serious bathroom upgrade, that would be my first priority.
Another important point is to not skimp on quality construction. The previous owners of the home we just bought did a lovely but "quickie" master suite addition, including an attempt at a luxury bath. However, it's riddled with problems big to small -- the glass shower wall was never properly supported so now it terrifies us daily and is costing hundreds to reinforce in an awkward and probably ugly way, and will cost a couple grand to truly redo in a few years when the wimpy silicone mounting gives out. The gas fireplace that peeks through to the bedroom is settling badly because the wrong trim was used so it's pulling away from the drywall which looks kinda trashy. And they didn't use mildew-resistant paint so... yeah. Plus, half the fixtures are polished chrome and/or squarey, and half are brushed and/or ovaley.
Don't get me wrong; we still feel like kings in that Jacuzzi tub (and we CERTAINLY can't afford the live-in cleaners Dulcibella suggests after buying this place, haha -- however it ain't so hard to keep clean with the tan-colored ceramic tile everywhere). But it's prettier at first glance than it is upon actual inspection. It just pays attention to note the details and get it right when doing a big job like a renovation or addition -- I think they would've done it better if they planned on staying and had to live with all the silly half-assed luxury features.
Those first five aren't luxurious at all. Just oversized.
bigger than my apt! how about a lux BA in small space? now thats worth an article!
absolutely GORGEOUS bathrooms! LOVE all of the stone and gorgeous tubs!
Q: Recently it was brought to my attention that the marble mantle inlaid with gold surrounding the fireplace in my bathroom was becoming soiled between the live-in maid's daily cleaning regimens because I was burning hundred-dollar bills in it. If I switch to an environmentally friendly fuel such as compressed kopi luwak coffee grounds, will the scent of the burning eco-logs interfere with the delicate flavors of the organic Da Hong Pao tea I like to drink from my favorite Charles II-era tea set in front of the fireplace before my saffron-and-dom-perignon bath?
We used the same tile in the shower as throughout the whole bathroom suite, which my boyfriend built. We also made it a point to minimize decoration to let the features speak for themselves. Shower
@ Proboscidea~ Hahahaha!
Thanks for the laugh, I needed that today.
@ Proboscidea
rotflmao agree!
I really don't like any of these. Too John Gotti.
I was hoping this post would be more helpful. My own (only) bathroom is small but luxurious. I take no credit, as the previous owner did the remodeling. But here are the things that I think make it really nice:
Tons of Italian marble--on the floor, surrounding the shower and tub, and up to the ceiling.
The soaking tub right under a window looking out to my pretty and private backyard with small pond.
Good quality fixtures (Kohler tub, toilet and shower, Grohe faucets).
Fancy-looking sconces (a matte gold finish with alabaster shades).
An angled ceiling that gives the illusion of more space.
My bathroom is actually tiny--people can't believe a space this small can hold a glassed-in shower and a separate tub. But when you walk into it (and it's clean:) it seems really sumptuous and nice. Best of all it only takes a short time to clean!
I hate hate HATE big bathrooms.
1) I don't want a big space around me while I am on the toilet. It makes me feel agoraphobic. Besides, I don't live in there, if I did, I would eat more fiber.
2) I don't want a big space around my shower. That gets very cold and unpleasant instead of creating a nice steamy envelope.
3) Aesthetically, if it is clean-lined and huge, it feels commercial. If it is ornate and huge, it is both hard to care for and ostentatious as all get-out.
4) It's not where I would want to use my space, even if I had 1000 or 2000 sq. ft. (i currently have 650 so definitely not) I would rather have a luxuriously huge living room for entertaining or more smaller rooms, perhaps my glorious library-of-my-dreams.
5) I hate views in bathrooms unless its a view to a walled garden. What a waste of a view. It doesn't feel comfortable or relaxing to me.
And you can have nicer fittings and building materials in smaller spaces. The flooring of a 100 sq. ft. bathroom that costs the same as a 600 sq. ft. bathroom can be of much nicer quality.
If I were creating a luxury bathroom, my top three issues would be:
1) Customization. It feels more special if you know it can't be bought at Home Depot. It doesn't even have to cost more.
2) Weight and quality. If you have two bathrooms, each with tasteful white subway tile and simple black vanities - the vanity that is not MDF and has solid, smooth-rolling drawers and cut-crystal knobs is going to read as more luxurious. This is my personal bane, at my pricepoint I often end up sacrificing quality to just try to get a look - but weight DOES count.
Especially when you have to turn those flimsy faucets that have the right finish but feel disturbingly weightless everyday, and every guest has to be careful to FORCE them to stop dripping.
3) Cohesion with the house. This can expensive. Whatever the era or style of the home, echoing it rather than grabbing whatever is of the moment for a cheap flipper's redo or "this is on sale" is an exercise in having to have either money or time. But whole-home schemes are so rewarding (and easier said than done, I know) and having fixtures and materials that are perfect instead of "good enough" makes a world of difference.
Just my two long-winded cents on things I find a lot more important than "space."
I have to say, I just really like smaller bathrooms. Bathrooms with tons of windows or the best view in the house (there's actually more of these then you think if you stroll through cerain city open houses) seem weird. Some of these aren't featuring a toilet, at least in view. I really, really like split bathrooms. That's civilized. And clean and civilized is enough for a bathroom.
Although I love baths, replacing the tub with a large walk-in shower makes smaller spaces feel much more luxurious. Also, the small square footage means you could afford to splurge on flooring.
@ Proboscidea - hahahaha!
My bathroom luxuries:
- sparkling clean bath
- window
- shower with good pressure
- heated floors
- heated towel rack
Loveliest bathroom I've ever seen was in Hotel Deux Iles in Paris. Small. Dark (no windows), and a deep cobalt blue. Perfectly organized. Beautiful. I've tried to mimic it in my own small bathroom, but hotel bathroom didn't have kitty litter all over the floor.
Luxury for me will be the day I can afford to replace my shoddy acrylic tub/shower combo with a whirlpool tub. It'll definitely help my fibromyalgia.
I'm not sure why that fifth one appeals to me, but it does. It's either the giant shower or that view.
These are ridiculous. They look as though they are built for entertaining guests.
I agree with NellyP about the split bathroom. Having a separate closeted space for the loo is quite civilized.
Well these all are really important qualities which need to be concern at the time of designing & planning of luxurious bathrooms. wirral wetrooms
Looks like heaven! Another site also presents amazing bath rooms: http://gb.toto.com/