How to Turn Your Bathroom Into a Soothing Spa On a Budget

Replace frill-trimmed towels, with plush luxury towels.

Maybe you can't install heated towel bars and a sauna, but you can incorporate elements of a spa by clearing the clutter and creating clean lines in your home bathroom. Look to nature to create a stress-free zone in your bathroom without a major remodeling project. Does this Spark an idea?

Things You'll Need

• Fresh paint
• Brush metal fixtures
• Large, plush towels
• Wood-trimmed accessories
• Plants
• Natural oils and bath salts

Instructions

1. Remove old, garish wallpaper and repaint bright walls. Spa colors are serene and meant to enhance a sense of calm and well-being, so stick to muted greens and blues, or light to medium earth tones. Remove lacy towels, the tea roses floral shower curtain, and the crocheted tissue holder cover. Clear makeup holders off the counter, take magazines off the back of the toilet and stash in cabinets and closets.

2. Replace shiny chrome fixtures with a brushed chrome, nickel or copper finish. If you have gold framed pictures or a mirror, replace the gold with wood frames.

3. Bring in the natural elements. Bamboo trimmed accessories, vanilla, lavender and sage candles and white or neutral tone towels rolled in a basket or open shelf are spa-inspired additions. Add simple container plants such as a single orchid, a row of bamboo or other natural grasses, or framed nature prints.

4. Stock your spa retreat with mineral bath salts or essential oils and a small MP3 or CD player with soothing or meditation music.

Tips & Warnings

• Line the bottom of your bathroom sink with medium size polished river rocks. It's like turning your sink into a babbling brook. Don't worry; unless you don't have some kind of drain covering, they're not going to clog up the pipes.

References

• Spa Magazine; Turn Your Bathroom Into an Oasis of Calm; Mindy Terry