How to get luxury bathroom upgrades for less

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As an oasis of calm in our busy lifestyles, it should be no surprise that so many of us want to update the look, feel and usability of our bathroom.

Your bathroom is a haven, a sanctuary that is ever so handily equipped with a lock which allows you to literally and metaphorically shut out the “real” world — or at least the kids!

It really is the one room in the house where you can immerse yourself, not only in a deep body of soothingly warm water, but in that sometimes elusive sense of yourself.

You can engage your senses as much or as little as you like; scented candles, subdued lighting, water temperature just the way you like it, a (preferably plastic) glass of wine, a hands-free chat with friends, a podcast or music from a smart speaker, hey, even a spot of waterproof TV viewing these days! Or you can simply tune out and let the power of warm water work its magic.

Yes, the bathroom is not just a place for bodily functions and routine ablutions, it can be a luxuriously-appointed, WiFi-connected, sensorily optimised bubble that allows you to ease both body and mind. It can help set yourself up for a great night’s sleep, create an invigorating start to the day or simply help you re-centre yourself when life takes its toll on your physical and mental well being.

So it’s no wonder that a recent survey by building installation inspectors and auditors RISA Ltd, suggested that nearly a third of Brits planning home improvements this year want to upgrade their bathroom.

Renovating your bathroom might seem like an expensive proposition, but the good news is that modern manufacturing technology and economies of scale have brought bathroom luxury within reach for many of us. So if a deluxe bathroom on a tight budget is your goal, read on for five top tips and suggestions.

Read more: Bathroom accessories to add affordable luxury to your life

If you really want to add a luxurious statement piece to your bathroom, one that is at once both functional and beautiful to look at, there’s little that comes close to a freestanding bath. Instead of slab-sided bath panels which struggle to add anything visually to a bathroom, it's the silhouette of a freestanding bath itself that is immediately impactful, helping shape a sense of stylish luxury in this most intimate of rooms.

This one from Victorian Plum, ticks all the boxes. Its beautifully simple design manages that hard-to-achieve effect of being both tastefully understated and yet eye-catchingly elegant. Its very simplicity is what allows it to be matched with a wide variety of accessories, period styles and decors, from modern to traditional to quirky to eclectic, so in terms of overall aesthetics, you can’t really go wrong.

The Mode Heath freestanding bath can be positioned next to a wall or towards the centre of a bathroom with either wall-mounted or freestanding taps and overflow outlet. Weighing in at 65kg it is solidly built and designed for both longevity and, given its 250-litre water capacity, long, deep, luxuriant soaks. Online reviews from verified purchasers are glowing, with owners noting that it is great to use, significantly adds to the overall style of their bathroom and looks more expensive than its actual retail price.

So let’s imagine you’ve got the big three bathroom suite items sorted - that’s bath, basin and toilet (if you haven't scroll down for some great options). How else can you get that feeling of luxury into your place of serenity? One easy and affordable way is to, quite literally, add some life to the situation.

By investing in plants that can tolerate heat and humidity you are also introducing colour, form and a sense of the natural world that in itself can have a calming effect on your mood. If yours is a windowless bathroom, fear not, there are plants that can cope with a lack of direct sunlight too.

Ivy might be considered a nuisance in outdoor environments where it can spider its way into nooks and crannies, compromising brickwork and wreaking floral havoc. In a bathroom setting, however, with its tumbling tendrils, it can soften everything, offsetting the hard straight lines of tiles, shelves and towel rails.

Ferns too, are a bathroom stalwart and are particularly suited to internal, windowless bathrooms where the humidity levels can be high and direct sunlight non-existent. Get some inspiration for a tropical bathroom here, you might even choose to go the whole hog and create a vertical plant display in the form of a living wall. This is a great option when you have a limited number of flat surface on which to site plant pots. Check out this video on how to do it yourself with minimal tools and basic DIY skills.

Alternatively, if you worry about keeping anything green alive and dealing with soil spillages you could always invest in artificial plants. But before you do that, speak to a local plant nursery about which plants would work in your bathroom and how to keep them healthy – it might be easier than you think!

Every bathroom needs a basin and every bathroom needs storage so it makes perfect sense to combine these two requirements in a freestanding vanity unit. This offering from Victoria Plum is made from water-resistant engineered wood that features a durable high gloss white finish.

The high-quality ceramic basin, meanwhile, both looks smart and is easy to clean. The unit is delivered fully–assembled so it’s a relatively simple plumbing job to install it. The storage is accessed via two soft-close doors that can have either chrome-effect or black handles. The basin has a single tap hole for mixer taps and an integral overflow. In addition to the tap, you’ll need a click-clack slotted waste plug and a bottle trap which can also be purchased from Victoria Plum.

We all need art, or at least some form of artistic expression in our lives, and why should that stop at the bathroom door? Well, to state the obvious, it shouldn’t but obviously you don’t want to put your prized antique lithograph or Victorian watercolour in there.

There are, however, plenty of wall art options that will not suffer from the high humidity and high temperature conditions that are a feature of modern bathrooms. Polycotton canvas prints are particularly good in this respect and you can easily have them made up to your preferred dimensions from your own photographs.

A variety of high street retailers provide this service, allowing you to choose from dozens of canvas sizes producing prints from under 200mm square to well over 1m square and in a wide variety of frames.

In an age during which it seems we will increasingly need to conserve water, a dual flush toilet is the way forward. But going green doesn’t mean sacrificing style or functionality as this Orchard Balance close coupled toilet with soft close toilet seat amply demonstrates.

There is no reason why a toilet shouldn’t be a triumph of form as well as function and with its clean lines and pleasing shape, this unit has been carefully designed to work with a variety of bathroom styles.

The net result is that it should slot into your bathroom upgrade plans without any clashes, whatever your taste — or even those of your home’s previous occupants. You could, if you like, pair it with a matching pedestal basin, but essentially it will look great in any bathroom set-up.

The soft closing lid is a great feature that will be especially appreciated to parents accustomed to hearing that familiar slamming sound that often accompanies little ones’ visits to the loo. If that’s not a particular concern for you, then perhaps the extended guarantee and associated peace of mind that comes with this WC may be of a little more interest, as will the extremely attractive price.

And by the way, ‘close coupled’ simply means that the toilet bowl and cistern are in close proximity to each other, unlike the high-mounted cistern and separate bowl designs of bygone days.

It’s often the finishing touches that make all the difference in any room, but given its generally smaller dimensions, this is particularly the case in a bathroom. Objects will often naturally tend to stand out more against the white of a bathroom suite and even something as mundane as your toilet cistern cover can serve as an excellent showcase for a quirky statement piece.

And objects don’t necessarily need to have a bathing theme, anything vaguely water-related seems to work well in a bathroom setting, as do references to nautical life, natural artefacts such as seashells and objects evoking the classical world of the Greeks and Romans.

Don’t be afraid to add a touch of quirkiness either, sometimes it’s good to suspend the normal rules of home decor and add elements of humour or the unexpected to our private spaces.

There are a million and one ways you can add a touch of luxury to your bathroom during an upgrade. You’ll find great bathroom suite products that allow you to do just that at affordable prices when shopping at leading supplier Victoria Plum.

For bathroom decor inspiration, try looking inwards. Think about the colours, styles and objects that bring you a sense of calm and wellbeing and take inspiration from the world around you. After all, when you’re looking to create a bathroom that will bring a sense of serenity to your busy life, it really has to be one that works on the practical, aesthetic and personal level — in other words, it’s all about you!

The pricing information presented above is accurate as of 20/10/2022. We are not responsible for any changes to it. This article is paid for by Victoria Plum. When you make a purchase, we may earn a commission.

A seasoned journalist based in Glasgow, Mark Appleton specialises in automotive and cycling content. Spending much of his time in the Highlands with his young daughters, he is equally at home writing about outdoor pursuits, photography and kids’ products.