So you’ve got guests coming to stay and you want to impress them in every way possible. Cue these guest bathroom ideas that will make sure they’re relaxing in the lap of luxury. But this isn’t a case of a complete redo of your guest bathroom design—nobody’s going to remodel or retile a bathroom just because they’re set to have company. What these ideas do is show the power of styling and how the smallest changes can alter the look and feel of a space in a big way.
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1. Invest in high-quality towels
There are parts of any bathroom that are a prerequisite, like towels (and perhaps a bath mat, unless you’re more of a wooden bath board person). But there are towels and there are towels. Upping your guest bathroom’s towel selection to ones of premium cotton is tantamount to giving your bed linen a refresh to the most sumptuous high thread count Egyptian cotton varieties. The difference is colossal and means yours can rival a five star hotel bathroom. Turkish and Egyptian cottons are regarded most highly because their long fibres are softer and stronger, not to mention having a high absorbency.
It’s not just the softness that earns you hosting points. Giving guests a selection of towels is a generous way to make sure they feel catered for. One for hair and a sizeable bath sheet for decadence.
2. Provide plush robes and slippers
Back to the luxury hotel experience, think about how the best hotel bathrooms provide you with an ultra-soft towelling robe and matching slippers. Both of these are loved because of their association with spa breaks where you get to lounge around in the comforting embrace of a plush robe all day long with your feet kept warm and dry in slippers. Opt for a towelling texture that’s akin to the quality of your new guest towels, otherwise they’ll immediately feel the difference as they shrug off the towel and get into their gown. It also means that they’re suitable for being washed regularly, unlike cashmere bathroom robes that are best kept just for you. Pick out two decorative hooks and hang them pride of place rather than behind the door. This way, they can’t be missed, and act as a decorative touch in the room that will make guests very much look forward to turning on the taps.
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3. Create a beautiful display
Somewhere in your guest bathroom, dedicate an area to building a spectacle, even if it’s a small one. You want friends and family to walk into the room and to delight in the exquisiteness of their surroundings. There are a few ways to do this. If you have room to spare, one of the reigning indulgences for a bathroom is to have an armchair (or even a small sofa) and side table. This allows guests to really use the space as a complete relaxation area where they can sit and read before or after they’ve been washed. Or bring a different piece of furniture into the room such as an antique-inspired chest of drawers that serves as a traditional dressing table. But if square meterage isn’t on your side, a large bowl artfully filled with perfectly presented soap bars can be a thing of real beauty in a bathroom.
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4. Add some flowers or greenery
Flowers and greenery are a styling essential for every part of the home, but that doesn’t make them any less special. Be inspired by the other arrangements you currently have in vases as a home’s flowers look at their finest when there’s a connection from room to room. And be especially informed by the selections you’ve made in the guest bedroom as you’ll undoubtedly want to link boudoir and bathroom. For example, if you’ve chosen a mixture of lilies, peonies and tulips in the bedroom, choose just one of those stems to feature in the bathroom. Being a high moisture and often darker part of the home, not all flowers are well-suited to a bathroom. Try species that thrive in these conditions such as orchids, greenery like aloe vera or faux flowers as the lowest maintenance, least fussy option of them all.
5. Instil the room with luxury fragrances
Many people have a signature scent, and so the idea of giving one to the home is hardly unusual. Bathrooms are somewhere that particularly deserve scented candles and reed diffusers, because they add to the whole experience of being in a zen-like, calming atmosphere. You’ll need to decide what aroma personality to go for, bearing in mind how the fragrance interacts with your interior design decisions. For example, a dramatic, wall to floor marble scheme like the two Finchatton bathrooms pictured lends itself more to scents that are equally as bold and sensual, like tuberose and musk. Whereas the more traditionally elegant bathroom suite at The Langham will benefit from floral scents, and the final Goddard Littlefair’s blue palette is a perfect match for light, airy cotton-based or coastal fragrances.
6. Include lavish extras
One of the most lavish additions to a guest bathroom has to be a selection of toiletries to which people can help themselves. This is where another piece of furniture can be helpful, such as a bar trolley stacked with a beautiful selection of bath oils, salts, body lotions and a cleansing ritual with the sorts of bottles that always sound so tempting – serums, elixirs, enriching balms and masks. Include some specifically for him and some for her so that everyone is catered for.
One of the greatest luxuries for a guest bathroom is when you feel like your specific preferences have been taken into account. An effective but simple way of doing this is to have a magazine rack by the bathtub with titles that you know whoever’s stopping the night will appreciate at the very top.
And finally, have a small basket or bowl that’s filled with a few bedtime pieces like a spare toothbrush and toothpaste, aromatic pillow sprays infused with lavender and chamomile, a silk eye mask that they can take to bed with them and a moisture dense hand cream that they can apply to soak in while they sleep.
