How to Create the Best Bathroom

When it comes to modern bathroom design, one of most enduringly popular choices is a luxurious and contemporary spa-style look. This is an ideal look if you'd like to create a bathroom that feels like a calm and private oasis where you can relax and unwind at the end of a long day. Unfortunately, many of the features of this style are on the more expensive scale for bathroom products.

If you don't have an extensive budget available for your bathroom renovation project, then you may have resigned yourself to settling for a less decadent but more affordable style for your new bathroom. However, you can achieve the luxurious look for less with these two budget-friendly alternatives to expensive designer products.

1. Engineered stone, freestanding bathtub

No luxury spa-style bathroom would be complete without a beautiful and eye-catching freestanding tub. This style of bathtub provides a truly decadent bathing experience and also acts as the main focal point for the room. The high-end versions are made from natural stone varieties such as marble, granite and volcanic limestone.

If you want to create the same dramatic effect but don't want to spend most of your renovation budget on a single feature, then there's good news. Engineered stone, freestanding bathtubs give you the luxe look without the hefty price tag. These bathtubs are made from natural stone particles that are held together with a resin-based polymer.

Most natural stone varieties can be faithfully replicated through this process. As an added benefit, the surface of engineered stone freestanding tubs is generally more durable and less prone to staining and discolouration than their natural counterparts.

2. Faux raw metal finishes

There has been a huge rise in the popularity of rich, raw metal finishes in luxury design in recent years. Copper, brass and bronze are the three metal finishes that have supplanted chrome and stainless steel as the metallics of choice. In bathrooms design, they're used to enhance everything from tapware to cabinetry and benchtops.

Like natural stone, bathroom products that are made from solid versions of these metals come at a premium. Fortunately, you can transform inexpensive bathroom features into something extraordinary by using faux raw metal finishing products.

There are now paints that will faithfully create the rich, burnished look of these raw metals on virtually any surface. They can be applied to timber or laminate cabinets or to benchtop surfaces if you include a coat of sealant over the top. Standard steel tapware can be given a makeover by having them inexpensively electroplated with a thin veneer of copper, brass or bronze.