A bathroom should be a place you enjoy spending time in, whether it’s a personal retreat or a practical family bathroom. At the end of a long day, it’s ideal to be able to relax in a hot bath – but for one reason or the other, we often don’t. But by incorporating wood, plants, natural stone, and neutral colours, you can create a warm and welcoming space while referencing the great outdoors –  and in this article, we’ll show you how.

Use wood effect wall panels

Incorporating wood into your bathroom is an excellent way to make it a more relaxing space, plus neutral decor creates a timeless feel while keeping the room fresh. Contrast neutral walls with wood effect wall panels to frame your walk-in shower or bath – these grey wall panels look fantastic against white walls; their matt finish follows a unique pattern mirroring the wood grain.

Wood effect bathroom wall panels are more practical than natural wood, as they're 100% waterproof and won't need treatment or upkeep to stop them from warping over time.

Choosing humidity loving plants

Incorporating plants into your bathroom is a great way to balance oxygen levels, and of course, they create a gorgeous display to enjoy day after day. What’s more – they’re almost effortless to maintain and can even improve your mental health.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera, in particular, makes perfect bathroom plants. As they're succulent (a type of plant with thick fleshy leaves containing water), Aloes don't need to be frequently watered, making them low maintenance. Despite their modest upkeep needs, they offer several benefits, the most well-known being their ability to replenish dry skin and relieve minor pain.

Spider plants

Spider plants are another ideal humidity loving plant for use in the bathroom. They grow rapidly and love indirect light and regular watering. As they grow, baby plants sprout along the stems of the main plant. These baby spider plants can be removed from the main plant at a certain point, and each can be grown into another whole adult.

Orchids

Orchids are also ideal for bathrooms, especially if they’re well heated, as they thrive in humidity and will bloom for weeks at a time. However, orchids are harder to maintain than our other humidity loving plant suggestions, so they might be best left to the more green-fingered renovators. They like moderate to bright light, depending on the variety.

Go for neutral colours

The colour of your bathroom has a massive effect on how relaxing or natural it feels, and some colours are much more likely to create a calming vibe than others. Like Dulux’s Colour of the Year 2021, neutral colours are a good choice for bathrooms as they provide a blank canvas to let other bathroom elements take centre stage. They also reflect the outdoors: beige can mirror sand, wood and pebbles, and grey can mirror water, stone, and the sky.

These elements can have a calming effect and create a room that you can really relax in. If you choose to go for neutral wall panels, be sure to use white or off-white for the walls around the wall panels to keep the colour scheme consistently neutral and complementary.

Use stone effect wall panels

Use stone effect wall panels to evoke the calmness and serenity of a spa, as well as the outdoors. These Travertine bathroom wall panels are ideal for creating a warm and relaxing area in the bathroom. Their neutral hue makes them perfect for covering all the bathroom walls, too.

Even though they look like tiles, these wall panels don’t come with any installation or maintenance problems that tiles are known for. They’re easy to fit, quick to clean, don’t require grouting that can develop mould, and won’t discolour or warp through getting wet.