Achieving this is not as difficult as you might think and doesn’t necessarily require a lot of space or a huge remodel. We’ve put together a few ideas and inspiring designs to give you an incentive to start your own makeover project.

What really helps to elevate a space is greenery. This also applies if you want to turn your bathroom into a spa. However, the bathroom is not generally a very good environments for plants given the limited natural light, moisture and temperature fluctuations. You can still add greenery to it and make it look like a garden by relying on elements like wall decals and various decorations. Check out this gorgeous secret garden bathroom designed by ABH Interiors if you’re in need of inspiration.

This residence designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios has a gorgeous bathroom as well and while it may not have any greenery in it, it looks and it feels very welcoming and relaxing. The fact that it’s so spacious works in its favor, although what really stands out is the array of earthy colors and textures that were used in its design. The burlap window treatments and wooden floorboards help to add warmth to the room.

Speaking of wood, it can be a great material for a bathroom floor and it can be treated to withstand moisture and to last for a very long time. Given that most bathrooms have tiled floors, using a different material such as wood for this instantly changes the ambiance and makes the space more inviting, comfortable and spa-like. A perfect example is this master bathroom by Michael Dawkins Home.

The gorgeous Villa Massilia retreat from Bali has one of the most magnificent designs when it comes to spa-like bathrooms. Notice the oval freestanding tub at the center that looks as if it’s carved out of a single piece of stone, the textured ceiling and the small garden that brings greenery and color into the design as well as natural sunlight. Everything else is simple and the atmosphere created here is a very relaxing and soothing one.

Making a bathroom look and feel like a spa is not all about following a particular theme. It’s more about creating a certain ambiance in the room and that can be done in lots of different ways. For example, you can keep the overall color palette simple and not really change anything about the space except introduce a few accessories like a comfortable chair that you can put in a corner or a little side table by the tub. A small plant in front of the window can also help to change the overall feel of the room.

Another strategy is to go to the base of the design and to select a palette of materials and finishes that give the bathroom a sophisticated feel. A good combo is a white marble and wood, two materials used here by studio Alwill to inspire a sense of spaciousness and elegance. These are accent materials used in just the right amounts in this case.

Bringing more furniture into the bathroom is actually a great way to make this space more welcoming and comfortable as a whole. Typically it’s nice to introduce pieces that are normally found in a living room like a chair or an armchair for example. You can put it in a corner or by the tub and create a little sitting nook even if it’s mostly for decor. We love the way in which this was applied in here by studio General Assembly.

There’s a beautiful Mediterranean theme going on in this bathroom designed by Handelsmann + Khaw and it’s greatly accentuated by the arched window and the sculptural sconces on the wall. The view out into the garden is magnificent and even though a large window exposes the room to the exterior the fact that it’s facing a tall wall of greenery doesn’t take away its privacy.

If you want your bathroom to have a more lavish and luxurious feel then perhaps using a particular set of materials and finishes can help. Usually, a more retro design can help more easily achieve such a look. Clawfoot tubs in particular make great focal points and fixtures with metallic copper finishes are just as efficient at giving you this desired look.

Although the panorama from this bathroom designed by Hugh-Jones Mackintosh. is absolutely marvelous, that’s not all that makes us love this space. We love the simplicity of the design and especially the black tub. Its oval shape and soft curves go really well with the light gray stone tiles on the floor. As a whole, this really looks like a spa and it’s the simplicity and lack of details that help to emphasize that.

Here’s a lovely little bathroom with a rustic and cabin-like feel to it. It looks like such a soothing and inviting space and that’s thanks to details such as the burlap-colored curtain that’s hanging in front of the window and the wooden shelves that are very solid and thick but also have a very authentic texture that brings out the natural beauty in this material.

Here’s another really peaceful and inviting bathroom, this time with a fairly eclectic design. It has stone-colored tiles on the floor and only one of the walls is tiled which helps to give it a more warm look. The wooden vanity is a great focal point and the live edge accent table with hairpin legs is a perfect accessory for the oval tub. Check out @kristin_kgdesigns for more details about it.

The colors in this bathroom designed by Wade Design Architects are really nice and soothing. We have gray tiles on the floor and the nuances get warmer from there, with medium-tone wooden cabinets and this beige pattern on the accent wall. The window is a nice central focal point that ties it all together.

Sometimes just the feeling of being in a spacious and airy room can help to give it a relaxing, spa-like character. The way to do that in a bathroom, given that there’s a limited amount of space to work with, is by using light colors and trying not to make it feel very divided. That’s why glass partitions and enclosures are so wonderful and popular, especially in modern interiors. A nice example is this master bathroom designed by studio HOMEREDI.

Creating an accent wall is usually good advice for a different types of spaces, the bathroom included. In this particular case you can use a specific type of tiles to add color or texture to the design or to create an interesting mural. The impact of the accent wall on the room as a whole can further be emphasized by mirrors. This bathroom designed by Fine Design Interiors combines these two elements together rather effortlessly.

Accent lighting is also very helpful at changing the ambiance in a room. Integrating this sort of detail into the design of a bathroom is not difficult. If you’re dealing with wall-mounted or floating shelves or a vanity then you can add LED bands to the underside which could actually also be done for regular cabinets as well. Sconces are also great accessories in this case. A little bit of diversity when it comes to the lighting is always welcomed. Check out this elegant design by CHD Interiors as a reference.

Then there’s also the option of installing wallpaper on the walls. It’s not a very common practice for bathrooms simply because tiles are usually preferred. However, some wallpaper can really change the way this rooms looks and feels and can give it a warm and inviting vibe, like a spa. There’s a lot more to appreciated about this particular design by Chestnut Design Studio and the birch wallpaper is one of the details that stand out most.

In the case of a contemporary-style bathroom, the accent is usually not so much on the details but on the bigger elements that stand at the base of the design, like the materials used, the textures and the overall layout of the space. With that in mind, if you ant a spa-inspired bathroom consider introducing some natural wood into the design, stone and simple and soothing colors like white, grey and beige.

Strong contrasts can also work in some cases. In this master bathroom, you can see that the limestone floor tiles and the walls have very similar and neutral colors. This creates a nice backdrop for the dark-colored wooden elements like the door and window frames, the vanity, shelves, the mirror and the ceiling as well. This sort of design is a bit more on the traditional side but can be adapted to suit a variety of different styles including modern and contemporary.