Christmas Gift Guide Room by Room: The Bathroom

Racing through the room by room gift guides and now we reach the bathroom. This, of all the rooms, is the one most geared towards luxury presents. The desire for a hotel style bathroom has now become synonymous with the desire for a spa-like experience and presents for this room, while they can still be useful, must be all about giving the recipient the gift of time and space to themselves.

Years ago I was interviewed by The Washington Post about freestanding baths and I said that, for me, they are more about the promise than the reality. I never bathe (preferring to shower) but seeing that bath makes me feel better about a rushed rain-soaked Tuesday morning meeting with my accountant. Come the weekend, it says to me, you will have time for a long lazy soak in the bath, you can listen to the radio and drink wine while doing nothing more onerous than counting bubbles. The fact that the weekends are often as busy as the weekends (albeit not with accountants) mean that that never actually happens but it makes me feel like it might. And so I feel better. And so, onto the presents. In no particular order we have:

ORGANIC COTTON TOWELS from ecosophy

£45

First up to create your hotel spa luxury experience is some really good towels. These are made by an artisanal cooperative in India that was set up to support rural livelihoods. The organic cotton is grown nearby and links to a charity that supports orphans with free schools and accomodation.  You can read about Kate Atkinson, the founder of Ecosophy here and she also sells bedding and cushion covers.

ALL NATURAL SOAP BARS

from £4.95

The next thing you’ll need is some really good soap. We made the switch to soap bars earlier this year and there is now masses of choice so it’s about hunting round for the ones that suit you. You can buy these bars individually according to skin type or you can create a custom box of eight bars for just under £40. They are also minimally packaged and made with natural ingredients, most of which, they say proudly, you could eat. Before we leave soap though I also found these rather fun soap letters for £9.95 which might make your gift that bit more personalised or work as a stocking filler. And, as a final aside, one of the makeup artists at Trinny London told me that the shampoo bars are Lush are brilliant if you can get past the overwhelming scent at the door.

SOAP DISH from anthropologie

£14

Once you move to soap bars you quickly realise that you need a soap dish by every basin. There are masses to choose from, this is just one. But if you are someone who has always relied on “smellies” for Christmas for difficult relatives and hard to buy for friends then make this the year you add a little more to it. Just a good soap with a dish will work (the kitchen equivalent is a mug and a really pretty tea towel, or for the sitting room a candle and cool matches, or in the bedroom a book and a cushion. All of these are adaptable to any budget so you don’t have to buy the ones I have pictured here).

WALL CABINET WITH RATTAN DOOR from H&M

£139

Slightly leftfield here but most people say they don’t have enough bathroom storage and if you have run out of floor then you need to use the walls. Also if you’re going to give stuff for Christmas then makes sense to give something to store said stuff in no? This is a gorgeous little cupboard that nails the rattan trend and would therefore work in any room. You could also fix one to the wall either side of the bed which would give you storage and a shelf to put things on. And free up the floor space so the room looks bigger and more spacious. And, while I’m hurling suggestions out left right and centre, you can also look for a vintage cupboard for the bathroom. Vintage always looks good in a bathroom as a contrast to all those sleek straight lines. Here’s one for example.

SHOWER CURTAIN

RRP £48

There are scores of cool shower curtain designs around these days and any one of them would brighten up a bathroom from over the top colourful designs like this to more understand palm trees and even tigers. All you have to do is browse through the selection to find the right one.

BRASS WALL PLANTER from made.com

£35

Bathrooms love a plant that likes steamy tropical conditions and if you don’t have those (welcome to the dark and draughty British bathroom) then you can always fake it. This will bring decor and add sense of luxury and, if you buy one with a flat bottom, you can also use it as storage so it will always be a beautiful and useful present. Just remember to buy something to put in it to complete the present – otherwise they might think it’s a bit random and random is what we try to avoid at this time of year. We’ve all seen that expression of puzzlement on someone’s face as the paper falls open and they wonder first what, and then why and then really? Before pasting on a smile and moving to the next thing. That is what we’re trying to avoid here.

INDOOR WATERING CAN from Garden Trading

£12

This is an affordable addition to the present above and actually as a set will work for any room in the house so don’t feel confined to the bathroom. There are lots of fabulous watering cans around and some of them are quite fabulous prices. If your giftee is a lover of the houseplant then you can upscale accordingly. I’d like this one but if you want it in brighter colours you will have to see if the Swedish makers will ship to you.

MARSHALL SPEAKER

£229

Last year I included a classic Roberts Radio in my bathroom gift list as the idea of being in the bathroom long enough to listen to a programme feels like a luxury. This year I was sent one of these speakers to try and while it will, of course, go on any room, I adore listening to the radio in the bathroom so that is where I would put it. It’s not just for radio though, as you can stream anything you like or hook up your iphone to it. You may have seen them in pictures of fashionable hotels and the retro look is also a good contrast to the modernity of the bathroom (see the cupboard idea above). You could add to this with a subscription to Spotify too. (Disclaimer  – I wasn’t asked to post about this speaker here – in fact I asked and they specifically said they were only interested in instagram so not to bother but if I like something enough to put it on my grid then I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to know about it too so I have included it because music in the bathroom is a good thing – that said I don’t have a plug in there so it would go in the bedroom next door with the door open. Because that works too.

LAUNDRY BASKET from design vintage

£62

Now I grant you a laundry basket may not seem like the most exciting of presents but it will be used every day so a nice one might go down better than you think. Also – if you fill it with some of these other presents then what’s not to like? If someone is desperate for a new bathroom but the budget doesn’t permit this year then a version of everything on this list all wrapped up in this basket will improve the experience no end while they save to redo the space.

Mind you, talking of containers you can’t go wrong with a pretty wash bag (I like this one, it also comes in black) filled with their favourite skincare or make-up. And if you go to your local pharmacy and buy a really lovely handcream they will often give you samples of other things which you can add to the mix. Just wrap in pretty tissue paper inside the bag.

LEOPARD DRESSING GOWN from Zara

£79.99

leopard print dressing gown from zara

So you’ve enhanced the look of the room and the experience thereof with some of these gifts. All that remains is something to wear on the way in and out. At times this year it has felt like I am the only person in the world who doesn’t own a single thing with leopard print on it. If you have to buy for someone who has fully adopted the mantra that leopard is a neutral then head over to Zara for either this cotton dressing gown or a towel. They will love you for ever. Job Done.