How to Keep Your Bathroom Warm this Winter

winter bathroom painting with snow and a bathtub

Winter may officially start on the 21 December here in the UK, but for anyone who lives in this fair country of ours, the chilly weather it usually brings is felt long before the season is supposed to begin! As soon as the central heating starts going on every day, you know we’re in it for the long haul, and you really start to feel the cold when you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and the heating has most likely been turned off.

While sitting down on a freezing toilet seat can be better than coffee to wake you up in the morning, it would still be nice if we didn’t feel like we had to wear a coat whenever we want to use the bathroom. So, what can we do to make our bathrooms warmer? What are the must-have bathroom accessories for keeping ourselves warm and ensuring the bathroom makes it through the winter without a hitch?

Read on to discover how to keep your bathroom nice and warm this winter...

Designer Radiators

duratherm vertical designer radiator anthracite

Standard convector radiators may be cheap to buy and install, but they’re not exactly eye-catching. Instead, invest in a stunning designer radiator, perfect for giving you that warm feeling as well as looking great!

There’s a huge choice of designs available, and while some tend to err towards the more luxury of price tags, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great design. One thing to remember about designer radiators is that they tend to be on the larger side, so you may not have a lot of choices if your bathroom is quite small. Thankfully, there’s another option for you there, and that’s our next idea...

Heated Towel Rails

small anthracite heated towel rail

If you don’t want a full radiator, or your bathroom is a little on the small side, then heated towel rails are a perfect choice. In smaller bathrooms, they’ll act just as well as a radiator in heating the entire room, although you’d have to have a particularly large bathroom for it to not heat it fully anyway! The best thing about heated towel rails is that you can stick your towels on them before you jump in the bath or shower. Once you’re out, you can wrap yourself in a toasty warm towel, so that your transition from hot water to open air doesn’t have to feel too chilly!

For both of the above options, you can benefit from them on those cooler mornings by ensuring your central heating is set to come on at least half an hour before you normally wake up. That way, you’re walking into an already warm bathroom. However, if you’re not one to have the central heating on a lot, then these other tricks will also keep your bathroom warm.

Add a Rug

A lot of bath mats tend to be sad-looking bathroom accessories that have been picked up somewhere for less than £5. It’s fine to stop the floor from getting wet when you step out of the bath or shower, but why not think a little bigger and go for a rug instead? While you should expect to pay more money here, a soft rug is well worth the price for feeling nice and cosy on your feet in the middle of a cold winter’s night. Remember that it needs to be a rug that can cope with some errant splashes of water and the levels of moisture in the air.

Heat Up Your Floors

If you're not fully content with just a rug and you’re sick and tired of getting chilly feet, then you can go even further and install underfloor heating. Obviously, this comes with a price tag and takes some work to install, so you need to add the extra cost of getting it installed by a professional too. If you can afford underfloor heating then you can afford the associated costs of hiring a professional to get it installed, so don’t compromise your safety by trying to do it yourself.

Warm Colours

warm-coloured-bathroom

It’s amazing how a simple colour change can positively impact a room. Many bathrooms are crisp and white, which can feel cold and clinical at times, especially during winter. Giving your bathroom a lick of paint, such as warmer autumn colours or even a pale yellow for that summery look can instantly make your bathroom feel warmer just by looking at it. Bathroom mirrors can also help make the space look larger as well as warmer.

Baths that Retain Heat

A long soak in the bath is the perfect way to spend a wintry evening, but bath water that quickly goes cold isn’t going to get you through the next chapter of your book! If you’re willing to spend a little more on a new bath, then copper, stone, brass, and limestone all retain heat for longer. While you’ll have to consider whether the price tag is worth the extra cash, consider the fact that they often look gorgeous, too.

Looking to splash the cash? Read on for two more ideas that you’re going to need a lot of pounds to incorporate.

Add a Sauna

Whether it’s a steam cabin or an actual purpose-built home sauna, these tend to come with a hefty price tag. However, the benefits of having one of these in your home and the pure luxury that comes with it are massive positives. If you’ve got the cash and space, then this is an option you should definitely consider, especially as the health benefits will last all year round!

Install a Fireplace

luxurious fireplace with two white armchairs

This is definitely the ultimate in luxury big-ticket items. Although it's rare to see a fireplace in a bathroom, it's not impossible! Aside from the price tag, fires in bathrooms will take an awful lot of work to install by professionals, and not every bathroom situation will be able to have one. But everyone can dream, and if you do happen to have the capital, then go for it!

If you're looking for further advice on heating, take a look at the following posts - A Guide to Bathroom Heating - Guide to Buying Heated Towel Rails For Your Bathroom - Why You Need a Heated Towel Rail In Your Bathroom Today.


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