10 Ideas for Transforming Your Home Into a Luxury Escape
Modern life can be stressful. With constant connectivity and a 24-hour news cycle, it’s hard to get a break from the outside world, even when staying at home. Why not turn your home into a true escape, a retreat from the outside world where you can relax and unwind, forget about everyday stresses and be fully present?
From games rooms to home bars, there are plenty of ways you can elevate your home from simply a place to live and work to a blissful refuge and serene haven. We’re not going on vacation anytime soon. So why not treat yourself to a staycation and turn your home into the kind of place you’d normally only go on holiday?
Transform your residence into a luxury hideout – somewhere you wouldn’t ever want (or need) to leave. Here are 10 ideas for creating the dream at-home retreat, whether your priority is pampering or play.
1. Create Your Own Personal Spa
Why settle for an ordinary bathroom when you could have your own luxurious well-being centre, with the added bonus of not having to deal with members of the public?
Channel the classic spa vibes when decorating your bathroom with lighter colours that have naturally calming effects, such as soft champagne or pink. Avocado green could also create a suitably organic and earthy mood.
Then add in some traditional spa materials, such as bamboo or floor-to-ceiling marble. Concrete offers a modern and industrial edge while plenty of plants add a taste of the tropical as well as boosting mood, reducing stress, and minimizing air pollutants.
Or why not just move your bathroom outside, like this gorgeous outdoor oasis, featuring a minimalist bathtub in a pretty shade of pink?
Plan your storage carefully so you can keep all clutter to a minimum and add a couple of comfortable chairs for lounging pre or post-bath.
And, if you’re feeling extravagant, why not install your own sauna or steam room? Or a Japanese soaking tub. Fluffy bathrobes obligatory.
2. Add Hotel-Level Luxury To Your Bedroom
We always sleep well on holiday and it’s partly thanks to the exquisitely comfortable mattresses and sheets supplied by the world’s best hotels.
If you haven’t already upgraded, consider a latex or memory foam mattress rather than a traditional innerspring for maximum comfort. As for sheets, most 5-star hotels use Egyptian cotton, known for being superbly soft, lightweight, and allowing airflow. The final touch? Plenty of sumptuous throw pillows.
Elsewhere in your bedroom, inject some opulence with a few statement interior design choices. A wow-factor rug, a stylish light fixture, and your favourite artwork on the wall can transform the space.
No boudoir is complete without a dressing table like DAVIDSON’s Chrysler. An elegant nightstand or two—such as the Dahlia or Nazarova bedside table—is the perfect place to store clutter and add symmetry to the bedroom.
3. Let Yourself Play With A Games Room
Playtime isn’t just for kids. Adults need a dedicated entertainment space too. Unleash your competitive side with a luxury games room, whether it’s classic bar games such as pool and darts or more energetic recreational activities like ping pong.
You could even go all out and create a bowling alley in your basement or add old-school arcade games for a retro feel.
Create a mood conducive to escapism by keeping the lighting low and adding a rug to help with soundproofing. We love this games room with its sultry wooden panelling and statement light fixture. The animal heads are another quirky touch.
Don’t have enough space for a ping pong or pool table? Consider DAVIDSON’s Babington Games Table, a beautiful piece of furniture in and of itself and the perfect place for a post-dinner game of cards, chess, or backgammon. The Grafton games table is ideal for lovers of card games. And there’s the Aldridge games table, further evidence that sophistication doesn’t need to be serious.
4. Get An Indoor Pool
Who would say no to a dip in their own private pool first thing in the morning? While outdoor pools are fun, indoor pools are the real luxury, with the convenience of being able to be used year-round.
Whether you opt for a simple pool for doing laps or an innovative saltwater pool for unwinding, an indoor pool is one of the best assets in any luxury residence.
Check out this beautiful mosaic-tiled indoor pool, for example, with floor to ceiling windows and a lounging area.
5. Bring The Experience Home With A Cinema Room
Take your Netflix marathons to the next level with your own personal movie theatre. Choose a room in your house to transform into a cinema room, complete with comfortable seating, dimmed lights, a wide-screen TV or projector, surround sound, and, of course, a drinks cabinet in the corner.
Make movie night more glamorous with velvet seating and walls for a vintage movie theatre vibe. Or check out the home cinema above, which has a low green velvet ceiling alongside textured walls. You could even have the seating raised towards the back for optimum viewing.
Consider acoustics, too, soundproofing the room to ensure a high-quality audio experience. And, to avoid too much ambient light, choose a basement as your home cinema or invest in light-blocking curtains and blinds.
6. Work Hard, Play Harder With A Home Bar
A home bar is a mandatory addition to any luxury home. Even after the pandemic subsides, we’ll continue to enjoy a tipple or two at our home bar. It’s just so convenient and the proximity to our bed is unbeatable. Whether you dedicate a whole room to your home bar or simply an entertaining corner of your sitting or dining room, create a space amenable to relaxing and chatting.
You want comfortable seating, such as DAVIDSON’s eye-catching Rivington Chair, the lounging-appropriate 70s-style Boulevard Armchair, or a quintessential bar stool. You’ll also need a worktop for drinks preparation.
Opt for a drinks cabinet if you are short on space. The Galaxy Drinks Cabinet is elegant with its exotic and ethereal feel. Or there’s the Stellar Cabinet for a larger range of cocktail-making equipment.
DAVIDSON Cabinetry is a great option for those seeking a bespoke home bar, custom-designed to fit neatly into their unique space. Incorporate specific features, such as concealed storage, a mirrored backboard (a hallmark of all the best bars), recessed lighting, or doors so you can hide away drinking accoutrements when not in use.
7.Create Serenity With A Library
You don’t have to be a bookworm to enjoy the quiet and cloistered feel of a private library. A designated reading room can offer a uniquely relaxing space in any home with your favourite novels on display and a cosy and intimate feel, perfect for escaping the hustle and bustle of daily life.
A dedicated reading room should include comfortable seating, such as DAVIDSON’s shimmering Brunswick Chair or the dignified Morton, and, of course, a roaring fire. Choose an elegant coffee table, such as the Warwick as a place to display larger books and tomes.
If you want to use your library as your home office, you may also add a statement desk, such as the Art Deco Lunar Writing Desk with its striking figured blue eucalyptus timber. Or there’s the more understated but equally elegant Mortimer, with its slim and svelte profile.
An alternative is DAVIDSON’s Fitted service, which offers homeowners the opportunity to custom-design their study or library to their specific preferences and the layout of their home.
One option, for example, could be floor-to-ceiling shelves. Or you might want to turn a particularly awkward nook or cranny into a bespoke cupboard. And why not commission a desk in a matching finish?
If you want to use your library as your home office, you may also add a statement desk, such as the Art Deco Lunar Writing Desk with its striking figured blue eucalyptus timber. Or there’s the more understated but equally elegant Mortimer, with its slim and svelte profile.
An alternative is DAVIDSON’s Fitted service. Offering homeowners the opportunity to custom-design their study or library to their specific preferences and the layout of their home.
One option, for example, could be floor-to-ceiling shelves. Or you might want to turn a particularly awkward nook or cranny into a bespoke cupboard. And why not commission a desk in a matching finish?
8. Bringing The Outside Inside
Spending time in nature is great for our well-being. But you can get the same benefits by bringing the plants indoors. Enjoying their air-purifying and calming properties without having to negotiate unpredictable weather.
Experiment with biophilic design by turning one room in your house into a conservatory or orangery with floor-to-ceiling glass and plenty of plants, including miniature palm trees and perhaps even a living wall. Olive and citrus trees are another nice touch, adding Mediterranean glamour.
And it’s not just plants that you can bring inside. Why not have an indoor fountain or pond? This extravagant interior is the atrium of the Siam hotel in Bangkok. It features a narrow pool with enormous birds-of-paradise and banana palms beneath a steel and glass ceiling.
9. Dance The Night Away With A Ballroom
While ballrooms used to be a mandatory feature in any mansion, they’ve fallen out of fashion. But that just means that, these days, having a ballroom is even more unique and exclusive.
If you take entertaining seriously, you need a large space to throw lavish Great Gatsby-esque parties. And whether it’s a traditional style ballroom with wooden floors and a chandelier or something more modern featuring podiums and a flashing dance floor, the sky’s the limit when it comes to styling your ballroom.
Take inspiration from the Côte d’Azur Villa in Les Issambres, France, which features its own 70s-style private nightclub, complete with a stage, cocktail bar, lounge area, dance floor, glitterball and disco lights.
Or there’s the Hacienda de la Paz, an extravagant Californian mansion where the ballroom doubles as a tennis court.
10. A Banquet-worthy Dining Room
Having friends over for dinner might seem like a distant memory right now but once social distancing restrictions are finally lifted, why not throw an intimate dinner party and start preparing your dining room for the occasion now?
Turn your dining room into the perfect space for memorable evenings with a DAVIDSON dining table, such as the innovative Crayon Dining Table, part of the Wanderlust Collection and definitely a conversation starter. Or there’s the understated minimalism of the Rivington Dining Table with its brushed brass metalwork.
Add your choice of chairs, from the gentle curves of the Winslet to the sleek and luxurious Archdale. You might even opt for a maximalist and eclectic mismatched selection.
In addition to tables and chairs, you’ll need a cabinet or console table for dining room accessories or storing cutlery and crockery. Check out the beautiful radial patterning of the Brooklyn Cabinet or the dazzling Scarsdale Console in ultra-sophisticated Macassar ebony.
