The new trends in bathroom design are certainly beautiful, elegant, and luxurious but for those of us on a budget it may not be reasonable to totally redo the entire room. There are, however, lots of things you can do to make your bathroom beautiful without spending a ton of money.

Today's trends in bathrooms lean toward relaxation and this can be achieved by thinking "Day Spa" for inspiration. Day Spas tend to use a lot of dark wood in contrast with neutral colors like beige and white. Some then accentuate with a deep color toned with brown for a color punch.

If you are unable to change the basic fixtures in your bathroom to incorporate cabinets that look like furniture pieces or a new stone tiled, glass enclosed shower, you're not alone. So here we're going to look at changing only the items that are not permanent to create the "spa" look we want.

First choose your color scheme and paint any textured drywall surfaces. Neutrals work well for this with white for window and baseboard trim. Using a dark color like black or dark brown on trim is also becoming very stylish. Painting is THE most inexpensive way to totally make a room feel different.

The shower curtain is the next thing to consider. "Classic elegance" is what you need to be thinking when you make this choice. A great way to get a custom look is to make a cloth curtain yourself and add a liner under it. This way you can take it all the way to the ceiling or install a cornice at the ceiling with the curtain falling behind. This is a very custom look and makes a huge impact to the room.

A rug on the floor is a necessity, however, don't choose your rug from the bathroom accessory aisle. Choose a durable room rug that is appropriately sized to add "classic elegance". And never, never, never, never buy one of those bathroom rugs that wraps around the base of the toilet, they are just plain – wrong.

Another thing your can consider to give your bath that "spa look" is to replace the mirror with a framed mirror. But if that's not possible, then add a frame to the existing mirror. You can get molding at Home Depot or Lowes. Just cut the wood to fit your existing mirror by cutting the corners at a 45-degree angel. Then attach the pieces together at the corners with brackets, paint or stain, and hang. You'll have a custom framed mirror that is gorgeous.

Lastly, add matching towels, candles and accessories and you'll have your very own "Spa Retreat" without having to leave your house.

Reprinted with permission.