Jewel box bathrooms are the anti-neutral colour trend you'll want to know about in 2025

Neutral bathroom designs have long dominated the scene, favoured for their relaxing ambience and clean look. But there's a new trend in town – jewel box bathrooms. We're waving goodbye to minimalist interiors in 2025 and saying hello to sumptuous shades of emerald green, sapphire and ruby red, alongside the more luxurious-looking stone-effect surfaces that will make your bathroom shine.

In a bid to bring the aesthetic of boutique hotels into our homes, we're seeing a resurgence of dramatically designed bathrooms that are crying out for long soaks and extensive skincare routines. Imagine the thrill of opening an antique jewellery box packed full of treasures. Now imagine that when you open your bathroom door. Enticing, right?

We've asked design pros what exactly the bathroom trend is and how to amplify the luxe levels in your own wash space.

What are jewel box bathrooms?

'A jewel box bathroom gives away its identity in its name; it is a bathroom whose style is based on a luxurious jewellery box – think lush velvets, rich colours and warming metallic tones. It almost has an art deco feel to it,' explains Louise Ashdown, head of design at West One Bathrooms.

The powder room aesthetic is on the rise, with people turning to the most opulent hotel and restaurant for design inspiration. Whether you have a tiny cloakroom to revamp or a family bathroom that needs to ooze relaxation, the jewel box trend is one to watch.

Although a daring colour scheme can feel daunting when designing a bathroom (it's a big investment, after all), the effect will provide you with a slice of opulence for the less glam moments in your day-to-day life.

1. Choose rich shades

It can be tempting to opt for a light, neutral colour scheme when decorating your bathroom, especially if you're working with a small bathroom or downstairs cloakroom. However, the myth that dark, rich shades don't work in compact spaces is largely untrue.

While it can feel like a more daring choice, opting for jewel-like tones will turn your wash space into a pocket of pure decadence. Burgundy is a great choice for a jewel-box bathroom as it's cocooning and right on-trend, so won't look dated.

'This burgundy shade is trending because people are becoming more and more colour confident, so we are seeing this move towards the richer tones of purple, like Purple 03 – a grown-up purple with a bit of attitude,' explains Tash Bradley, director of interior design at Lick. 'What’s so appealing about Purple 03 is it's a really warm, cosy colour and works wonderfully when used to drench a room or even as an accent colour to add contrast.'

2. More is more

Ever faced crippling indecision when planning a bathroom renovation? Us too. The beauty of the jewel-box bathroom trend is that you simply don't need to choose – you can have it all.

More is more when it comes to adding luxe appeal to a bathroom and texture is key in creating dimension. Fluted cabinets are a big bathroom trend for 2025 and when combined with handmade zellige tiles, you simply won't know which feature to admire first.

'You can’t forget the need for drama,' Louise at West One Bathrooms reinforces.

3. Don't be afraid to pack in pattern

Bathroom wallpaper has long been a more controversial design choice, but at Ideal Home, we can't get enough. A bathroom is an extension of the rest of your interior design, so if you're a lover of colour and pattern then why not add it into a wash space? It's also a handy way to experiment with pattern in a smaller space before trying in a larger one.

To give wallpaper the jewel-box effect, choose a print with rich shades or metallic touches. Then reflect this through other elements of the bathroom design, such as painting panelling in a similar colour or matching metallic shades to fixtures.

'Metallic accents can be added with metallic leafing on the ceiling, while the wallpaper adds further texture for a space that has an immersive feel – you’ll be stuck for where you want to run your hands over first! If recreating at home, don’t be scared to choose different materials and textures to add layers and depth,' Louise says.

4. Sumptuous stones are key

With so many surfaces in a bathroom, it's a prime opportunity to add in as many stones and tiles as possible. While you might often choose just one stone-effect tile for your walk-in shower area, for example, in a jewel-box bathroom you can combine this with other stones or even a richly coloured tile.

In this jewel-tone inspired bathroom above, the grey and white colour palette of the shower tiles has been brought through to the sink and accessories, contrasted by deep green organic subway tiles for a hotel-inspired scheme.

5. Add a luxurious feature

Although a bathroom's aesthetics greatly impact how enjoyable it feels to use, ultimately, it's a space where relaxation comes first, so it must be fully prepped with the right fittings.

We can usually divide people into two categories: shower or bath people. But in a jewel-box bathroom where luxury comes first, why not include both? Of course, if you're struggling for space then one might have to go, but if you can fit a bath alongside a narrow walk-in shower then the world is your oyster.

Now, will you be giving the jewel box bathroom trend a chance in your own washroom?