Just 60 years ago, the limit of many people’s ambitions, as far as bathrooms went, was to move their outside loo indoors. Then came the glamour of aubergine, peach or avocado-col-oured suites, accompanied by wall-to-wall carpeting. By the 1990s, we were all kicking out the bidet to make room for a power shower or wet room.

Today’s dream bathrooms have gone even further: they are turning pro, to recreate the luxury of a spa hotel in your own home. Why spend time running to a health club, or money on salon pampering, when you can relax in your own steam room and spa bath, complete with chromotherapy mood lighting — based on the theory that colour and light affect energy levels — aromatherapy water, and a designer sound system?

“People today don’t take enough time to relax. That’s why we’ve made the bathroom more of a wellness area, where you can stop rushing and really feel the benefits,” says Sharon Riley, a consultant at CP Hart, a leading bathroom supplier. “It saves you having to go out to the gym, facing crowds and traffic jams. If you’re already at home, then chilling out in a relaxing environment can, in the long run, save you stress, time and money.”

None of this comes cheap, of course. Expect to splash out £30,000 for a top-of-the-line CP Hart bathroom. For that, you will get a steam cubicle with power shower, hydrotherapy or whirlpool bath, basin (or dual basins) and, cleverly concealed behind coloured glass, a lavatory (“a function you really don’t want to see,” Riley says). A steam cubicle starts at £5,000 for the enclosure and another £5,000 for the installation, plus mosaic tiling. A hydrotherapy bath starts at £3,000; a freestanding Open Blue bath, with 24 integral jets, costs £8,250.

But is this overindulgence? More importantly, are you in danger of spending money that you will never get back when you come to sell? Well, no.

Matthew Abernethy, associate at Savills estate agency in Hamp-stead, north London, says potential purchasers should not be put off by the prices of such luxuries.

“Installing a super bathroom can add value to a property,” he says. “In certain levels of the market, people have come to expect them, especially recently.

“If the rest of the house is of a similar calibre, it would make sense to install a great bathroom before you sell.”

Installing one will depend on the water-heating system you have: it must have sufficient water pressure and flow rate. Before buying, check with a plumber who can advise on which system to use.

Your builder can calculate the volume and therefore the weight of a full bath, and advise whether or not you will need to reinforce the floor, an important consideration if the installation is upstairs. Many steam cubicles plumb in exactly like a shower, while saunas require no plumbing, just electrics. Most bathroom showrooms have staff who can help you make the best decision.

Bear in mind, though, that, these days, luxury is as important as practicality.

“Until recently, many modern homes were built with efficiency in mind, and fixtures and fittings reflected the needs of busy, time-pressured couples and families, hence the emergence of the wet room,” says Tony Nicholas, managing director of Nicholas Anthony, a bespoke bathroom and kitchen designer. “Now we may have come full circle with the luxury hydrobath coming to the forefront of design once again, as the centrepiece or focus of the entire room.”

Its Happy D bathtub, from Duravit, at about £1,230, comes with a back and foot massager and whirlpool system.

Size matters in hydrotherapy. Small jets are best to ease tired muscles, while the size of the tub depends on the size of your bathroom — and the number of friends you plan to invite.

Bathrooms International’s Prestige Air Hydrobath system, about £11,275, has 12 discreet turbo jets. It can be fitted into any of the company’s baths, but looks fantastic with the Nara Infinity Bath, from £4,150, with its overflow rim. (Or, for a vertical, less expensive, indulgence, try its Sky Shower, from £2,850.)

West One Bathrooms’ Evok bath, from £4,200, comes with two blends of aromatherapy (one for relaxation and one for energising), plus a Kohler whirlpool system with chromotherapy, which offers a spectrum of 30 colours within the water. A more affordable option is Heritage Bathrooms’ new Selena circular whirlpool bath, about £2,499, with eight massage jets.

Gone are the steamrooms of yesteryear — communal rooms where fat men in towels sweated atop tiled benches. Today’s steam cubicles, or cabins, are compact and perfect for home use. Villeroy & Boch has developed Aquagate, a multifunc-tional steam cabin that can be freestanding, positioned against the wall or in a corner. Priced from about £14,600, it has several functions, including a rain shower, “Scottish” — read freezing — shower, side jets, MP3 player and atmospheric lighting. For just under £10,000, try West One Bathrooms’ Kosmic steam/ shower cabin: great to get you going in the morning or aid a good night’s sleep.

If you want a drier experience, go for a sauna, which many people say is better for the skin as it fully opens the pores. Superroom offers one, two- and three-person home saunas made from Finnish pine. The Super Sauna range starts at £1,195, fea-turing a 3kW-6kW Finnish heater; installation is extra.

To add an authentic Scandinavian feel, SaunaShop.com offers a wide range of sauna accessories direct from the Nordic countries. A classic wooden sauna bucket costs £22.50, and a matching wooden ladle is £9.95; complete the experience with Finnish soapstone shot glasses, £12.95 a pair — keep them in the freezer along with the vodka for an aprãs-sauna treat.

— Bathrooms International, 020 8202 8288, www.bathroomsint.com; CP Hart, 020 7902 1000, www.cphart.co.uk ; Heritage Bathrooms, 0117 963 3333, www.heritagebathrooms.com; Nicholas Anthony, 0800 068 3603, www.nicholas-anthony.co.uk; SaunaShop.com, 0500 432 132, www.saunashop.co.uk; Superroom, 01179 719 862, www.super-room.co.uk; Villeroy & Boch, 020 8871 0011, www.villeroy-boch.com; West One Bathrooms, 020 7499 1845, www.westonebathrooms.com

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