Bathroom Trends
According to the 2019 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study, master bathrooms are making extra space for showers. In fact, some homeowners, when faced with a choice of bathtub or shower, are choosing to eliminate the tub. Twenty-four percent of renovating homeowners remove their master tub and more than four in five of those decide to enlarge the shower in its place (84 percent).
Master bathroom renovations command the second-highest median spend in home remodels at $8,000 nationally, a 14 percent year-over-year increase from 2017 to 2018. Median money spent also increased for major master bathroom remodels, from $10,100 to $12,000, respectively, as well as for minor remodels, from $2,000 to $2,300, respectively.
“Bathrooms have always been a top room to renovate, along with kitchens, and now we’re seeing homeowners double down on their master bathrooms,” said Nino Sitchinava, Houzz principal economist. “The cost of materials, including stone and tile has increased due to trade disputes, driving up master bathroom spend. Despite this, renovation activity remains strong, propped by high home equities and homeowners’ desire to stay put given the limited housing supply.”
Additional Bathroom Trends from the Study Include:
- Styles go transitional, modern: Among those changing the style of their master bathroom, transitional and modern styles are gaining popularity, both increasing by five percentage points to 21 and 20 percent, respectively. Contemporary style continues a three-year decline from 23 percent in 2017 to 16 percent in 2019. Less than one in ten choose traditional style (nine percent in 2019, down from 14 percent in 2018). While farmhouse style climbed the ranks to seven percent in 2018, just four percent of master bathroom renovators chose this style in 2019.
- Accent walls abound: More than one-third of renovating homeowners add an accent wall during their master bathroom renovation (35 percent), either in the shower (15 percent) or outside it (20 percent). Patterns are the most common differentiator (51 percent), followed by different surface materials (44 percent), color (40 percent), and texture (35 percent). That said, over half of accent walls appear in neutral palettes of gray (22 percent), blue (16 percent), or white (15 percent), with 16 percent choosing a more bold, multi-colored accent wall.
- A moment for medicine cabinets: When upgrading their medicine cabinet during master bath renovations, two in five homeowners opt for custom or semi-custom medicine cabinets to fit their needs (40 percent). Two-thirds of upgraded medicine cabinets have mirrors on the outside (67 percent), and a third have them on the inside (34 percent). Homeowners updating their medicine cabinets also opt for special features like lighting on the outside (18 percent), hidden plugs (17 percent), and anti-fog systems (12 percent).
- Mirror, mirror on the wall: Three in four homeowners replace their mirror during master bathroom renovations (77 percent). They typically opt for two mirrors (54 percent), likely to match the increasingly common two sinks (69 percent in 2019, up from 66 percent in 2018). Top features in mirrors include anti-fog systems (15 percent), LED lighting (14 percent), and hidden plugs (six percent).
- More techy toilets: One-third of upgraded master bathroom toilets have high-tech features (34 percent), up from 28 percent in 2018. Top features include self-cleaning and seats with bidets (each 13 percent), heated seats (10 percent), overflow protection (nine percent), and built-in nightlights (eight percent).
- Fresh light: Four in five renovating homeowners update their lighting during renovations (81 percent), including wall lights, recessed lights, and shower lights (59, 55, and 38 percent, respectively). Many also opt for decorative touches in chandeliers (17 percent) and pendant lights (15 percent). The majority of new lights feature a combination of metal and glass (70 percent), but a surprising 19 percent of new lights are all metal.
- Alternative flooring options: Ceramic/porcelain tile continues to be the most popular flooring material both inside and outside the shower, among renovating homeowners updating flooring in these two spaces. The popularity of natural stone in flooring outside showers is on the decline (25 percent in 2019, down from 30 percent in 2017). Instead, new flooring materials such as vinyl/resilient and engineered wood flooring materials are on the rise (combined 10 percent, up from six percent in 2017).
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