Many homeowners are spending a lot more time at home than they did pre-COVID. As such, they start noticing things they don’t care about their home and do something about it. One such thing is renovating their bathrooms. Whether you’ve just renovated yours or thinking about upgrading your bathroom in the near future, I want to talk about some trending information you may find interesting. I recently got my hands on the US Houzz Bathroom Trends study and wanted to share some of its findings with you. Houzz is a resource for home renovators and this annual report they conduct is to give people greater confidence in the choices they make for their homes.
Ok, let’s jump into the report starting with project management. One thing I found surprising, not necessarily a bad thing at all was that, 82% of homeowners hired a professional remodeler or general contractor to oversee the bathroom renovation. This is also probably a good time mention that it’s always a good idea to hire a licensed and bonded service provider to do these kinds of projects, especially when they include plumbing and electrical work.
The bathtub vs shower debate. According to this Houzz report, about half the remodels surveyed included tub replacements, the other half removed the tub or never had a tub to begin with. 78% of the tub removal projects enlarged their showers.
As for the tubs installed, a whopping 53% of tub installations put in the freestanding flat bottom tubs. Alcove tubs were the second most popular with 22% of tub installs. I know those freestanding tubs are popular but I didn’t think they’d make up the majority of installations, that was a bit of a shocker. A good one though because if I move, I would definitely want one of those! Now if we’re just talking showers, 65% went for a bigger or upgraded shower. 33% stayed same. And 1% actually went for a smaller shower.
Shower Material: Ceramic and porcelain were by far the favorite for the material used for the shower flooring at 56% of shower renovations. Ceramic and porcelain were the top picks for the shower walls making up 70% of shower renovations. For the flooring outside the shower, ceramic and porcelain also proved the most popular as they were used in 59% of renovations. I was surprised to see vinyl used in only 11% of renovations. I really love that new luxury plank vinyl flooring. The surface is so strong, its waterproof and LVP comes in so many different styles and colors these days. LVP is the go-to for my home and even my rental properties.
Bathroom Sinks: It wasn’t surprising to hear that double sinks in the master bathroom made up 68% of bathroom sink renovations and that the undermount style is the most popular at 65%. Drop in sinks and vessel sinks were distant 2nd and 3rd places, at 17% and 9% respectively.
Mirrors: It makes sense that 77% of bathroom renovations include new mirrors. Shoot, my bathrooms are only 4 years old and I want new mirrors already! The new feature on the rise for new mirrors are LED lighting in the mirrors, about 20% include these in their new mirrors.
Speaking of lights, Among the 8 in 10 renovating homeowners who update light fixtures during their master bathroom renovation, wall lights and recessed lights remain the favorites at 58% and 55%, respectively.
The Houzz report mentioned some premium features that are being installed in bathroom renovations, some that I liked, others that I did not. Two that I agreed with were the one-piece toilet (28% of installations) and the soaking tub (69% of installations). I personally like one-piece toilets because their lines are so simple and sleek, and they are easier to clean. I love soaking tubs because it reminds me of the onsens and the furos in Japan!
Two popular premium shower features mentioned were the rainfall shower head and the dual shower, 58% and 24% of installations respectively. I’ve used these features at hotels but don’t care for them for my own home. I’m a little bit old school where I want strong pressure to shoot off the soap efficiently and it throws me off when the shower starts shooting at me horizontally, but that’s just me.
If you want a copy of the full report, send me an email and I’ll forward you a copy right over. The 33 page report has a lot more information and data, I tried to extract what I thought was the most interesting tidbits for you. In the words of the American cartoonist, Jim Davis, “Life is like a hot bath. It feels good while you’re in it, but the longer you stay, the more wrinkled you get.” I’ll see you next week!
