Greenery has become a popular wellness feature for master bathroom updates.
Wellness features are trending in bathroom designs, according to Houzz.com’s latest survey. The national average spending on master bathroom projects rose 13% to $9,000, while luxury projects rose 17% to $35,000-plus. (Many homeowners spend far more on the luxury trend.)
Reno Rationales
Almost half of homeowners (48%) renovated because they were tired of their old bathroom styles. The second most common reason for redoing a bathroom is the deterioration of the existing space. This is often both ugly and unsafe. Others renew because they finally can. (Two years away from summer trips and camps, as well as the lack of availability in the new car market likely played a part.) “Many homeowners are patiently waiting for the right time to renovate; 28% cite ‘Finally having the tools’ and 21% citing ‘Finally having the time’ as a trigger,” say the study’s authors.
Some homeowners also improve the bathroom to be more comfortable or to address a safety or health hazard, including removing toxic materials and cleaning mold.
Pro Trend
While most handy homeowners can change a bathroom light bar or sink faucet, many other updates are more complex and require professional skills. More than four in five homeowners (85%) turned to professionals for their projects. These professionals break down into general contractors (48%), bathroom remodelers (23%) and designers (13%). Some clients hire multiple professionals to work together. (Designers or GCs collaborating with smart home technology integrators is an example of this phenomenon.) What are these professionals working on?
Extended systems
The most frequent improvements covered home systems, including ventilation (59%); heating systems (14%, including radiant floor heating), and tankless water heaters (9%).
Shower updates
Shower upgrades are a common component (84%) in major bathroom remodels, the study reports. When removing a bathtub, nearly four in five homeowners (78%) enlarge the shower, with 40% making it at least 25% larger. Popular bathroom remodeling features include shower heads (52%), dual heads (19%) and body sprays (16%).
Investment Objectives
Homeowners really want to be able to relax in their master bathrooms after investing the time and money into renovating them. For 78% of them, cleanliness is a desired attribute; 65% want to mess around; 58% like to soak in a bathtub and the same number like to take long showers.
Quietness is a desired feature for home improvement, Houzz reports. Natural light (49%), dimmable lighting (45%) and greenery (23%) were requested in an increased number of projects compared to last year.
Plant Heaven
Plants are an ongoing trend, including primary bathroom spaces. “Homeowners are increasingly adding greenery as they renovate their bathrooms (35%),” shares Houzz. Their main reasons are aesthetic improvement (88%), creating a soothing environment (64%) and air purification (34%).
Floor and wall choices
Nearly three in 10 renovators choose a material that is waterproof (29%) or non-slip (27%) for bathroom floors. A similar percentage (27%) also install heating on the bathroom floor outside the shower. Ceramic or porcelain tiles are still the main choice for flooring in the main bathroom area. These durable, low-maintenance materials are a smart wellness design choice.
Vanity upgrades
Soft-close features are disproportionately popular among renovating homeowners; Soft-closing drawers (82%) and doors (73%) are the top priority for modernized wardrobes. (This has been an increasingly popular feature now offered at more price points.) Nearly a third of renovators choose built-in functional and organizational features, such as electrical outlets (30%) and drawer organizers (27%). ).
Extended mirrors
Nearly three-quarters of homeowners (73%) install mirrors while remodeling their bathrooms. Most (59%) install at least two mirrors and almost one in 10 install three or more. Some mirrors have been upgraded with LED lighting (21%) and/or an anti-fog system (21%).