The defining bathroom trend of 2024, according to experts
Colourful sanitaryware will, for many of us, evoke shocking flashes of sickly avocado basins and acrid salmon bathtubs; such is the legacy of the 1970s' trademark coloured bathroom suites. Come the 1990s, bathroom trends were awash with cool neutrals, minimalist finishes and angular edges; retro pastels and brights were officially out.
Yet the cyclical nature of trends mean vintage styles are growing once again covetable in the minds of younger buyers. In fact, 30% of homeowners between 18 and 34 years old say they would pick green – particularly avocado shades – if given the chance to upgrade their bathroom, according to a report by Wickes.
Google searches for ‘coloured bathroom suites’ alone have more than doubled in the UK in the past 12 months, suggesting a hankering to restore kitsch bathrooms in all their glory.
Country Living's Houses & Gardens Director, Ben Kendrick, weighs in on this surge in anti-minimalist bathroom design: “Bathrooms have come along way from being a functional, if not a forgotten space in country homes – and more and more are becoming seriously considered, fully furnished spaces.
"Coloured sanitaryware is one way to capture this, and we're seeing a revival in both contemporary styles – with strongly-coloured suites and even taps – or more traditional styles, in deep turquoises or ointment pinks.
"Bathrooms that embrace a more lived-in look and are furnished with strong colour, fabrics, wallpaper, pictures, shelves and decorative accessories are also current and create comfortable spaces we want to spend more time in. They look more like a bedroom or comfortable living room. It all taps into the trend of designing the home as a vessel for personality and individual style."
Joanna Burgess – interior designer and founder of The Curious House – has transformed her ensuite into an emporium, with a re-upholstered vintage armchair and artistic details on the mantelpiece and walls. Her bath – a silky, footed tub from The Water Monopoly – is in the same soothing sage as the rest of the room, creating an immersive, aquatic colour drench.
Indeed, avocado is not the only way into green sanitaryware. If Joanna's sage tub is too polished for true nostalgia, a mint basin – just like The Rose, a hotel and restaurant in Deal – paired with plaster pink and bamboo creates a glamorous, Palm Royale-inspired scheme.
Sophie Robinson, interior design expert and queen of personality-infused interiors, has also dabbled in colourful sanitaryware in her East Sussex home. Matching the sink to the loo in a playful piglet pink, this shade paired with mustard and cobalt can be seen throughout the rest of the house. The result is a considered, holistic bathroom – rather than a secondary space, cut adrift.
For those who aren't quite ready for fully coloured sanitaryware – or have exiled sherbet shades from their bathrooms for good – white porcelain pairs beautifully with brights. Several of Burlington's iconic tubs can be spruced up with Acrylic-based paints and primers.
Caroline Oleron, a florist based in West Sussex, has transformed her claw-footed bathtub's exterior with a vibrant teal, inspired by a road trip around Morocco. The white roll-top inner grounds the scheme and maintains a traditional country house sentiment.
Sophie Robinson followed suit next door to her pink loo, painting her tub's exterior in Farrow & Ball's red-hot Blazer, and complementing this with corresponding Improvisations wallpaper by Ottoline de Vries. By hanging a vintage oil painting, the bathroom is rendered a lounging space.
The Pig – home to some of our favourite country hotel escapes – nail the premise at their South Downs abode by pairing their divisively strong avocado tub with stormy blue surrounds and a plush, velvet ottoman to add texture and warmth. The decadently framed artwork above – for most of us, an ostentatious touch, best for a living space – will add shameless elevation to an otherwise simplistic bathroom.
Shop our favourite bathroom buys for capturing the colourful, lived-in look..
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