Bathroom Colour Trends 2021

Bathrooms, like all rooms in the home, are often designed based on personal taste. It is hard not emphasise how much care goes into bathroom designs to provide that peaceful and zen-providing space. It is our ‘me time’, a chance to get away from the fast-paced life and slow things down for a small window of time. Whether it is fixtures and fittings, or simply just a lick of paint, every decision matters – starting with colour choices.

Some colour trends seem to last for generations, while some peak and disappear as quickly as they came. Whether you’re all aboard the black bathroom trend, or simply hoping for a resurgence of the avocado bathroom suite of previous generations, everyone has their own personal feels on style and themes.  So, as we head into yet another New Year, and following on from our bathroom trends post, here at Sanctuary Bathrooms we thought we would ask about the 2021 bathroom colours to look out for with the help of some of our friends, and by using Google AdWords Keyword Planner data just to see how much these colours have grown this year. If you just want to get to the colours, click the links below to take you to the relevant section:

• Should I pay attention to the Pantone Colour of the Year?
• What are the 2021 Bathroom Colour Trends Predictions?
• What were the biggest growing colours in 2020?

Should I pay attention to the Pantone Colour of the Year?

In case you missed it, Pantone, the organisation that many industries, brands and manufacturers rely on for colour trends, colour inspiration and to make what they call ‘colour-critical’ decisions, has announced two shades of colour for the colours of the year in 2021. One is a grey colour called ‘ultimate grey’ and the other is a bright yellow hue called ‘Illuminating’, which you can see more about in the video below.

When it comes to bathrooms, how much attention should we pay attention to the colours of the year given they are only around for 12 months? Well, according to Jon Walker, Marketing Manager at Roxor Group, which includes Hudson Reed and Asquiths, not so much, though it is seen as a useful guide for manufacturers. He states: “We respect the Pantone colour of the year, however it is not always seen in our product choices. However, it is good to ensure the products that manufacturers offer would work well with the Pantone colours if the customer was going to paint or tile their bathrooms to the Pantone reference.”

Beth Poole of the Bristan Group also adds that it is a useful reference point for popularity: “It’s vital that we pay attention to colour trends, and trends forecasts like the Pantone Colour of the Year are great for giving us an idea of what colour palettes are popular with our customers.” 

However, she goes on to advise homeowners against using it and instead to focus on your own personal taste and what makes you feel good: “When it comes to homeowners designing their bathrooms, it’s much more important to pick colours that make you feel amazing in your space. Doing some research on colour psychology will help you find a look that’s suited to you.”

So, after that, are yellows and greys like to be popular in 2021? Here’s the list of 9 bathroom colours and finishes picked out by experts from the brands we work with:

2021 Colour Trends Predicted

1. Brassware
2. Gold
3. Black
4. Blues
5. Neutrals
6. Daring Colours (Teal, Pink, Green)
7. White
8. Brushed Nickel
9. Pinks

1. Aged and Brushed Brass

We start with one of the new metallic finishes on the block. Brass has grown in popularity in recent years as people move away from chrome and look to invest in something a little more hard-wearing and in tune with more traditional style bathrooms. The most common is brushed brass but there are other terms such as polished brass, satin brass and aged brass that are also used.

In terms of Google Searches, across the last 12 months brass has seen a significant jump and in particularly when looking at brushed brass bathroom taps. Brushed brass as a term has only seen a 50% increase, yet bathroom taps have seen an increase of 91% in average monthly searches. This is also reflected in more specific taps with brushed brass bath taps increasing by 56% and brushed brass basin taps increasing by a large 133%.

The team at Victoria & Albert and Perrin & Rowe advise: “In recent years there has been huge growth in choice of finishes. More than half of luxury brassware buyers now choose a finish other than Chrome. For Perrin & Rowe that has included 24-carot Gold, ‘living finishes’ such as Satin Brass or Aged Brass.”

What is meant by living finishes is that they react with environment and usage to change their appearance, giving a more rustic feel. These brass items are unlacquered to allow this, but you can also get lacquered brass bathroom taps and fixtures if required.

2. Vintage Gold

Another metallic finish comes into the 2021 colours to look out for with people again trading up from chrome to a different finish, to provide a more luxurious and elegant feel. When we look at search trend data, it probably hasn’t had the same increase in demand as brushed brass but has still seen a modest growth.

Like brass, gold comes in many variations whether it is rose gold, brushed gold or vintage gold, which means there’s plenty of choice, whether you prefer a shinier appearance or whether you’re looking for something much smoother and matt-like in appearance. The numerous finishes as also seen buyers changing their fixtures and fittings between these various types. As Beth Poole over at Bristan Group shares: “We’re starting to see people swap rose gold fixtures for classic vintage gold details, and this more traditional, opulent look will continue to grow in popularity in 2021.”

You can shop gold taps, gold freestanding baths, and numerous bathroom accessories in a variety of gold finishes.

3. Black

Black is riding a crest of a popularity wave now with more people searching for black bathroom items. Why? Well, like white, black can go with numerous different colours and themes. Whether it’s your lighter colours, such as white, or something more contemporary like grey hues, black accompanies these colours impressively well.

Additionally, it lends itself well to making a statement particularly as the often mentioned and significantly growing inspiration market, using platforms such as Instagram to share inside our bathrooms. Nick Graville, Sales & Marketing Director at Kudos Showers advises: “Black continues to prevail, being a strong robust colour, with more accessories, brassware and coordinating components allowing a complete theme.”

Although the Google data seems rather small in terms of percentage change, more than 8,000 people search for black bathroom accessories on average each month compared to just 3,600 on average across 2019. Taps, mirrors and even cabinets have also doubled in 12 months. That’s a huge growth in numerical terms compared to some of the other colours featured.

If you're in the mood for black, we have superb range in every area of the bathroom, whether it's around the basin with black taps and black basins themselves; black toilets, black shower enclosures, black shower fittings, fixtures and heads and black baths to match your basin and taps and complete the set. You can also buy the finishing and extra touches such as black bathroom furniture, like drawer units and WC units, black bathroom accessories from mirrors to toilet brushes and even black bathroom radiators if you want to be more adventurous with your heating.

4. Blue

Perhaps one from leftfield but as we’ll move on to over the coming colours, a lot of people are now starting to search more for coloured bathrooms and themed items. Blue is not uncommon – as we covered in our recent blog about choosing bathroom cabinets, blues work well with many bathroom themes including New England, coastal and even Moroccan-styled bathrooms.

Again, the Google search data shows an increase in the last 12 months across accessories, bathroom cabinets, vanity units and even suites. Compared to metallics, black and white, colours like blue also have a variety of different shades, whether it’s baby blue, navy blue, royal blue – we could list more. At Roxor Group, Jon Walker, says that blue is something they’re really pushing for: “We are all for the blues at the moment! Many of our Hudson Reed and nuie furniture ranges are available in a blue finish.”

5. Neutrals

Neutral colours always seem to be in vogue no matter the generation. They also work well with a good number of themes whether it is rustic like rural, farmhouse and cottage, a look more like that by the sea in New England and coastal themes, or simply just a simple minimalist bathroom. The popularity in neutrals comes from being able to reflect and provide more light, which is a must for darker bathrooms. Neutrals also pair well, like black, with a good number of other colours for fixtures and fittings. This flexibility means longer lasting decorations and the ability to change bathroom fixtures and fittings without having to renovate the entire space. One of the popular trends is the spa-like feel as Juan Pillay at Crosswater shares: “One of the most important things to consider is the choice of colour, as this is key to achieving the right mood. It’s a good idea to stick with neutral shades, as they won’t dominate the room – white, creams, grey and soft browns are all good options. Add natural materials, like wood or bamboo tones, to give your bathroom that instant spa appeal.”

Kathy Smith, of SBH Radiators, agrees adding that she thinks “there will always be demand for white, grey, neutral tones” when it comes to the bathroom.

6. Daring Colours from Peacocks to Green

^{(c) Geberit - Set Design with Kate Watson-Smyth from Mad About The House}

Rather than listing individual colours, we thought it would be easier to group the bold, brash and outrageously coloured themes together. There’s no real explanation for the growing popularity of colours other than summarising it into three areas: personal taste, being different and ditching the dull.

Kathy Smith points out that many people are becoming more adventurous when it comes to bathroom colours following the lead of having a bathroom feature wall: “Having peacocks, koi carp or coloured marbling feature walls now brings the idea of putting colour into more lasting product choices,” she says.

Pillay from Crosswater also agrees: “Homeowners are definitely getting braver - with consumers now experimenting with daring shades including, teal, pink and green.”

It may not be so much the avocado bathroom suite trend but the trend of individualism – or, as Beth Poole from The Bristan Group, which includes brands like Heritage Bathrooms, calls it, ‘maximalism’ - grows, being able to cater for the bold and daring, and not being afraid of colour as a homeowner is going to be vital in the year ahead. “Tying in with the growing trend for maximalism, bold and colourful bathrooms are going to take 2021 by storm,” she says.

So, in summary – be yourself and don’t be afraid to show it!

7. White

The yang to the black yin, white is often the most associated bathroom colour given white ceramic bathtubs and white basins are traditional colours of those items. Despite this, white is now moving into other locations around the bathrooms including white bathroom taps and white furniture.

As mentioned in our 2021 bathroom trends blog post, demand for white products at Sanctuary has increased 15% according to our figures in the last 12 months. As Sofia Charalambous, founder of Bathroom Origins, advises: “White [is] on trend. Fashion and interiors shows have been going wild for white. And, what’s big in clothing and homewares doesn’t take long to flow into bathrooms. 

“Matt white fittings add a crisp freshness to the bathroom and when paired with natural materials such as wood and restful greens, gives a bathing space a warm and welcoming feel.”

White is very much here to stay and will continue being popular.

8. Brushed Nickel

Charalambous also throws out another predicted trend for 2021 in brushed nickel and it’s clearly something she’s passionate about: “We can safely say, with its timeless appeal, brushed nickel ‘transcends trends’. The beauty of brushed nickel, with its warm yellow hue is the blurring between gold and silver, which makes it incredibly versatile.”

Perhaps not on the crest of growth of other metallic finishes and similarly not as widely searched for across the bathroom yet. However, nickel bathroom taps have seen an 120% growth in the last 12 months as more people switch on.

9. Pink

Pink is another bolt from the blue that is predicted to grow even more in 2021. Demonstrating more refined and personal tastes, as opposed to being mainstream just yet, but pink bathroom suites has seen 50% increases in searches. Pink freestanding baths, meanwhile, has seen a 143% increase with 170 people a month looking for a pink luxury tub - almost all of the searches made on our website in 2020 containing 'pink' were looking for a bathtub.

Jon Walker from Roxor Group tells us that they have seen a trend in pink furniture: “The pink furniture finish caught us off guard”, he says. However, he goes on to say that they have plenty up their sleeve when it comes to pink. “Don’t worry, we have plenty of room up our sleeve.”

Watch this space!

Biggest Growing Colours of 2020

Finally, to look into what is making waves and what to look out for in the next 12 months, we thought we would pull together a list of colours along with the phrase ‘bathroom ideas’. This is usually because these terms are the most popular when it comes to inspiration with numerous news articles, blog posts and mood boards on Pinterest and social media platforms.

Grey, blue and white blue top the most popular searched for bathroom ideas, followed by green, black and beige. The latter was the 4th most searched colour in 2019 but has been overtaken in the last 12 months.

When it comes to the top 10 colours by biggest growth in searches compared to 2019, avocado tops the table with a 300% change. However, the small number of people searching coupled with growing reliance on technology for research may not mean an avocado resurgence just yet though it’s one to keep an eye on, likewise for magnolia (200% increase) and aqua (133% increase), which also have smaller volumes.

Of the main colours, green leads with a 213% increase, followed by black (175%), and red (143%), while the new fondness for pink has had a 127% growth. There's also various shades breaking into the top 10 with plum high up at a 200% increase, navy blue at 182% up and teal at 129% in 9th.

It will be interesting to see how much this changes in 12 months’ time and whether any new colours start to shine.

What colour do you think will be a bathroom trend in the next year? Do you have any thoughts on colours mentioned by the experts? Let us know what you think on social media.