Wrapped up: 2021’s biggest trends in bathroom design

Research undertaken by Plumbnation has revealed the biggest trends in bathroom design. 

The research looked at a comprehensive list of bathroom trends, as well as lists of bathroom colours, bath types and shower types and recorded their search volumes for 2021 using Google Keyword Planner, as well as recording the number of posts that each trend has on Instagram. It then ranked them accordingly to reveal the top trends in each category.

The most searched bathroom trend of 2021 is bidets. Bidets are a common fixture in many countries, especially in mainland Europe, but have not historically enjoyed equal popularity in the UK. Could this top result for the overlooked bathroom fixture be a response to the great toilet paper shortage of the early pandemic? It’s hard to say, but we do know that the bidet is booming and could be a great addition to any bathroom with the space to accommodate one.

Bathroom wallpaper is the second most searched bathroom trend of the year. Wallpaper seems to have taken a slight dip in popularity in recent years, however, the tide could well be turning.

There are endless wallpaper designs to choose from, including floral patterns, idyllic scenes, animal print or even textured options. 

Terrazzo tiles are one of the most prolific design styles out there at the moment, being hugely popular in bathrooms all over the world. These tiles are highly versatile, adding texture to floors, walls and fixtures, softening the look of any room. Terrazzo tiles are also one of the most durable materials you can use, being resistant to stains and water damage. 

Further findings:

• The most popular bathroom colour on Instagram is white, with 73,860 posts.

• Freestanding bathtubs are the most popular type of bath by search volume, with 1,249,333 searches. 

• Also topping the chart for popularity on Instagram with 81,009 posts is the freestanding bathtub. 

• Walk-in showers are the most popular shower type by search volume, with 1,420,000 searches.

• The most popular type of shower on Instagram was outdoor showers, which had 107,357 posts. 

• Bidets are one of the most timeless additions to a bathroom which have remained in the top ten most searched-for bathroom trends out of all the trends in our study for the past four years. 

• Seeing by far the greatest year on year increase in interest was the Japandi bathroom, with searches jumping by 435.9% in the last year.