Featured Story / september 2022

Vanities Take the Spotlight in Primary Bathroom Remodels

Story courtesy Houzz.com

2022 Houzz survey finds Median spend jumps 13 percent year-over-year.

Houzz Inc., the leading platform for home remodeling and design, including the all-in-one software solution for industry professionals, recently released the 2022 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study*. The survey of more than 2,500 respondents found that more than three-quarters of homeowners upgraded their vanity cabinets during primary bathroom renovations (76 percent). Homeowners are turning vanities into a focal point as one of the few areas of the bathroom to offer a splash of color, with three in 10 homeowners choosing wood, followed by gray, blue, black and green (30, 14, seven, five and two percent, respectively). People are investing in their vanities with three in five choosing custom or semi custom options (61 percent).

The national median spend for primary bathroom projects increased nearly 13 percent to $9,000, while higher budget projects (with the top 10 percent of project spend) saw a 17 percent jump to $35,000 or more among homeowners. Those doing “major” bathroom renovations, which include shower upgrades, spent three times more on their renovations than those undergoing minor renovations ($15,000 versus $5,000, respectively). Major remodels to bathrooms of 100 square feet or more cost double that of smaller bathrooms measuring less than 100 square feet ($20,000 and $10,000, respectively). More than one in five homeowners increase the size of their bathroom during renovations (21 percent) and three in five bathrooms are 100 square feet or more following renovations (60 percent).

“Bathrooms have always been a top room to renovate and we’re seeing that homeowners driven both by aesthetic desires and functional necessities, are doubling down on their investment in these private sanctuaries,” said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz staff economist. “While the cost of products and materials has increased due to inflation and supply chain disruptions, renovation activity remains strong, propped up by high home equity and homeowners’ desire to stay put given limited housing supply.”

Increased costs are often tied to projects with major changes such as upgrades to home systems (62 percent) which remain the most frequent enhancement in the bathroom, up three percentage points from last year. Top home system projects include ventilation upgrades (59 percent) and heating installations such as radiant heating and tankless water heaters (14 and nine percent, respectively). More than four in five homeowners hired industry professionals for their renovations (85 percent), with general contractors being the most popular (48 percent). On the design side, one in seven homeowners hired bathroom designers (13 percent).

Additional trends from the study include:

Variety in Vanity Design: Among those upgrading their vanities, engineered quartz is the top choice as a countertop material (40 percent), followed by natural stones such as quartzite, marble and granite (19, 18 and 16 percent, respectively). Shaker dominates in door style (51 percent), up seven percentage points from last year, followed by flat- and raised-panel doors (27 and 16 percent, respectively). Bar pulls are the most popular vanity door handles (61 percent), followed by knobs and finger pulls (32 and nine percent).
Transitional Style Takes a Leap: Considering that outdated style is the top trigger for bathroom renovations (48 percent), it is not surprising that nearly nine in ten homeowners choose to change their bathroom’s style (87 percent). Transitional style has taken a more substantial lead (25 percent), followed by modern and contemporary (16 percent, each).
Solid Colors Abound: White continues its dominance in primary bathrooms across vanities, countertops and walls, though gray walls are popular among homeowners both outside and inside the shower (25 and 15 percent, respectively). One in ten homeowners choose blue walls outside the shower. Upgraded bathroom elements are gravitating towards solid colors as multi-colored countertops and shower walls have decreased in popularity among homeowners, down four and two percentage points, respectively.
Shower Updates Gain Steam: Consistently popular, shower upgrades are becoming increasingly common during bathroom renovations, up two percentage points over last year (84 percent). When removing a bathtub, nearly four in five homeowners enlarge the shower (78 percent), often making it at least 25 percent larger (40 percent). Over the past year, more homeowners have relocated their showers following a bathtub removal (23 percent), an increase of six percentage points.
Seeing Green: Homeowners are increasingly adding greenery while renovating their bathrooms (35 percent), up three percentage points from last year. The overwhelming majority say it adds to the aesthetics of the room, while a smaller majority believe it creates a calming environment (88 and 64 percent, respectively). Practical benefits are also noted among renovating homeowners, including air purification, odor-fighting ability and antibacterial attributes (34, seven and seven percent, respectively).
Flush with High-Tech Features: Nearly two in five homeowners add high-tech features to their toilets, with notable increases in bidets, self-cleaning elements, heated seats and built-in night lights (24, 17, 15 and 13 percent, respectively).

Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish—online or from a mobile device. For more information, visit houzz.com.

*The “2022 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study” is a report of homeowners who are in the midst of, are planning or recently completed a bathroom renovation. The online survey was fielded to U.S. Houzz users in July 2022. n=2,570.. Read the complete report here.