We’re not even a full month into the new year, and 2025 has already been a doozy. If you’re looking to hit the reset button and bring some tranquility to the months ahead, you might want to revert your attention to your home’s bathroom. Turns out, your washroom can be a lot more than where you shower or brush your teeth: With a few quick tweaks and decorating tips, your bathroom can transform from a practical place to one that’s peaceful, too. Fortunately, the incoming year is rife with emerging trends that will bring some style to your slice of solace.
To help, three designers share the biggest bathroom trends for 2025—and beyond. From bursts of bold color to tech-savvy integrations, the incoming fads are poised to make the bathroom the best room in the house. But remember: When it comes to great design, beauty really does lie in the eye of the beholder. “Trends will come and go but ultimately, you have to live in and love your space,” says Phillip Thomas, a designer based in New York City. “Create the environment you love whether that be light and airy or dark and enveloping.”
A Pop of Personality
Gone are the days of all-white—and slightly sterile—bathrooms. According to Phillips, more is more. “My clients now want an experience,” he explains. “I have been seeing—and been asked to design—bathroom spaces with more color and pattern!”
Whimsical wallpaper and statement-making stone are chock-full of character, but you can also make a moment with art. “You spend so much time in your bathroom, stop saving the good stuff for the formal living room,” Nashville designer Stephanie Sabbe adds. From abstract art to traditional framed painting, the right picture can say far more than one thousand words.
Floral Still Life
Spectacular Stone
If you prefer a more minimalist bathroom, Phillips predicts natural materials like wood and stone will become a popular way to keep a space from feeling “so sterile and cold.” The designers we tapped say it’s time to think beyond subway tile. Stone in particular—whether it’s a stacked stone backsplash or a rosy shower niche seen here—is slated to become a must-have bathroom material.
“Man-made surfaces are wonderful and durable, but you simply cannot replicate the movement and depth in a natural stone,” Phillips adds. “There have been so many advances in how to seal and protect natural stone, but I think people are no longer as afraid of a little patina and to let life happen in their homes.”
Speaking of materials, designer Rayman Boozer anticipates 2025 will be the year of “unusual marbles.” He adds, “I think the biggest trend is honed marble. We don’t need everything glossy anymore.”
Calacatta Oro Marble Tile
A Focus on Wellness
Steam showers and soaking tubs might be time-honored ways to bring a spa-like style to a bathroom; however, Sabbe predicts wellness will become even more paramount in the washroom this year.
“We are also seeing homeowners desire to connect their indoor spaces to their outdoor space within the bathroom, which is really fun,” she explains. “Cold plunges, outdoor showers, lounge seating—all accessible and directly off of the primary bath.”
If your layout cannot accommodate an indoor-outdoor bathroom, consider adding spa-like elements or an accent chair for a soothing spot to lounge.
Plunge All-In Tub
High-Tech Upgrades
In a world where virtually everything is Bluetooth- or app-enabled, it’s only fitting that smarter systems will infiltrate our bathrooms. “Integrated televisions in mirrors and smart speakers and integrated power in medicine cabinets are still popular,” Boozer says.
Meanwhile, Phillips says that every luxury bathroom in a cold climate should incorporate heated flooring, since it’s so readily available. “There is nothing more luxurious than a warm floor when you step into your bathroom in the morning. It is a non-negotiable, in my opinion.”
There might be no shortage of intelligent solutions, but Sabbe urges caution and restraint. In her experience, too many screens and switches can overcomplicate the most mundane tasks. “Keep adjustments simple,” she says. “Life is just not a three-button scenario.”
Electric Mirror Loft with 15.6
Layered Lighting
Though lighting has the power to make or break a room, it often gets overlooked in the bathroom. In 2025, Phillips hopes the industry will consider the myriad of temperatures and intensities for different tasks, purposes, and times of day when designing bathrooms.
“You will need more light for doing makeup or getting ready, but less light to relax in a bath,” he explains. “Don’t forget night lighting where you need just enough light to move around the space but not so much that it fully wakes you up.”
While an assortment of sconces, ceiling pendants, and even table lamps can accomplish your ever-changing lighting needs, Sabbe says a dimmer switch is also a simple solution.
Lutron Maestro LED+ Dimmer Switch
“Old Money” Opulence
According to Sabbe, traditionalism is on deck to make a comeback. “The TikTok kids have dubbed it ‘the old money aesthetic’ with celebrities championing a classic and refined look,” she says. “The magic behind a truly bougie bathroom is the use of high-end materials.” Phoning it in, she adds, will “teeter on the line of looking tacky.”
Sabbe encourages homeowners to invest in their materials, citing wood, unlacquered brass, and polished nickel as options that instantly elevate a bathroom. “If the space is large, use hard surfaces like stone and tile sparingly,” she shares. “[There’s] nothing worse than a big, cold marble tomb.”
Ladd 24
Kelsey Mulvey is a freelance lifestyle journalist, who covers shopping and deals for Good Housekeeping, Women’s Health, and ELLE Decor, among others. Her hobbies include themed spinning classes, Netflix, and nachos.
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