The Top Bathroom Trends of 2025, According to Design Experts

Square format tile creates an eye-catching pattern in the Parisian loft of designer Fabrizio Casiraghi.

Hyper-expressive slabs of stone have been ensconcing our water closets for the past several years now. But in 2025, we’re starting to see a shift back to tile according to nearly all of the experts we spoke to. But if you think we’re in for a resurgence of plain white subway tile, think again: tile in 2025 is bolder than it’s ever been before.

“Stone has been the staple for luxury bathrooms for a long time, but new gorgeous, vintage-inspired patterns with deep glazes and intricate shapes bring a sense of classic charm and timelessness,” says veteran designer and leader of global design at LIXIL Americas Jean-Jacques L’Henaff.

Donnelly has been seeing square tiles that can be arranged in patterns come to the fore. So has interior designer Victoria Sass of the Minneapolis-based firm Prospect Refuge Studio, who has incorporated 1×1-format tiles in bright stripes and stacks. It’s all part of a move towards what she dubs as “retrospective futurism.” As she tells us: “The future of residential bathrooms seems like it will look a lot like the past.

Warm mocha plaster walls warm up this powder room in a L.A. home designed by David Lucido. Organic shapes and materials keep the palette cozy and earthy. “You can’t have a powder room without a mood, right?” the designer told us.

“Brown tones have gained momentum, and I believe this trend will persist with warm, earthy hues continuing to play a central role in interior design,” says Kohler’s Yacavone. “These colors create a sense of comfort and grounding that resonate in the bathroom space.” Sass also cites brown as a major color theme in the bathroom. “But be careful,” she cautions. “Too much of a good thing goes the way of shiplap and poor bouclé.”

If you’re one to pooh-pooh this polarizing bathroom trend, consider other colors that designers are spying everywhere: “I think we’ll see nods to the past but with a new spin. Ye olde avocado becomes a modern day mint, harvest gold lightens up to a bright and bubbly blonde,” Sass suggests.

In a Montana home designed by Commune, gold hardware gleams amid a palette of cherry red and timber tones.

With all of the bold hues designers are spying, it follows that fixtures will need to trend bolder to have impact. We’ve been observing lustrous gold faucets, knobs, and hardware in the bathrooms we’ve showcased these last few years—and the trend shows no sign of stopping. “Golds—from yellow to red—are still trending strong as they offer a gorgeous contrast with deeper wall decor,” says LIXIL’s L’Henaff.

He is also seeing homeowners mix matte black with gold, and adds that Grohe, one of LIXIL’s brands, has collections with more subtle finishes like graphite in its pipeline.

Seashells are making waves in virtually every space of the house, but they feel especially appropriate in the bathroom. Here, in a home designed by Redd Kaihoi, a prim shell-backed chair sits pretty in the powder room.

The live-action version of The Little Mermaid in 2023 may have caused an uptick in all-things mermaidcore, but—according to Pinterest’s latest trend reportage—2025 will be the year of the sea witch. While the bulk of this trend will be seen in beauty and fashion (“Gen Z and Millennials will dive head first into sultry siren makeup, wet wavy hair, and moody mermaid manicures from sun up ’til moonlight,” the report foretells) it’s already making waves in the residential bathroom space. We’re mainly spying it in elevated takes on shell shapes and nods to Rococo-style grottos—be it a chair, side table, or even an entire shell-encrusted ceiling. Ash’s Donnelly, meanwhile, is spying seashell wall sconces everywhere—so the year ahead might be a good time to make this under-the-sea theme part of your world, too.

Glass brick, sleek finishes—this bathroom by Jett Projects demonstrates how minimalism is getting a glamorous ’80s-inspired update in 2025.

There are also 2025 trends a-plenty for minimalists. But rather than sterile all-white spaces or barely-there surfaces (remember Kim Kardashian’s sink controversy?), the experts are seeing a return to throwback materials that feel straight out of the ‘80s and early-’90s.

“For those of us with a little Patrick Bateman in our blood (the style, not the murdering) what could be more appealing than a crispy clean bathroom chock-full of function?” posits Sass. “From stainless steel surfaces, glass block walls, maybe a mini-blind or two, I feel like the world has caught a minimalism bug and there’s no telling how far it will go!”

Donnelly, for his part, predicts mirrors will be taking over our walls in the year ahead. Adds Sass: “I recently completed a bathroom with wall-to-wall carpet—and I’m here to say, I didn’t hate it!”

Beautiful mint-green mosaic tile covers the walls of this stylish wet room designed by Mark Grattan.

While our obsession with a deep bathtub isn’t going anywhere, residential experts predict there will be a renewed focus on showers in the year ahead. “The shower has truly become the new centerpiece,” says L’Henaff. “Performance showering with various experiences (waterfall, rain, mist, etc.) is key to a successful luxury bathroom design.”

According to Zillow’s latest, househunters are increasingly craving wet rooms, in particular. “This luxurious design element most often found in high-end hotels is the latest spa-inspired upgrade to start showing up in homes. A wet room combines the shower and bathtub into one waterproof space without the usual shower curb or enclosure. Wet rooms are being featured 19 percent more often in listings on Zillow,” according to the report.

There’s also good news for DIYers looking to make a high-impact update in 2025: “I think we’re going to see a luxe upgrade to the shower curtain replacing the glass enclosure in some chic bathrooms,” says Donnelly.

A tranquil spa in a Brazilian home designed by ELLE DECOR A-Lister Andre Mellone.

Many post-pandemic trends have come and gone (we’re predicting home offices are “out” in 2025), but our lockdown obsession with self-care has now become the norm in residential bathroom design. In fact, according to Zillow, real estate listings mentioning wellness features were up 16 percent year-over-year in 2024.

“The bathroom is not just a functional space, but a sanctuary for relaxation and self-care. As wellness becomes more a part of daily life, people will continue to prioritize bathroom features that promote physical and mental well-being,” says Yacavone.

What exactly are those features? L’Henaff is seeing saunas, rainfall showers, steam rooms, and more. “These trends emerged during the pandemic to counteract the effect of limited social interaction, but it has been growing ever since,” he says.

The offerings are getting hyper-specific, too. At ELLE DECOR, we’ve observed everything from mani-pedi stations to champagne bars in home spas. Sass agrees. “I think we are well past the tipping point on the self-care spectrum and everybody wants everything they can fit and afford in their personal bathrooms: salon-grade lighting, steam, and saunas galore, coffee machines—heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if I put a microwave in a bathroom in 2025!”

Anna Fixsen is the deputy digital editor of ELLE DECOR, where she oversees all facets of ElleDecor.com. In addition to editing articles and developing digital strategy, she writes about the world’s most beautiful homes, reviews the chicest products (from the best to gifts), and reports on the most exciting trends in design and architecture. Since graduating from Columbia Journalism School, she’s spent the past decade as an editor at Architectural Digest, Metropolis, and Architectural Record and has written for outlets including the New York Times, Dwell, and more.