4 Bathroom Fads That Turn Buyers Off | Realtor Magazine
For some buyers, the bathroom is a deal breaker. So if your listing includes these fading bathroom trends, you might have a harder time selling it. Realtor.com® notes some fads you may want to suggest your sellers change before putting their home on the market.
All-white bathrooms: They’re tough to keep clean, so this trend is definitely reaching its end. “White tile and flooring can stain very easily, and any little mark glares at you from across the room, tainting the crisp, clean concept of an all-white look,” says Tonya Bruin, CEO of Canada-based To Do-Done Handyman Services. “I have so many homeowners coming to me now to ask for these white baths to be torn out and replaced with a more varied color design.” To offset an all-white look without a complete overhaul, paint one wall a different color or add colored towels and a bath mat, Bruin suggests.
Too many funky colors: However, you don’t want to be too bold with your color scheme. Mustard, salmon, and avocado, for example, aren’t the most desirable colors in a bathroom. “Colors like these tend to look tacky and make your bathroom feel like it’s stuck in the 1980s,” says Scott Allis with Miracle Method, a bath and kitchen refinishing company. Go for a more muted palette for your listing, such as a mix of three colors in a 70/20/10 distribution. “Use the most neutral color for 70 percent of the walls, floor, and tile, a rich contrasting color for 20 percent of the look, and then an accent shade for the last 10 percent,” says Bee Heinemann, an interior design expert at Vant Wall Panels.
A big bathtub: Design magazines may celebrate the luxurious standalone bathtub in the center of a bathroom, but it doesn’t always work in reality. “This elaborate, oversized fixture is far from practical and actually has low resale value,” Heinemann says. Bathtubs are used less often than showers, and if there’s at least one bathtub in the home, there’s no need to spotlight one in another bathroom. For bathroom remodels, designers recommend investing in a quality water-saving shower.
Subway tile and nickel finishes: Subway tile and cool finishes such as nickel and chrome are on their way out, designers say. Instead, “large format tile is a good way to go, as are mini mosaics and geometric tiles,” says Nicole Rojas, a designer with Tellus Design in Southern California. Also, brushed gold and even black finishes are gaining popularity. “The silhouette is still clean and streamlined,” adds Bea Pila, author of Sacred Spaces for Inspired Living. “But these newer tones add an element of modernity and sophistication.”