water closet wishes: bathroom trends

I love this bright open bathroom by Tamara Mack Design. When we moved a year and a half ago, we went from a large master bath to a retro pink wonder that the two of us can barely fit in at the same time:

While we search for a house to buy or try to decide if we should buy this house and renovate it, I can fantasize about a new bathroom with a more modern look and such fancy amenities as a fan or a window that actually opens, and my true dream: double sinks and heated floors. This year's bathroom trends include upgraded fixtures and features, and a move toward greige and pale gray tiles, a trend I am squarely behind. I am obsessed with gray. Wallpaper and hardwood floors are huge for powder rooms, specifically, over other bathrooms.

Some remodeling-related bathroom trends for 2014 as determined by Houzz's survey of 7,645 homeowners:

• more than four in 10 leaving a tub out of the master bath
• rain showers for younger homeowners, hand showers for older homeowners
• glass enclosures, especially frameless glass, for showers
• lots of light from skylights to LED showerheads

I'm with the more than four on that first point: I had a great big tub in our last house (which you can't see in the above photo because my husband was standing on the ledge of it to get that angle), and in the nearly five years we lived there, I used that tub zero times. I'm just not a bath person, and rarely do I have the time to really enjoy it (though there was this one time I took the most amazing and relaxing bath, but it was at a resort). 

I'm mixed on the rain shower vs. hand shower, but as long as it's not the chest or stomach level jets, I'm fine. I definitely agree with lots of light; the more natural light the better. A great deal of available natural light ties in with having a glass shower, which I love. The frameless is key, too, because keeping the frame clean was a pain.

One quarter of homeowners are enlarging their master bath but three-quarters of them are creating en suite masters. In each home I've owned with my husband, we've had an en suite bathroom, and I prefer the privacy of it. Something that people are split on is having the toilet separated from the rest of the bathroom as opposed to exposed as it is in both bathrooms above. Ideally, my husband and I would love to have the toilet in a separate room. It's more private, and it means the other person can be getting ready for the day or for bed without having to wait. 

When it comes to cabinetry, white (36%) edged out dark and medium woods which were equal in popularity (21% each). I was a little surprised that lightwood (6%) was so unpopular. I really didn't like how dark the vanity was in our old bathroom, but when it's in a more modern setting, like the Kohler vanity below, I don't mind it as much. 

Even though gold and brass are gaining in popularity, silver-tone faucets were the clear favorites.

dreamy and popular bathroom by Ashley Campbell ID, from Houzz

matte gray tiles

Quilted handles from the Mercer Collection

Jute vanity with customizable storage inserts from Kohler

More dreamy bathroom design:

loving the zebra mirror from Ann Sacks

gorgeous stone and ebonized white oak

images via decorpad, houzz, interior design 1, 2, style at home, pinterest, elle decor

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