National Kitchen & Bath Association Unveils the 2024 Bath Trend Report

The National Kitchen & Bath Association has released its 2024 Bath Trends Report. Comprised of data generated from a survey completed by industry experts including designers, manufacturers, remodelers, architects and more – the NKBA Bath Trend Report provides a comprehensive look into upcoming trends (including aging in place) in residential primary baths.

The full report is available at NKBA.com with free access for NKBA members. The top trends include:

• Showers are Home Spas: Popular shower features include built-in seating in showers (69%), hand-held showers (66%), rain showers (61%), steam showers (51%) and body sprays (39%). Interestingly, when asked about controls, touch pads (64%) outperformed hand-only (57%),signaling a rise in shower experiences that utilize technology.
• Baths Now Have Beverage Stations and Refrigerators: A trend that was virtually unheard of a few years ago, a significant number of respondents (21%) to this year’s survey say there is interest in adding refrigerators to their primary baths for beverages, medications, creams and makeup.
• Design Driven by Wellness: Designers are creating spaces where homeowners can relax, with 78% reporting a focus on health and wellness as a driving design attitude. More than half of respondents said the bath will be popular as a place of healthy living and wellness with retreat-like showers and spa-like designs. According to 65%, evoking a sense of nature, calm and harmony is the most important goal when specifying colors in primary baths.
• Toilets are Smart: Designers say that in three years, the ”top toilet trends” will be smart toilets (opens and closes the lid automatically, warms the seat, self-cleans) with 60%, followed by water-conserving toilets (52%), smart bidet toilet seat (47%), and bidets (30%).
• Green Bests White as Top Color Choice: When asked about top color trends for the bath, most of the respondents (35%) reported green as the preferred hue. This out-ranked white (31%), blue (26%), gray (25%), and several others.
• Bathtubs Are Going Away To Make Showers Larger: The most popular bath renovation is removing bathtubs to increase the shower size (56%). This response topped other popular renovations, like taking down walls to increase the primary bathroom footprint (48%), connecting the bath to a closet or dressing area (39%), and providing a separate enclosure for the toilet (35%).
• Showers are Losing the Door: When asked about shower configurations, most respondents (70%) said the favored approach was for no door/open transition between the shower and the rest of the space. This outperformed swinging shower doors (52%) and sliding shower doors (25%).
• Sustainability Matters: When asked about trends in the next three years, it was noted that water and sustainability features will be popular across alternative energy-efficient water heaters (51%), EPA WaterSense /low-flow toilets (45%), EPA WaterSense low flow sink faucets (31%), EPA WaterSense low-flow shower heads (30%). A noteworthy response – 17% – report that in 3 years, bathroom sink drains into toilet tanks for flushing will be popular. Only 14% of respondents indicate that “none of these” sustainability options will be popular.
• Bathrooms are Working Smarter: Among those surveyed, 32% identified integrated technology as the biggest change in bath trends over the next three years, topping the list. For example, heated flooring with mobile apps and wall controls are desired, with nearly 50% seeking electric radiant flooring, and 38% identifying a desire for connected smart mirrors.

For more information, visit NKBA.org.