Dayton Daily News

Boomers and their bathroom trends

- By Kim Palmer

Homeowners 55 and older may be showing their age. But their bathrooms are getting shiny new face-lifts.

And many of these remodeled bathrooms are more than just a pretty space. They’re increasing­ly designed to accommodat­e the realities of aging, with built-in seats, curbless showers, grab bars and nonslip floors.

That’s among the findings in the recently released Houzz Bathroom Trends Study. The home-design website surveyed more than 1,100 U.S. homeowners who are in the midst of, are planning or have recently completed a master bathroom renovation.

More than half of renovating homeowners are baby boomers, according to the study. Most of them plan to remain in their homes for at least another decade, and are remodeling with accessibil­ity in mind to ensure they’re able to age in place.

“Baby boomers today account for the largest share of renovating homeowners and the largest share of renovation spending,” said Nino Sitchinava, Houzz principal economist. “A significan­t portion of boomers are aware of pending aging needs, and are proactive about integratin­g universal design features during renovation­s.”

Nearly half of baby boomers change the bathroom layout, and one-third remove the bathtub. Premium features, such as dual showers, one-piece toilets, vessel sinks and built-in vanities are on the rise, pushing the median price for renovating a master bath to $7,000 — $16,000 for a major makeover of a large master bath.

Other findings:

Shades of gray

Neutral color palettes are the overwhelmi­ng choice for newly renovated bathrooms, with gray the preferred hue for walls and flooring, ahead of white and beige. White remains the top color choice (35 percent) for cabinets, but gray cabinets are rising steadily, from 10 percent in 2016 to 16 percent in 2018.

Metals, mixed and matched

A majority of homeowners choose matching metal finishes for fixtures and hardware, with brushed or satin nickel the top choice (38 percent). But 2 in 5 homeowners are mixing it up, combining different metal finishes in the same bathroom.

Style matters

More than 4 in 5 homeowners report changing the design style of their master bathrooms when renovating. Contempora­ry style is the top choice (20 percent), and more than half of remodeled bathrooms are described as contempora­ry, modern or transition­al. Just 14 percent of today’s bathroom renovation­s are traditiona­l, although “farmhouse style” is on the rise.

To read the full study, visit houzz.com

 ?? MITSU YASUKAWA/ THE RECORD/TNS ?? A shower room in a bathroom, which can easily be accessed with a wheelchair.
MITSU YASUKAWA/ THE RECORD/TNS A shower room in a bathroom, which can easily be accessed with a wheelchair.

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