Bathroom Renovations: What Homeowners Are Spending and Updating

With homeowners staying in their homes longer, more are planning to renovate or update their properties, especially the bathroom.

The 2019 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study found that the shower is where most people are putting their renovation dollars. More than 80% of homeowners who completed a master bathroom renovation upgraded their showers, with 54% updating to a larger shower size. Changing the bathroom layout is another popular renovation project, with 45% of owners choosing to update that, while 43% changed the walls. However, only 22% reported increasing their total bathroom size.

Features are also popular updates, nearly 90% of respondents updated their facets, followed by 84% updating their wall finish and/or their flooring. The least popular features for bathroom updates are saunas and steam rooms, electronics and tub-shower combinations.

Spending on master bathroom renovations rose $1,000 from 2017 to 2018, jumping from $7,000 to $8,000. The major master bathroom remodel median cost rose from $10,100 to $12,000, while minor remodels increased from $2,000 to $2,300 during that same time period.

Once that all of the hard work is done, nearly half of homeowners said they use their newly updated bathrooms to relax and rest. A clean bathroom is key, according to 68%, as is lack of clutter (60%) and natural light (42%). Interestingly, 44% of finished bathrooms do not include a bathtub. Of the 38% who updated or added a tub, the majority prefer it to be freestanding or flat-bottom.

What led to people deciding now was the time to renovate the bathroom? The majority said they finally have the finances, while nearly one-third said they reached the point of no longer being able to stand the old bathroom. The biggest complaints from homeowners about their pre-renovated bathrooms were that they were old and outdated, the showers were too small or there was insufficient lighting or storage.