More than a third of UK homeowners (36%) are adding or updating an accent wall in their bathroom, and colour – over pattern or texture – is what makes it stand out, according to a recent survey from Houzz. The 2026 UK Houzz Bathroom Trends Study found that 36% of renovating homeowners are adding or updating an accent wall as part of their project, more often within the shower area (21%) than elsewhere in the room (15%). Among homeowners adding an accent wall, colour is the most common way to create a focal point (59%), ahead of pattern (43%), surface material (35%) and texture (34%).
This preference for colour on a single wall plays out clearly in the palette homeowners choose. Main walls are overwhelmingly neutral: white leads (23%), followed by off-white (17%) and beige (16%), up 7 percentage points year on year. The accent wall is where colour takes over, with green (15%) and blue (12%) as the top choices, while white fell sharply there (11%), down from 20% the previous year.
“Homeowners are using colour to help their bathroom design stand out,” said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz’s Head of Economic Research. “Even as many keep the rest of the room calm and neutral, professionals are helping them commit to a bolder colour on a single wall, turning the bathroom into more of a personal retreat.”
Wall finishes are getting attention beyond the accent wall, tying with basins as the most commonly upgraded feature in bathroom renovations (82% each). Tile remains the leading finish for shower walls, selected by 88% of renovating homeowners. Among those installing tile, rectangular designs are the most popular choice (65%), increasing 11% year-on-year. By comparison, the share choosing metro tiles fell 12% to 7%. Grid and vertically stacked arrangements are the leading layouts for shower-wall tiles (32% and 20%, respectively).
Professional help remains central to bringing bathroom design to life, with 88% of homeowners hiring a professional for their renovation. General tradespeople are the most commonly hired (47%), followed closely by dedicated bathroom fitters (45%) and builders (35%). A quarter of homeowners brought in a bathroom designer (25%). With homeowners citing project visualisation as a top challenge when planning renovations (25%), trade professionals are turning to tools like Houzz Pro’s 3D Floor Planner to help their clients understand the aesthetics and functionality of the new space.
More than half of renovating homeowners (58%) are adding or replacing a bath, while just 17% are removing one altogether (down 5 percentage points year on year), suggesting the bath is holding its ground. Among homeowners upgrading their bath, standard baths are now the top choice (66%), up 10% year-on-year, while soaking baths fell 9% to 23%. Freestanding flat-bottom baths and alcove baths are tied as the most popular (31% each), ahead of freestanding claw-foot (14%), deck-mounted (11%) and corner baths (8%). Among homeowners who did remove their bath, the vast majority used the space to enlarge a shower (85%), while smaller shares relocated the shower (19%) or used the freed-up space to enlarge or relocate a vanity (15% and 16%, respectively).
Nearly 1 in 4 homeowners (23%) increased the size of their bathroom during a renovation, most often by extending the home (28%) or taking space from a bedroom (20%).
Bathroom deterioration remains the leading reason homeowners renovate, though the share citing it fell 7 percentage points to 44%. Style-driven motivations held steady (34% disliked their old look; 28% personalised a recently purchased home).
Contemporary remains the most popular bathroom style overall (38%), followed by modern (23%), with traditional and eclectic styles tied for third (7% each). Mediterranean remains a niche choice but recorded the largest year-on-year increase, rising from 1% to 3%.
Four in 10 homeowners upgrading their vanity choose a handleless design (40%), ahead of knobs (20%) and bar or finger pulls (18% each).
Source: https://kbbfocus.com