If you are planning a bathroom remodel, you want to make sure that you are putting features into the bathroom that will last for many years to come. A bathroom remodel is an investment, and if you are putting features in there that will stop being trendy in the next decade or so, you may be wasting your time and money. Fortunately, there are many trends for the bathroom that can stand the test of time, and the following three trends are examples:
Medicine Cabinets
Many people will install a medicine cabinet into their bathroom, but for others, these bathroom features seem dated and something they might find in their grandma’s bathroom. Instead, people want “sexier” features in their bathroom such as granite vanity tops and imported tile.
One of the biggest issues in a bathroom is storage space, but when you choose to add a medicine cabinet, you can have more space for small things, such as sunscreen tubes and aspirin bottles, and free up some of that precious vanity or hall storage closet space. A medicine cabinet puts these features within arm’s reach, and when organized correctly, can add a lot of convenience to the room.
Medicine cabinets have greatly evolved over the past few years, and the old creaky and rusty metal boxes are a thing of the past. These days, medicine cabinets are smart, organized and well-designed. For instance, one of Kohler’s medicine cabinet options, the Verdera series, features an optional magnifying makeup mirror and slow-closing hinges. You can choose to recess the medicine cabinet into the wall, or surface mount most models for a different look. Some of the luxurious features of modern medicine cabinets include:
- Top lights offering subtle, ambient light
- Side mirrors to help a surface-mount cabinet fade into the wall
- Many style choices including contemporary, deco, glamor and classic
Dual-Flush Toilets
Though toilets are practical appliances, they make little sense when it comes to the amount of water and space they take up in a bathroom. Though some homeowners have adopted practices where they only flush intermittently, or when necessary, to save water, there is a better solution on the market – the dual flush toilet.
These toilets feature two buttons on the lid instead of one lever. The first button is for liquid waste, and only about a gallon of water is used in this case. The second button, for solid waste, uses anywhere from 1.6 to 1.8 gallons of water per flush. Older toilets can use up to three times more than that per flush, which just wastes water.
Dual flush toilets install the same way regular toilets do, and when you look at the future, these toilets could make a positive impact on our environment, especially for those who live in drought-prone areas, such as California.
Touchless or One-Tap Faucets, Lights and More
If you think about it, when was the last time you had to turn on a faucet in a public bathroom by hand? Most faucets in public are touchless, and they are so common, in fact, that we barely notice them anymore. Though touchless features tend to be found more in modern and contemporary styles, if you have a traditional or country style bathroom, you can still incorporate these features into your bathroom with ease, as long as you are working with the right designer.
Touchless or one-tap faucets are becoming more popular in residential bathrooms. Though they are a bit more expensive than a typical faucet, they make sense for many homeowners. For instance, these faucets have a fixed temperature setting, so they are ideal for a bathroom that children use. If interested in even more technology, there are faucets on the market that are large sensors, such as the Delta Touch20.xt faucets. With these faucets, there is no familiar small window with a sensor, the entire faucet serves as the sensor.
Light switches have also gone to the tech side, and many homeowners are opting to install touchless light switches into the bathroom during their remodels. One option is the Wave touchless switch from Legrand. To use this switch, you simply have to wave an arm, hand, foot or any body part at all in front of the switch to turn it on and off.
Soap dispensers are also available with touchless or one-tap features, and you do not even have to technically install these. You can buy battery operated versions of these at your favorite department stores for an affordable price.
These are just a couple of the latest bathroom trends that you may want to consider when remodeling the bathroom. There are many others, of course, some of which could last for decades, others that will fall out of trend rather quickly. Talk to your bathroom designer about what trends will work in your bathroom based on your needs and tastes.
