What is the least likely bathroom to date?

[CatOnTheChair]

We need to replace the bathroom in this house. I'd assume it's the original from the 1990s.
We are very unlikely to replace it again in the 15 years we are likely to stay here.
What would you put in a new-ish build bathroom that won't scream "installed mid 2020s"?

Will almost certainly keep the same floorplan of bathroom - adding a shower over the bath, loo and sink. Would love some storage.

I am anti grey, but that's pretty much the only thing on line!

And would you put in an electric or mixer shower?

Avoid black taps , nice white suite and subway tiles are pretty timeless

White suite, chrome taps, neutral tiles

White suite in a fairly classic design, either plain coloured tiles or stone eg marble or slate. Unremarkable taps.

Definitely a white suite.

I agree with the above posts. A good, simple white suite and either subway tiles or stone/marble tiles. Same for the floor. Don’t add any colour, use plants, ornaments and towels for colour accents. Just a smart, clean, shiny bathroom..
And definitely no grey!

Oh and mixer shower if possible.

If you use subway tiles don’t use grey grout, I think that look is looking dated already

Subway tiles were dated about 3 years ago!

We have a white suite , white tiles, white cupboards, chrome taps and and a grey slate floor. It was done in the 90's and I don't think it looks dated.

Go for the best you can afford and avoid anything which is fashionable.

OK. Mixed reviews on Subway tiles!
What about wood? Is that going to last as a style in bathroms?

I wouldn’t put subway tiles in anymore. Square tiles or large format.

Subway tiles are a classic design look.

We did our bathroom with this in mind. Chrome taps etc. white fittings, marbled floor, counter and shower. Nice light fitting but that will probably stand the test of time but that is an easy enough swap if we wanted to do it eventually. We have a dark grey paint but could easily shake up the bathroom with a different paint colour.

I did a basement bathroom too and had a lot of fun putting those black and while almost mexican style tiles on the floor that were in about a year or so ago. But there is no doubt it will date it eventually.

Subway tiles are definitely not timeless.

I asked plumber this when we had ours done last year.
He said chrome, white suite, mixer shower, plain tiles (went for white).
We then used colour in the flooring/towels because its easy to change.
Only thing I changed from his advice was a non chrome towel radiator as I dislike chrome ones showing up the dust.

White, white and more white

You know what colour never see in new bathrooms these days?

Blue.

Odd given that it's the colour we associate with water.

Also Re taps and showers , nothing too square / modern

Waterfall taps are awful and a buggger to clean

I wouldn't do high gloss tiles , shoes up water marks very easily

We did our bathroom almost 19 years ago and it hasn’t dated at all, still get compliments and questions about it. We spent money on a duraglit sink and wall hung toilet, and a betti bath. We got hardwood flooring that goes up the side of the bath, and white oblong, not quite metro but almost, flat tiles. Its a small space and it still looks great, my favourite room. Initially the walls were painted grey but are now a vibrant green. So my view is go for classic white fixtures, the best you can afford, but compromise elsewhere.

Decent white suite with chrome taps/fittings etc.

I had the lower half of my walls done in tongue and groove panels with a small shelf running along the top. Very good quality wall paint for top half and very good quality wood paint for the bottom half. Neutral wall panels for inside the shower - no grout to clean. Neutral flooring.

This means you can change the “look” easily whenever you want by choosing new paint colour. And also with choosing new accessories (towels etc). If you get the basic fabric/suite right, you can update really easily by choosing new colours.

panelling is far less likely to date than tiles.

Obviously a white suite. Thermostatic shower and glass screen. Maybe half tile so you could update colour of walls eventually?

To me, the hardware, taps etc, really make the bathroom, so I'd be tempted to stay less safe with those and pick something I liked, without worrying it will date. Not a massive job to change those later down the line and can really transform the whole look.

Everything starts to look dated when it goes mainstream for a year or two then people have frequently seen a cheaply-made version in a state of disrepair.

It's what did for leggings in the 90s, we'd just seen too many people wearing old ones that were going see-through and we all went off leggings for a decade. It's the same with avocado/bright blue/red bathroom suites. They weren't timeless because they trended then ten years later, people started seeing them in houses for sale that were dilapidated and time moved on without them.

I'd say if you go for something "high end" and in simple colours (white suite, light tiles etc), it will not date too badly in that timeframe.

Definitely a white suite - nothing too angular (ie, awful square toilet!) - buy the best you can afford particularly for things like taps. Duravit, Hansgrohe, V&B, Crosswater, Utopia are all good brands. Don't pick black taps or those Crittal style shower screens if wanting to avoid looking too 2020s.

Slate is horribly dated - screams late 1990s (which is when we fitted it in a previous kitchen) to me. It was one of the first things we ripped out of the bathroom in our current house. But marble is timeless I think. I disagree that metro tiles are dated - if you go for flat, not bevelled ones - they've been around for ever and are a classic imho.

Otoh, we chose Victorian style faux encaustic floor tiles for this house. I think that whilst the overall idea is pretty timeless, the brighter colours (our choice) or patchwork effect patterns are very dateable to now...but we picked them because we love them 🙄 We weren't planning to sell for a long time when we fitted out the bathroom in 2020 and wanted something that would make us smile every day.

So, if you're planning on staying fifteen years, I'd just go with things you love...sod trends!

Take a look at some classic bathroom styles - lots of white, wooden paneling, individual pieces rather than all in one units. Think Laura Ashley guide to home decorating, strip out the flowers and the flounce and you are left with a structure that you can add character and fashion to without having to replace everything.