I'm Obsessing Over Brick Flooring in Bathrooms — It Might Be My Favorite Way to Bring Character to These Spaces

Tile drenching, a design trend involving the extensive application of tile across floors, walls, and even ceilings within a room, is gaining significant traction in the interior design community. This technique, though not entirely new, has endured due to its practical and timeless appeal, particularly in bathrooms. Interior designers emphasize its ability to create a seamless, cohesive, and immersive environment, balancing simplicity with sensory richness. Designers like Jeff Andrews and Laura Lubin highlight the enduring practicality and aesthetic benefits of this approach. To successfully implement tile drenching, designers recommend careful consideration of scale, color, and pattern to ensure a harmonious outcome. While using the exact same tile throughout a room is an option, designers suggest introducing variety by employing the same type of tile in different formats or finishes. This strategy adds depth to the design without creating visual clutter, maintaining a unified aesthetic within a cohesive palette. The choice of grout is also crucial; matching the grout color to the tile can enhance the seamless effect, while a contrasting grout can accentuate the tile's geometry and pattern, depending on the desired visual impact. Tile drenching is particularly well-suited for spaces that benefit from both durability and a sophisticated aesthetic, such as bathrooms, mudrooms, and sculleries. These areas often experience higher moisture levels, making tile a practical choice, and the drenching technique elevates their functional purpose into something more luxurious. Designers note that this trend transforms ordinary functional spaces into serene, spa-like retreats, contributing to a sense of sculptural and quiet luxury that resonates with clients. Even smaller areas, such as a shower, can be tile drenched to create a striking and cohesive statement, maximizing impact in compact spaces. However, implementing tile drenching requires special attention to lighting. A fully tiled room reflects light differently, and without proper consideration, it can feel sterile. Layering soft, indirect lighting is essential to mitigate this effect and maintain a warm, inviting atmosphere. This thoughtful integration of lighting ensures that the immersive tiled environment feels comfortable and luxurious rather than stark. Overall, tile drenching offers a versatile and impactful way to enhance the aesthetic and practical qualities of various rooms within a home, creating spaces that are both intentional and visually rich. #TileDrenching #InteriorDesign #BathroomDesign #HomeDecor #DesignTrends #SpaLikeBathroom #HomeImprovement #TileApplication #CohesiveDesign

The 2026 Bath Trends Report by the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) highlights personalization as the primary driver for upcoming bathroom design trends. Bathrooms are transitioning from generic luxury spaces to highly customized environments that reflect individual lifestyles, routines, and aesthetic preferences. While earthy color palettes and natural materials continue to form the foundation of many bathroom styles, the evolving trends focus on complementary updates that introduce warmth, enhanced character, and functional personalization. One significant trend is the incorporation of warm accents. Homeowners are increasingly seeking designs that are both elevated and attainable. Peter Wells, a senior principal designer with Amerock, notes that warm metals like brushed brass, gold, and bronze, combined with organic materials, achieve a balance of sophistication and comfort. Softer finishes for hardware are preferred over highly polished sheens, and rich metals will also be prominent in lighting and plumbing fixtures. Natural accents such as cognac-hued leather and modern wood grains will amplify the effect of these metallic finishes. Textured accents, including leather-wrapped pulls and fluted glass, reinforce a refined and luxurious look, pairing seamlessly with neutral, earthy color palettes. This trend extends to countertop accessories, which will also embrace these textures, materials, and warm undertones. Eye-catching faucets are also emerging as a key trend. The NKBA Bath Trends Report indicates that faucets will become visual elements that inject personal style into primary baths. Jamie Chappell, VP of brand and product at Fireclay Tile, anticipates style-forward updates to everyday plumbing fixtures, with faucets and showerheads evolving into functional art pieces featuring expressive silhouettes and tactile details. New product lines like Fireclay’s Foundry Collection, which offers Pebble and Groove handle options for faucets and showers in various ceramic colors and finishes, exemplify this move toward personalized, sculptural design. Microcement surfaces represent another emerging trend. Designer Denise Merbeth of Denise Merbeth, LLC, points to the use of microcement, a textured decorative coating inspired by traditional Moroccan Tadelakt plaster. This waterproof material can be applied to virtually any bathroom surface, including over existing tile, and is easy to clean. Its mix of textures and neutral colors makes it suitable for diverse styles, from minimalist to contemporary rustic. Merbeth explains that microcement and similar plaster styles support organic modern aesthetics by providing minimal visual clutter and continuous colors and materials, adding subtle movement through simple surfaces when applied in warm neutral hues. Craftsmanship-forward hardware is also making a comeback. While minimalist designs have dominated in recent years, leading to sleek and practical cabinet hardware, personalization is now driving a shift toward more intricate details. Wells notes that knurling, fluting, coined edges, and hammered finishes are becoming popular. These subtle yet impactful details signify precision and quality craftsmanship, aligning with the rise of 'quiet luxury.' Hardware that feels bespoke and intentional transforms everyday elements like knobs and pulls into curated design moments. To achieve this aesthetic, Wells advises maintaining timeless finishes such as matte, brushed, satin, or natural appearances, allowing the craftsmanship to shine through in an understated manner. Artful tile is another significant trend. Although large-format, low-maintenance tiles have been popular, homeowners are now seeking more color and pattern to create unique spaces. Chappell observes a surge in handmade-feeling glazes with movement and complexity, as design becomes more personal and collected. Examples like Fireclay’s Manzanita Gloss add dynamic variation to simple shapes and neutral colors. Additionally, pattern tiles, including checkerboards, sweeping layouts, and mosaics in rich, moody palettes, are making a return. The 2026 NKBA Bath Trends Report confirms the growing popularity of patterned and textured tiles, with a strong demand for custom tiles on sink backsplashes, indicating a broader appeal for statement-making design elements in bath design. Individualized wellness is transforming bathrooms into highly customizable spaces designed for personal well-being. Technology allows homeowners to program plumbing fixtures to their preferences, with showers, bathtubs, toilets, and bidets offering customizable settings. This trend extends beyond personalized settings to include features that cater to individual health needs. Merbeth highlights the increasing demand for saunas for their health benefits, along with steam showers, whirlpool tubs, and even cold plunge tubs. This trend emphasizes a holistic approach to bath design, even leading homeowners to seek alternative locations within the home for wellness features if primary baths cannot accommodate them. The NKBA report anticipates future outdoor connections, such as hot tubs and cold plunge baths. Finally, ritual-driven vanities are evolving to support personal rituals and self-care routines. Bathroom storage is adapting to individual needs, with vanities embracing high-end furniture styling without sacrificing practical storage. Erin Sullivan, director of product development at James Martin Vanities, emphasizes the importance of flexible, built-in storage solutions for towels, beauty products, hair styling tools, makeup, and medication. These vanities will also feature electrical outlets and ample countertop space for daily routines. For spaces where custom vanities are not feasible, simple solutions like a floating shelf paired with a decorative mirror can create a dedicated 'beauty zone,' instantly adding personalized functionality without extensive renovation. #BathroomTrends #PersonalizedDesign #WarmAccents #EyeCatchingFaucets #MicrocementSurfaces #CraftsmanshipHardware #ArtfulTile #IndividualizedWellness #RitualDrivenVanities

Flooring selections are a significant long-term investment in a home, making it essential to choose styles that will endure and remain appealing for years. Interior designers highlight eight key flooring trends projected to dominate in 2026, offering a blend of timeless elegance and modern functionality. One prominent trend is the adoption of herringbone brick pavers. This style, praised by Ashley Hunt and Savannah McPartland of Haddy House Interiors, creates a sense of old-world European charm. The angled layout adds visual movement and emphasizes the brick's rich texture and color variation, making spaces like kitchens, mudrooms, and sunrooms feel instantly storied and inviting. Painted floors are emerging as a versatile solution for refreshing existing hardwood or adding a unique touch. Lauren Robbins of Lauren Robbins Interiors considers them a timeless feature, not just a trend. They offer an effective way to integrate colors from other elements in a room and provide a distinctive geometric quality, breathing new life into tired surfaces. A shift towards darker wood flooring is also anticipated. Tatum Madden from O’Hara Interiors notes a progression from 2025's focus on natural materials and warmth. In 2026, the preference moves away from bleached white oak towards richer, mid-tone to dark woods like chocolate brown or deep reds. This trend mirrors a similar movement observed in textiles, signaling a preference for more saturated and grounding tones in permanent design choices. For a sophisticated twist on classic patterns, Bardiglio and Carrara checkerboard flooring is gaining traction. Hunt and McPartland explain that the softer contrast of these materials, compared to traditional black and white, lends a timeless elegance that feels both refined and accessible. This design is particularly impactful in entryways, laundry rooms, and bathrooms. Mixing scales in tile usage offers a harmonious way to define spaces without employing entirely different materials. Madden suggests using larger format tiles on main bathroom floors and a smaller, mosaic version of the same tile in the shower area. This approach creates visual continuity while subtly delineating different functional zones within a larger space. Penny tile, a classic choice, is being reinvented with two-toned patterns. This affordable yet character-filled option allows for extensive customization, from subtle borders to bold geometric designs. Hunt and McPartland recommend it for bathrooms, laundry rooms, and mudrooms, where it can make a significant design statement without exceeding budget constraints. Finally, there is a growing desire for designated spaces within homes, moving away from the previously popular open-concept layouts. Madden observes that homeowners now seek distinct room definitions, which can be achieved through varying flooring types in transitional areas like foyers or corridors leading to bedrooms. Alternatively, changing the floor pattern within the same material can also subtly signify a transition between spaces. Rich, colorful tiles, often paired with impactful wall tiles, also reinforce a maximalist aesthetic, proving that bold designs can coexist with functionality in areas like bathrooms and mudrooms. #FlooringTrends #InteriorDesign #HomeDecor #HerringboneBrick #PaintedFloors #DarkWoodFlooring #CheckerboardTile #TileDesign #MaximalistDesign