Here's Why Your Bathroom Looks Outdated (& How To Fix It)

It's easy to see why bathrooms fall into disarray. When you're doing a home facelift, your first focus is going to be on the more exciting living spaces — the living room, the kitchen, and so on. And while it's easy to see why the bathroom falls pretty far down on your list of update priorities, it's also the room that, unfortunately, contains some of the most obvious and common giveaways of neglect.

Admittedly, bathroom trends move so fast that it's very easy to end up with a dingy space. Whether your bathroom problems have to do with rundown flooring, outdated color choices, or once-cool hardware that's no longer in its era, it can be difficult to determine what needs to be completely replaced, what needs a repair, and what can stay. The good news is that a lot of these changes are cosmetic and can be easily fixed with a simple home DIY and a little bit of elbow grease.

Now we know that living in a space means you grow accustomed to it, and that often blinds you to the issues. Indeed, not everything is quite so obviously outdated as a shag carpeted bathroom floor. So we are here to help you identify just what bathroom design trends are on their way out, and what you need to change if you want to bring your bathroom into 2024. 

While you may assume that "outdated" refers to anything in the 20th century, it's actually the more recent design trends from the 2000s and even the 2010s that are more dangerous here — because if you're going older than that (for instance, the styles of the late 1980s), a fixture can look "vintage." If it looks like it belongs in the early 2000s, though? Try "tacky." 

Some of the most obvious offenders are going to be your hardware — think crystal knobbed faucets and oversized bathtubs. That goes double for oversized jacuzzi tubs, which hearken back to the days when the original "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was still on the air. But it can also be color and design choices. For example, those dark-stained hardwood cabinets? How very 2003 of you. And while there were the overly ornate Tuscan themes in the early aughts, the 2010s then brought on the greige and white-washed craze where suddenly any color — from floor to ceiling — was taboo. This colorless theme is also outdated, now, because in the 2020s, color is back in a big way.

The other thing that can date your bathroom is not just an aesthetic choice, but a practical one. You may have a set of adorable vintage tiles lining your shower, but if the grout is dark and deteriorating, the whole look can easily swing from darling to dirty. Maintenance, though, will be a necessity no matter what color or styles you choose.

If you want a quick update, one of the easiest changes you can make in any room is a fresh coat of paint. The color drenching paint trend is still popular, as is patterned wallpaper, but if you want a safer long-term bet, you should consider a neutral option. Doing so could fix your current problem, and also avoid having to fix it again next decade. With that in mind, lean towards soothing earth tones like sage green, limewash, or natural wood paneling. 

Next, you may want to consider your hardware. Anything super industrial can look very 2014 hipster coded, so you will either want to go with something sleek and simple, or pick an earlier vintage design. Brass and copper fixtures are also best avoided for now. Speaking of vintage, many trends right now are leaning into mixing the old with new, combining vintage and modern elements, then embracing fun patterns and colors. One of the best ways to avoid a room feeling outdated is to forgo a specific trend and instead embrace elements that you are drawn to, to make the space feel personal.

Replacing the floor is obviously a much bigger project. If you don't want to go all in on retiling or re-grouting your bathroom tiles, there are some excellent laminate options. Just make sure you choose something resistant to wear in a moist environment, easy to install, and — ideally — go with a stunning design. Once you've got these things achieved, your bathroom will be more fun, more customized, and no longer look like a relic.