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Our bathrooms are going to be looking their best this year. Kitchen and Bath Design News reported this week that high-end and midrange renovations are expected to rebound in 2021, meaning instead of DIYing peel-and-stick tiles or installing sinks ourselves, we’ll be splurging on fancy rain showerheads and custom double vanities. Google data backs these findings up: Searches for bathroom ideas have more than doubled in the U.S. in the past month, with one style leading the way.
Inquiries for rustic spaces have spiked 500 percent. But before you start saving images of classic subway tile–clad showers, sliding barn doors, and salvaged wood, we took the liberty of rounding up a few of our favorite takes on the trend.
Rethink Shiplap
Designer Nina Freudenberger didn’t go with any ordinary shiplap in order to achieve a quintessential farmhouse mood at the San Luis Creek Lodge. The walls are swathed in vertical strips of wood of different widths (some are 3 inches; others are 6), with small gaps in between each of the boards to provide depth.
Make a Statement With Stone
Ditch traditional porcelain for reclaimed limestone. A sink with a wide trough, like the one in this Amber Lewis–designed space, requires some extra planning on your contractor’s part (they’ll have to weld a steel frame system into the wall), but the end result will be worth the extra work.
Steel the Show
Markham Roberts’s country carriage house features industrial nods without skewing super-cold. The designer covered his shower walls in inexpensive galvanized metal sheets to complement all the pine in the room, then punctuated the sloped ceiling with a round rattan pendant light. So long, matte black accents.
Lean on Wood—Don’t Rely on It
Too much wood can read as kitschy, so relegate the material to a small shower stool. To complete the oasis in her Todos Santos, Mexico, retreat, Alex Boudreau hung a flowing curtain and installed French doors leading to an alfresco shower space.
Bring in Some Bling
For kicks, Leanne Ford made a point not to include any chrome or silver in her Los Angeles farmhouse, and it paid off. The shiny brass shower curtain rod and plumbing fixtures make the vintage claw-foot tub (a farmhouse staple) and white painted floorboards look a touch more luxe.
Get the Look
Our Winter Renovation issue is here! Subscribe now to step inside Leanne Ford’s latest project—her own historic Pennsylvania home. Plus discover our new rules of reno.