Warm stone tiles and wooden vanity units
Smart Tiles expects travertine, limestone and sandstone looks to stay central to bathroom tiles in 2027, in warm shades such as chalk, almond, biscuit, putty and pale tobacco rather than cold concrete grey.
Large stone-effect tiles need flat walls. Many London bathrooms have old, uneven plaster, so the walls are often boarded or skimmed first, and the shower area should be waterproofed before tiling.
Smart Tiles pairs the warmer stone tiles with brushed brass, aged bronze, timber vanity units and off-white basins and toilets. A wall-hung wooden vanity unit keeps the floor clear in a small bathroom. Wood near water needs a sealed finish and a room with a working extractor fan.
Patterned floors in quieter colours
Patterned bathroom floor tiles are back, but in a softer form than the high-contrast black and white checkerboard. Smart Tiles points to pairs such as cream and tan, pale green and chalk, or muted red-brown with warm white.
In a small room, pattern on the floor with plain walls keeps it calm. Patterned tiles take longer to lay than plain ones, because the setting-out has to line up from the doorway and every cut shows, so allow for more labour in the quote.
Brushed brass and bronze instead of matt black
Brassware maker JTP expects brushed bronze to move towards deeper, richer tones in 2027, with more interest in hard-wearing PVD finishes, a metal coating bonded on in a vacuum chamber that resists scratches and tarnish. It also reports buyers moving away from matt finishes as they think more about upkeep, especially in hard-water areas such as London.
The other change is one finish through the whole room. Buyers want the taps, shower, accessories, shower screen profiles and door handles to match, like the brushed brass shower set and enclosure frame at the top of this page.
Bathrooms that feel like the rest of the house
Ideal Home names "bathroom living rooms" as a trend to try in 2027: bathrooms that feel more like the cosy rooms elsewhere in the house, with layered lighting and soft furnishings.
Layered lighting usually means ceiling lights, wall lights and a mirror light on separate switches. Every bathroom light has to suit the zone it sits in, and the wiring has to be done by a qualified electrician, which we arrange as part of the refit.
Spa-style and walk-in showers
JTP also expects more spa-like bathrooms, with generous showers and handsets that have several spray settings. A walk-in shower with a single glass screen gives that look in less space than a bath. Check the room against our guide to shower enclosure sizes before you choose, and check the water pressure and flow before buying a large rainfall head, as it needs more water than a standard handset.
What is going out in 2027
- Matt black taps and shower sets, as buyers move to brushed brass, bronze and PVD finishes.
- Cold concrete greys. Cool grey bathrooms have not disappeared, but stone-effect tiles are moving to warmer neutrals.
- High-contrast black and white checkerboard, replaced by softer two-colour patterns.
Bathroom paint colours for 2027
Dulux Soulful Sage and Graham & Brown Rose Earth both sit comfortably with warm stone tiles and brushed brass. Whichever colour you choose, buy a kitchen and bathroom paint, which copes with steam. Our guide to the colours of the year for 2027 covers the other picks.
What a bathroom refit costs in London
In one June 2026 London quotation from our director's earlier business, shown on our bathroom renovation cost page, refitting an existing bathroom of about 5 m², with strip-out, a change from bath to shower, wall panels, floor tiles and a towel rail, came to £6,000 including VAT. Upgrades such as patterned tiles, brushed brass fittings or a walk-in screen are priced on top, depending on the products you choose.
If you are planning a refit, our bathroom renovation in London page covers how we work, from small en suites to full refits. For a price, send a few photographs of the bathroom as it is now. We reply within one working day.