RIP the boring white bathroom!

Avocado and baby pink bathroom suites will always be remembered as the ultimate symbol of 1970s bad taste.

For the past four decades, white – and white alone – has been the only acceptable color for our toilets, baths and sinks.

But now that’s all changing and, just as we’ve seen a rise in people opting for bold kitchen units, bathrooms are also undergoing dramatic revamps, with bright bathroom furniture quickly emerging as the biggest interior story of 2023.

There’s no doubt it feels like a brave choice after years in the all-white backwoods.

So much so that the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal published an article about the pros and cons of what it called the “divisive trend” for lemon peels and baby blue baths.

But interior influencers are very busy flaunting theirs on Instagram — and no matter where they go, we usually follow them.

TV presenter and stylist Sophie Robinson (@sophierobinsoninteriors) has a confetti-pink sink and toilet (with a backdrop of sunny yellow subway tiles); style guru Erica Davies has a tangerine tub; while Sarah Tomczak, editor of Red Magazine (@sarah.tomczak), found an original 1970s avocado washbowl with a matching marble top, which she paired with chocolate brown walls and a baby blue tiled shower. Sounds like a crazy combination, but it works.

Then there’s home decor and interior designer Natasha Lyon (@appreciation projectuk) who got a flurry of likes when she recently unveiled her gelato-colored bathroom suite, the centerpiece of which is a pink Edwardian sink.

So what prompted us to wash our hands and take the plunge into Technicolor?

Interior therapist Suzanne Roynon (interiorstherapy.com) believes the dazzling dominance of white and cool gray has left us feeling gloomy and chilly and craving a little more warmth. That and a desire to beat the post-pandemic blues with, well, a bright blue, green, pink or yellow.

Don’t worry if this all seems a little too much like a rehash of the 1970s suites you ripped out the first time around.

Interior and interior designer Natasha Lyon says you should treat the bathroom just like any other room. You could have an armchair and a pillow, art, tapestries or houseplants

Today’s shades have a cheery air of retro luxury, but also a lot more staying power in the style at stake.

Add black taps and smart tiles and you’re firmly in posh hotel spa territory – a world away from those wildly impractical shagpile rugs and boring beige corner baths.

“In the 1990s and 2000s, real estate exchanges told us to tone down our spaces and keep them neutral to make more money out of them,” says Stephanie King, creative lead at Dulux.

“But now people want to enjoy their home instead of constantly seeing it as an investment vehicle.”

Cue retailers are rushing to launch new ranges of baths, toilets and sinks in decidedly hip hues.

Traditional British bathroom brand Burlington has just added two new retro shades to its bespoke ceramics: 1930s-style powder blue and 1950s-style mint green.

Joanne Burgess, interior designer at The Curious House (@thecurioushouse.co.uk), a practice primarily working with historic properties, has not one but three colorful bathrooms in her Georgian/Modernist hybrid home.

“I chose muted greens and yellows from The Water Monopoly plus the pink and blue suites from Burlington’s custom range,” she explains.

The starting point for Natasha Lyon’s ice-colored bathroom was a pink sink found on Facebook Marketplace

“I had used reclaimed bathrooms in the past. But plumbers often don’t like working with it, plus you have to buy all the fittings, so I took an easier route.’

Roll top baths are also doing well, with brands such as Victoria + Albert Baths reporting an increase in sales of bathtubs in rich red, navy blue and emerald green, according to Phil Etherden, general manager of The Albion Bath Company, which has several A-list clients. . (Musicians apparently go for bolder hues and folk sport a more muted pastel palette).

Joanne Sangster of Ripples Bathrooms, which has 15 showrooms in the UK, confirms: ‘We are being asked for toilets and baths in green, pink, even yellow and orange.’

The Bold Bathroom Company, as the name suggests, can outfit your toilet in pastel shades and vibrant glazes from its own line and range of vintage pieces.

It’s all super-Instagrammable, as a quick scroll of the eye-catching peppermint, cotton candy pink, and peach pools, baths, and toilets on her website will testify.

If the thought of a peach-colored bathroom is a step too far, the not-so-brave can try a small zone first – say, a cloakroom with one of Kast’s colorful concrete sinks.

And if you do opt for a bright suite, temper it with a polished concrete floor and (whisper it) white walls. Add a generous scattering of indoor plants for extra style points.

However, if you’re feeling brave — and you’ve got the space — Natasha Lyon has this advice:

“You should treat the bathroom like any other room. Get an armchair and a pillow, add art, tapestries or whatever feels right to you. Don’t be afraid to fill it with personality.”