I sure hope not.

It depends on her house. What does that look like? Or does she want it to look like an ad?

I don't think she knows what she wants yet. I think she has to spend some time looking for inspiration. But they want to update for resale...not soon, but eventually, so it would be better if it's either "classic" so it doesn't date as much; or up to date so it won't be as dated whenever that day comes.

I still think minimalism in the bath is my favorite. I saw some 2' square polished porcelain white tiles at Lowes the other day and wished that I could change the whole house over to them.

Vanities with only drawers that hang off the walls and lit from below, quartz counters, faucets I don't have to touch to turn on, a toilet with built in bidet seat hung off the wall that flushes with a wave of your hand, a glass shower that repels water spots, a simple tub with jets to ease my muscles, lots of natural light and a wall of mirrors with hidden medicine cabinets & 10 hidden outlets to plug in all my stuff and I'd be happy........and I don't want to share it with anyone.

These images popped into my inbox today. Might not be right for your GF, but I thought they were very fun. New Old Industrial look.

I think the best insurance against things looking dated is to work with the style of the house. What kind of architecture is her house?

It's a typical 4 BR colonial built in the 80s

I'm still a fan if a classic white/ light master bathroom. Add beautiful mosaic tile, a free standing tub ans a spacious glass shower...perfection to me.

Here are a few I love...

It would be a mistake to do anything that's a huge departure from what the rest of the house looks like. What's she doing in the rest of the house? Actual construction or just cosmetic?

The classic baths are marble tile, white tile. Then there are the rusticky stone look baths but those are more of a western thing. If it's a colonial house and she goes modern it will likely look very strange. 80s built probably means a lot of that wood they use. If so, then updated cottage style can work or a very soft Hollywood Regency if she wants something that leans modern.

We're just finishing up her LR and DR in very traditional look.

Curbless showers. Soaking tubs but definitely not jets, and the tub ideally should have a window and a chandy. Two sinks rather than a long counter with double bowls. Good closet space. A separate W/C, or at a minimum a knee wall for privacy.

That's mostly function. As far as form, take the cue from the rest of the house, especially the kitchen. Unless the house is sold as a fixer-upper, people don't want to redo the kitchen. So if they are buying, they prob like the kitchen. Hence, make the MBA in the same style.

The good news is that traditional style bath materials can be quite cheap. White hex or even white marble floors are really inexpensive at Lowes, HD. I would throw in something luxe like a persian runner to elevate it all.

What's wrong with jets in tub???

Resale or just for her own longevity white fixtures/tile/flooring, give the most options for color changes in the linens and accessories,moving forward. Easiest cheapest update there is--purchase the "color of the year" in your towels etc. To answer the question I do think the spa/lux goal is still "in".

Thanks for all the suggestions. This is not a new to her home at all....she's been living there for well over 20 years. Her youngest just graduated from college and her DGS is a regular visitor, so she's doing a gradual total house refresh. We finished her kitchen a couple of years ago (I got her old kitchen cabinets to put in our workshop area). I think looking to the kitchen for style for the PR update is a great idea as it's just across the foyer from the kitchen. She has gorgeous verdi karzai granite and I wonder if we can get more for the PR...maybe the fabricator still has her remnants...

Upstairs, I think we have more flexibility. Her Mbath was "80s nutty" with the bath tub in front of the windows in the bedroom and the sink and vanity are also in the bedroom. (Neighbor up the street has the same kind of 80s mbath which is integrated into the bedroom...so weird!) So they removed the tub and now have the sink in the bedroom with the shower and pot in the bath area. I'll suggest they move a wall and put all the fixtures into the bath. In the kids bath and PR, it's going to be a matter of replacing what's there with stuff that's up to date. I like the idea of white for the kids bath as it's clean and classic and goes with everything. I'm definitely suggesting she look into in floor heating and a heated towel bar for the mbath.

I agree with the all white except for the floors. We did that in our last reno and I won't be repeating it just because the floors showed everything and were impossible to keep looking nice. This time around I am doing white again, but a floor with some pattern to hide the footprints, hair and other assorted

I was looking for bath ideas for my sister's house last month and we came across a lovely white marble bath on the bathroom forum. I love the mix of white marbles used along with the quartz counter tops and I think the finished look is pretty timeless and could fit with a traditional home.

i think a peaceful spa like bathroom is awesome, tho i don't think i'd like sage green walls ...

you see less of the espresso/chocolate brown paired with aqua which had been so popular for the past 10? yrs... also seems satin nickel isn't quite as popular as it had been...

i still like a pretty chandelier of some type in the master bath...

quartz or granite is great for counter tops... love marble, but don't like having to be careful with it... don't like what urine splatters do to polished marble on the floor around the toilet...

loved our towel warmer, but just make sure it's mounted where it can be reached from inside the shower (reaching out thru the door! wouldn't want it mounted in a large shower because it's nice to be able to hang a robe on it too... :)

I feel like large format tiles are very in right now. They tend to be modern in feeling, but I think they can work in other settings. And they minimize the grout lines, which should make for easier cleaning (at least I hope so because that's what I'm doing in our hall bath).

Here's one of my inspiration pictures.

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My nephew just reminded me about the new Pirch stores that display the latest in everything for your home.

We are getting ready to re-do our master.

Things we are doing/changing --

getting rid of tub

enlarging the shower

Steam shower

adding built-in bench in shower

adding built in cubbies for shampoo

additional cabinet space where tub used to be

extend privacy wall for toilet

heated floors

heated towel bar

I have no idea as to color scheme yet. But will probably go with painted cabinetry, rather than stained.

Beverly!!!! I love that white polished porcelain tile....omg I would redo my bath in that in a red hot minute! Clean, bright, pretty, and not an identifiable stone that will be "out" in two years. I am not a fan of marble bathrooms and hate ours. Why did you show me that before I was ready to remodel???

And where oh where are those bathroom faucets available? I have been looking for something in that vintage industrial style for my basement bathroom, do tell!

Never heard of pirch stores before...I'll check it out. Thx bev!

Appreciate the list, jpmom!

Busybee, yes maybe it's the colors we have to watch out for.

crl, pretty bath. Re tile size, I was told that there's less chance of slipping if the tile is smaller as the grout lines give your feet more grip than the smooth tile. Also, her space is pretty small, so I think the larger tile might look out of proportion with the room.

peacamp, that's a gorgeous white bath...I'll be sure to show her as inspiration.

daisychain, good point about the pattern on the floor and maintenance.

Annie, here's a link to that bathroom reveal.

Large scale tile in a bath will be slippery on the floor or in a shower. We have large-scale limestone tile flooring in our dining room/sun porch and it is extremely slippery when wet. Even the penny round ceramic mosaic floor in our guest bath is slippery when wet. Anyone using large scale stone should accept having some type of rugs or mats in advance and be very careful about sealers.

IME there are many elements that can make a space look bigger including directionality, light and color. Scale is relative, which is why it's so difficult.

If I was doing a bath today I would be looking at cement tile patterns, dimensional tile, or Moroccan tiles which have such a great surface and light reflection. Most of those are transitional enough to be used in a traditional home.

I don't feel that the baths need to relate to the kitchen and I don't care for the same exact cabinets used it both -- think it makes the bath look like it got leftovers IYKWIM. But they do need to relate to a bedroom if they are ensuite, or to the overall decor. Annie knows all this.

Rococogirl, no large format tiles are not slippery if you choose a tile with a good coefficient of friction. Too bad the place you bought your tile failed to educate you on that, though hopefully your dining and sunroom aren't often wet.

I buy tile at Ann Sacks. They are generally considered to be an excellent source to the trade. The coefficient of friction is not an issue that has ever come up there in terms of a selection -- or even in tile seminars I took there. I expect it applies mostly to porcelain tiles which are often textured and very practical. Most natural stone, honed or polished, is smooth and therefore slippery when wet in large scale. Travertine less so, of course, and small mosaics. This is pretty much accepted.

We have tumbled marble 4x4" tiles on the floor of our master bath and the shower floor. There is enough grout to give some traction. However, the Ann Sacks pennyround glazed ceramic tile in our guest bath is slippery despite the mosaic format. Trust me, you don't want to get out of the tub in that bathroom without a rug there.

I love natural stone which is why I used limestone in the sunroom. I get a lot of compliments on it. Not the most practical choice, however. In the future I'd likely look at porcelain tile. Since we did our reno, digital production of porcelain tile has made a huge difference in style and there are so many options, especially for flooring.