What design trends can we anticipate this year? Prices for consumer goods, as we know, are continuing to sky-rocket. How do we as an industry fair with inflation? Are the housing marketing trends helping us predict the forecast for projects?

New Year, New Trends, New Expectations

In 2022 we are asking more of our home's internal spaces than ever before.

Many spaces are serving as multi-purposes through simplified and mid-century inspired aesthetics.

Living rooms and kitchens seamlessly blend into outdoor living room patios. Master bathrooms and bedroom transitions are morphing into cohesive spaces. "This is easily accomplished with a sliding glass door between the two spaces, allowing more natural light to flow and making both rooms feel more open and spacious." - Source: Matt Lee. Feb. 2. 2022. The NKBA List: 8 Trending Bathroom Designs for 2022

As more people are working from home, our definition of these rooms is changing, and bathroom spaces are no exception. Bathroom projects are looking to serve as a personal oasis and push the definition of normal design with creativity and the unexpected.

Creativity, industrial design, reintroduction of utilizing wood elements, and this romantic notion of planned imperfection, are a few of the common elements you can expect in bathroom design this year, according to The NKBA List: 8 Trending Bathroom Designs for 2022.

Let's dive into one of these eight trends a bit further.

Planned Imperfections

One of the 8 design trends discusses the idea of planned imperfections.

This highlights the importance of utilizing unexpected ways to store or display everyday items.

As Matt Lee writes, "Some ways to incorporate planned imperfection into the bathroom include wire baskets and wood totes in place of traditional cabinets or vanities, and folded towels on exposed shelves to give the space an aura of informality".

Source: Matt Lee. Feb. 2. 2022. The NKBA List: 8 Trending Bathroom Designs for 2022

I thoroughly enjoy this notion of celebrating the unexpected and challenging what is considered a "normal bathroom design." While all bathrooms contain the same essential pieces, a sink, a toilet, shower and or tub setup, storage for your toiletries etc., this "planned imperfection" design trend highlights the endless opportunities to celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary.

And this idea could not come at a better time in history as every day we are bombarded with this idea of the new normal.

Celebrating planned imperfections is a perfect nod to enjoy the seemingly mundane habits we have set in our daily routines. Taking our seemingly typical morning shower may be elevated by listening to a zen-like meditation podcast through speaker technology in your shower setup.

Brushing our teeth, the routine your parents pushed so hard when we were kids, can be celebrated by selecting a pre-lit color setting on the backlighting on your vanity mirror. These are the elements consumers are asking for, thinking of unexpected ways to deliver a spa-like retreat in your home. 

In 2022 we are asking more of our home's internal spaces than ever before. Many spaces are serving as multi-purposes through simplified and mid-century inspired aesthetics and bathrooms are serving as individualized spaces for an oasis. 

While bathroom design trends are surely something to keep an eye on, what remains the same is the demand for in-stock, quality products. Luckily, the plumbing industry is showing strong patterns for a reliable supply and demand in 2022 for many faucet brands.

Consumer Prices Continue To Climb

What do we anticipate as a decorative plumbing industry?

Overall, we continue to be in an industry with very strong growth and supply chain hold-ups. This  provides opportunities for smaller more nimble manufacturers and will likely prolong the strong market as projects get pushed back.  

From an economics perspective we can turn to an article in the NKBA by By Manuel Gutierrez, Consulting Economist to NKBA, Consumer Prices Continue To Climb,

 "Inflation continued its upward climb in December, with consumer prices registering a rise of 7.1 percent over the previous year. Annual price inflation, as shown in Figure 1, has increased at a higher rate each month since August of last year. Prior to the pandemic, inflation had hovered below 2 percent for several years, and in December of 2020 came in at 1.3 percent. This is illustrated in the bottom chart of Figure 1, which displays long term price inflation since 1952."

Housing prices have also shown us that fewer new homes have sold and the average price of homes sold in 2021 was higher than in 2020. With house projects and remodels not slowing down despite the lack of reliable products in the market, we still see home renovations taking place. With housing prices on the rise, we anticipate not only larger scale remodels but also the use of creative in-stock materials in 2022.

You can read more into the housing market here.

Sources:

• NKBA - New Home Sales Close Year With Strong Momentum
• Consumer Prices Continue To Climb
• The NKBA List: 8 Trending Bathroom Designs for 2022

Although there are always many unknowns as we start any new year, we can predict that the pricing of goods will continue to increase, design trends in our homes will continue to adapt to the flexing market, and continuing to deliver quality goods will keep the plumbing industry strong in 2022. 

What do you anticipate to be the greatest change or challenge this year?