Halfway through 2026 and London’s bathroom specification has settled into a clear direction — warm minimalism, natural materials, and tactile hardware. Here’s what we’re seeing most often in our Kensington, Chelsea, and Notting Hill projects.
1. Warm Neutral Palettes
Cool greys are out. Warm whites, bone, chalk, and terracotta are in. Limewash textures on walls, honed travertine floors, and unpainted timber panelling create a Mediterranean warmth that works beautifully with London’s low winter light.
2. Large-Format Slab Porcelain
1200 × 3000 continuous porcelain slabs in book-matched marble patterns are the big-ticket material of the year. They deliver the luxury read of real marble without the maintenance overhead.
3. Brass and Brushed-Nickel Hardware
Chrome is over — brass (particularly brushed brass) and warm brushed nickel are specified on 8 of every 10 new projects. Our INTEGRA Prima line was developed precisely because clients were struggling to source coordinated fittings across the full bathroom — flush buttons, access panels, towel holders — in matched finishes.
4. Concealed Technology
Wall-hung pans with in-wall cisterns, concealed shower valves, flush-mounted ceiling extractors, and recessed lighting. Visible tech reads as noise; concealed tech reads as luxury.
5. The Return of the Single Statement Piece
Over-specified bathrooms are being pared back to one hero element — a free-standing stone bath, a single sculptural wall of terrazzo, a bronze basin. The rest is deliberately quiet.
What We’re Recommending to Our Clients
Pick two materials and two metals. Repeat them consistently. Specify quality on the things you touch every day (the tap, the handle, the shower head) and save money on the things you don’t (the pan, the cistern, the fans — they’re all basically the same).
