Homeowners Staying Put, Updating Their Homes: What’s Trending Locally in Bath Renovations

If a big home remodeling project is at the top of your list in 2025, you’re in good company. Statistics show a record number of homeowners are opting to remodel their existing homes rather than relocate due to rising home prices and mortgage rates. 

American homeowners spent about $827 billion on home improvement projects in a two-year period ending in 2023, an increase of more than $200 billion over the previous two year period, according to the most recent American Housing Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Bathroom remodels topped the list at a rate of 65 percent, followed by kitchen remodels at 61 percent, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Valley Vibe spoke to the father and son duo who co-own Rise Above Remodeling, a general contracting company in the greater Anthem area, to find out where local homeowners are investing their dollars back into one their most valuable assets. 

Bathroom Renovation Before Photos

Bathroom Renovation After Photos

Updating bathroom showers and removing existing tubs remains the most popular of projects, Bret and Skyler Buckner agree, but many are also updating their kitchens and floorings due to the age of their homes. 

Generously sized showers tiled with large porcelain panels resembling marble is a sleek-looking newer trend that’s being utilized in a lot of new builds and slowly making its way into the home renovation sector. The subway tile trend set on a straight lay grid remains a popular choice for shower walls. Shower floors are generally designed with porcelain tiles for their ease of maintenance and low water-absorption rate. 

At Rise Above’s showroom, a display mimicking the size of a typical area home’s existing tub/shower space shows how it can be transformed into a large walk-in shower, or a smaller shower that still allows for a stand-alone tub, for those looking to remove their oversized drop-in tubs, but wishing to keep the versatility of a tub. 

While many homeowners elect to keep one bathtub either in the master or one of their other bathrooms for resale purposes, the Buckners agree clients are opting to go with what best fits the needs of their family, with many choosing to do away with all of their tubs. 

In the shower, half walls with niches and handles/controls set to the side and out of direct sight offers a clean and organized timeless look. Popular fixture finishings and hardware are bronze, matte black, brushed nickel or chrome. 

The Anthem showroom offers countless samples of materials for everything from floors to bathroom walls, shower floors and walls, glass, countertops, cabinetry, fixtures, hardware and lighting.   

If you find yourself unsure of where to begin with a home renovation project, Skyler said the shower is generally a great place to start. 

“We have many customers that opt not to do an entire bathroom remodel from top to bottom and instead solely choose to update their showers.”  He told Valley Vibe a standard shower remodel usually begins at about $12,000 but the pricing can be impacted by removal/demo of existing fixtures and new material selections. 

If new vanities are part of the remodeling plans, executive-style vanities set at kitchen-counter height require less bending over the sink and counter top. Adding more storage in bathrooms is also common with vanity towers that sit directly on the counters and offer more storage. Bigger drawers within the vanity and more cabinets are trending, but gone are the days of the medicine cabinets. Most homeowners are removing them and choosing not to incorporate them back into the design, the Buckners said. 

As for cabinetry, white is still the top seller for its timeless appeal, but maple woods in lighter brown tones and even a pop of color in the bathroom is trending in shades of navy and green as top choices. Grey colored cabinets have sort of taken more of a backseat as of recent. For countertops, quartz is the top seller with undermount porcelain sinks in the bathroom. Bret estimates that roughly 90 percent of their clients choose quartz due to its  low maintenance.  “It’s antibacterial, easy to clean, doesn’t absorb water, and affordable at about the same price point as granite,” he told Valley Vibe.  

For planning purposes, homeowners can expect a custom full-bath remodel to take roughly a month from start to finish, including glass and countertop fabrication, Skyler added.