Is Bathroom Carpet Making a Comeback?!

Tour a house that was built in the 1960s or ’70s, and you might be in for a surprise. If the bathroom hasn’t seen the renovation hammer, the bathroom floor might be carpeted in shaggy, plush luxury.

Some of us immediately cringe when we think of bathroom carpet, but at one point, it was the hot bathroom trend. If we ignore the mold and other hygiene issues, stepping onto carpet instead of freezing bathroom tile on a cold winter morning sounds pretty appealing. Like many bathroom decor trends, we’ve seen carpeted bathrooms come and go, replaced by modern tiles that are easier to clean. But the lifecycle of almost every trend sees an eventual rebirth. Are we in the midst of a carpeted bathroom becoming popular again?

The History of Bathroom Carpet

Carpeting American homes took off post-World War II when suburban neighborhoods cropped up across the country. While homes became larger, real estate listings started including the sought-after “wall-to-wall-carpeting.” Americans were hooked on the comfortable flooring of shag carpet. Some homes even literally carpeted the walls. For a time, having a home with carpet was seen as an affluent, in-vogue choice. In 1968 Jane Fonda traveled to space in a shag-carpeted spaceship in “Barbarella.” Up through the 1980s, it seems like carpeting your home was an integral part of the deal. A New York Times article that ran in 1979 mentioned that carpet sales were increasing year-on-year, and with the price of new homes surging, they expected more families to renovate their current homes by adding in carpet. The trend of covering a home’s floor with carpet didn’t exclude carpeting the bathroom.

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Plenty of homes still have carpeted rooms today, but many have moved on to favoring tiles, hardwood floors or vinyl flooring. Keeping carpet clean is often a harder task than sweeping and mopping non-fabric flooring options. It’s harder to spot a carpeted bathroom in a modern home, but recently we’ve seen some a-list celebrities stir some controversy while displaying their carpeted bathrooms. Demi Moore has carpet in her bathroom at her home in Sun Valley, Idaho. David Harbor and Lily Allen have a carpeted bathroom in their Brooklyn townhouse that doubles as a seating area.

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So, Is Bathroom Carpet Making a Comeback?

You’re not alone if you think carpeting a bathroom isn’t the best choice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentions using carpet in rooms that are prone to get wet like bathrooms and basements can spell trouble with mold.

Carpeting a bathroom has some appealing aspects like providing a non-slip surface when getting out of the shower. Aesthetically, some prefer the look of carpet in the bathroom, and some interior designers are reincorporating it into modern homes, but they’re doing so cautiously. Some are carpeting a portion of the bathroom and avoiding areas that are likely to get damp like near the sink.

We’re convinced carpet in the bathroom falls into the bucket of bathroom trends on the way out more so than making a comeback. But if you do decide it’s right for your bathroom, choose a carpet that’s made of synthetic fibers that are easy to clean like nylon.