Wild sage, lemon, peach, sorbet, mint, and avocado: not the makings of a bizarre fruit salad, but some of the forgotten shades of Britain’s bathrooms that were popular in the mid-20th century.
The colourful suites disappeared from homes as whites and minimalist, neutral designs took over in the 1990s. But avocado-coloured bathrooms are back, and it is gen Z and millennials driving the trend.
About 30% of homeowners between 18 and 34 years old say they would pick green – with avocado shades in particular – if given the chance to upgrade their bathroom, according to a report by the DIY retailer Wickes.
And suppliers have noticed increased interest, unheard of a decade before. Sam Powell, the founder of the retro bathroom supplier Brokenbog and the Bold Bathroom Company, said there had been an uptick in interest in avocado-toned pieces. “The coral pink is very popular and avocado is becoming increasingly popular,” he said.
The company used to focus on replacement pieces, parts for restaurants or pubs and occasional requests from TV shows or films, but over the past couple of years a younger crowd has been showing interest in these retro fixtures. “We’ve had a real shift in our customer base, whereas for a long time, we were largely dealing with the older generation. It would be an old lady who’s had their bathroom since 1975 and they want to keep it in keeping.
“Now we’re seeing a lot of people coming down from London where they’ve bought their first house, or the dream house. This is their chance to put their own stamp on things,” he said.
Customers tend to be the younger, creative type – “people in the fashion world” – and between 25 and 35 years old. “It’s definitely a change,” Powell added.
But the avocado-coloured revival is not popular with everyone. Fewer than one in 20 people over 55 – those who lived through the avocado years – said they would choose it.
In the 1970s, hundreds of thousands of homes across the UK had an avocado green suite. It faded from interest in the 80s and now you would be hard pressed to find one in a standard bathroom store.
The return of the green bathroom is not limited to the fixtures, Wickes found. The green theme is applied using furniture, tiles and paint. “From gorgeous bathroom tiles … to bold baths or basins … the avo revival gives a more subtle nod to the most infamous look from the bathroom archives,” it said.
The renewed love for the avocado colour could be put down to “the 70s being back on trend” and growing appreciation of green as a neutral colour, said Annie Sloan, a colour and paint expert and founder of Chalk Paint. “From dark emerald to soft sage green, we are seeing green everywhere from walls to kitchen units, to furniture and bathrooms.
“Green is a perfect neutral that, just as in nature, goes with every other colour so an avocado suite will work with red and pink complementary tones for a cosy effect as well as blues and whites for a fresh contemporary look.”
She added that “earthy paint colours” and organic materials were on trend and green worked well with a palette of soft beiges, warm browns, paprikas and muted pinks. “These warm tones are perfect for a bathroom but used against a white suite, can make it look rather cold and clinical.”
Elizabeth Taylor, the director of Discontinued Bathrooms, which stocks more than 90 colours of sinks, toilets, baths and shower trays, echoed this sentiment. “People really like the traditional art deco style, so they want to have an art deco traditional bathroom, but they want it in one of the bright, fun colours,” she said.
Did the comeback of avocado green come as a surprise to Powell? “I always thought there was a chance, because when the avocado was popular, it was selling way more than all of the other colours they were making at that time put together. And I think it’s got a nice, calming and very natural tone to it.
“They always say things come back around. We’ve been waiting 40 years for this one to come back around.”
