The decade known for excess was reflected in bath spaces boasting sunken tubs, glass-block walls, Hollywood bar lights and plants such as ferns.

By Donna Heiderstadt

As NKBA celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2023, we’re taking a retrospective look back at major kitchen and bath design trends over the seven decades since our founding. This week, we’re revisiting what happened in bath design in the decade best remembered for its financial excess, pop-cultural obsession and bigger-is-better ideology — 1989-1980 — as we continue to work backward in time until we highlight the top trends in the kitchen and bath spaces in the early 1960s.

1. Bulky, dresser-like vanities defined ’80s consumerism.

Everyone has stuff. But in the ’80s — a decade known for bold makeup and big hair — American women needed storage for all kinds of stuff related to their “girls just want to have fun” beauty routines: blow dryers, curling irons, hot rollers, aerosol hairspray, giant hair clips, rainbow-hued scrunchies, shimmery eye-shadows and countless lipstick tubes. The solution? The biggest, bulkiest bath vanities imaginable, typically in honey oak or dark-stained wood.

2.  Glass blocks created the decade’s most distinctive decor.

Another defining material of the decade was glass block, used predominantly to create a shower wall or a large window that let in streams of sunlight. While these translucent bricks added architectural interest to both large and small spaces, they also stamped a bath as “stuck in the ’80s.” Four decades later, however, glass blocks just might be staging a comeback as some designers are pairing them with modern tile and sleek fixtures.

3.  Sunken tubs, from jetted whirlpools to deep Japanese soakers, were all the rage.

Stepping down for a soak became the norm for some homeowners in the ’80s, as the decade’s most extravagant baths featured sunken tubs. Found mostly in the primary bath, these tubs were often round and jetted, evoking a certain type of adults-only fun. Some homeowners, however, took a more Zen approach, installing deep Japanese-style ofuro tubs designed for meditative soaking.

4. Plants, especially ferns, added a touch of green.

The concept of bath greenery may have sprouted in the late ’70s, but homeowners in the ’80s continued to love surrounding themselves with houseplants in the space. Ferns over the tub, or potted palms or philodendrons placed next to it, were particularly popular. With interest in biophilic design on the rise, plants in the bath are catching on once again in the 2020s.

5. Full wall mirrors and Hollywood bar lights were a bold combo.

Lights, camera, action. The Hollywood bar light — an oblong panel of chrome or oak lined with five or six oversized round white bulbs — caught on big time in the ’80s, especially when installed above a full wall mirror that spanned the sink area. With such a setup, women in the ’80s could feel just like the era’s TV icons Suzanne Somers and Heather Locklear.