October DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsSlow PC?RecommendedPC slow today? Run a repair scan before it gets worseResolve common Windows issues and optimize system performance.Scan NowOctober DealsAmazon USDeal season is back - check today's better picksAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.See Picks×
Skip to content
ThatPainter
avocado bathroom

Avocado Bathrooms Are Back: How to Use the 1970s Green Today

Avocado green is again appearing in bathroom design conversations. Here’s what the survey evidence actually shows—and how to bring the colour into a room, from easy-to-change accessories to a coloured bath.

By ThatPainter Team 4 min read
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More

Avocado-green bathrooms are drawing fresh interest, but “back” describes a design conversation—not proof that homeowners everywhere are reinstalling matching green suites. In a 2024 Wickes survey, 27% of British homeowners aged 25–34 chose avocado as their preferred colour for a bathroom upgrade. For a modern take, use it as a considered accent or focal point, then decide how much colour your room can carry.

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
#1 Best Overall
Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint, 4 Fl Oz (Pack of 1), Avocado
  • Whether you are restoring, customizing or completely revamping, this leather paint the perfect way to transform boots, jackets, athletic shoes, purses and more
  • Water-based
  • Non-toxic
  • Easy to clean up

Are avocado bathrooms back in fashion?

There is evidence of renewed interest in coloured bathroom fixtures and retro palettes, though not of a widespread return to avocado installations. The Guardian’s 2023 account of the style’s history describes avocado as one of the more muted colours that followed earlier pastel bathroom suites; coloured fixtures had once signalled individuality and modernity before white became dominant. The Guardian’s history of the avocado bathroom suite puts the revival in that context.

A Wickes Great Bathroom Report survey, conducted in 2024, found that 27% of surveyed British homeowners aged 25–34 selected avocado as the colour they would most like to use in a bathroom upgrade. PerthNow reported that Wickes polled 2,115 homeowners and consulted 700 design consultants. These figures describe stated preferences in a retailer survey, not completed renovations or all homeowners. PerthNow’s report on the Wickes survey also quotes design historian Professor Deborah Sugg Ryan calling avocado green bathrooms an unmistakable 1970s look.

Rank #2
THE ONE All-In-One Paint & Primer - Sage Green Matte, 8.5 Fl Oz/250ml | 1 Coat Formula | Easy Indoor & Outdoor Decorating for Home & Garden Walls, Floors & Furniture | Water-Based & Low VOC
  • ALL-IN-1 PAINT & PRIMER: A hardy multi-purpose and multi-surface one-coat paint and primer in one for almost any indoor or outdoor surface. A wall, ceiling, floor, skirting board, cabinet, furniture and door paint for your bathroom, kitchen, home and garden.
  • DURABLE & VERSATILE: A highly pigmented, thick formula available in 12 bold colours and a Matte, Satin or Gloss finish. Ideal for interior and exterior paint jobs on wood, laminate, plastic/UPVC, metal, concrete, brick, masonry, stone, glass and more.
  • EFFECTIVE MONEY & TIME SAVER: A quick painting solution for DIY or professional builders and painters; our luxuriously opaque formula requires just 1 coat and is fast drying for a premium finish.
  • ADVANCED ECO FORMULA: Our UK-made chalk paint is water-based, non-toxic, low odour, and has low VOCs for an environmentally friendly decorating choice.
  • EASY APPLICATION: Remove dirt with a damp cloth, wipe the surface clean and dry, sand/score the surface (optional based upon the finish required), stir to mix the colour and paint with a brush or roller.

Why the colour can work in a modern bathroom

Avocado can read as a warm, earthy green rather than a novelty when it is balanced with materials and colours that suit the room. The key choice is visual intensity: a single green focal point against quieter surroundings feels restrained, while multiple saturated colours, patterns and green surfaces create a more maximalist scheme. Neither approach is inherently more current; they make different moods.

Design coverage offers both directions. Livingetc discusses avocado-green baths and tile features, along with quieter pairings, while Woman & Home quotes BC Designs’ design director Barrie Cutchie advocating a subtle interpretation of the trend. Livingetc’s avocado bathroom ideas and Woman & Home’s styling advice treat the colour as something that can be adapted rather than copied wholesale from a period bathroom.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Rank #3
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint, 2-Ounce, Avocado
  • This product is Non-toxic
  • Highly pigmented
  • Excellent coverage in one coat
  • Smooth and creamy
  • Intermixable

Choose your level of commitment

Before choosing paint, tile or sanitaryware, consider two things: how easy the change will be to reverse, and how much of the room you want the colour to command.

Approach Commitment and reversibility How to use avocado Visual effect
Accessories Low commitment; easy to swap Try towels, a bath mat or small bathroom accessories in green. A small colour test against the existing room.
Tile feature Mid-level commitment; changing it later involves renovation Use avocado or pale green tile on one wall or in the shower area, with other surfaces kept neutral. A defined green zone without a full-room scheme.
Coloured fixture Higher commitment; replacing a bath or sanitaryware is a larger change Make a coloured bath or another green fixture the focal point, and use quieter walls or natural materials around it. A strong period-inspired feature with room to breathe.
Maximalist scheme High commitment if it includes permanent finishes Combine avocado with bolder colours such as pink or mustard, or add pattern. A more expressive, layered look.

These are design routes, not performance-tested rules. Ideal Home suggests using accessories to try the colour, while Livingetc discusses tiles and coloured sanitaryware as ways to bring it into a bathroom. Ideal Home’s avocado bathroom styling ideas includes small accessory examples; check current product listings and availability before buying.

Rank #4
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint, 2-Ounce, Light Avocado
  • This product is Non-toxic
  • Highly pigmented
  • Excellent coverage in one coat
  • Smooth and creamy
  • Intermixable
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

How to modernise an avocado bathroom with paint and colour

Start with a reversible colour test

If you are unsure, try green through towels, a bath mat or another small accessory before committing to a painted surface or fixture. A small test also helps you see how the existing floor, tiles and lighting affect the green. Ideal Home presents accessories as a lower-commitment way to experiment with avocado.

Use painted walls to control the balance

In a bathroom that already has an avocado bath or basin, paint can give the old fixture a deliberate setting: choose quieter wall colours and let the sanitaryware remain the focal point. If the fixtures are neutral, a painted wall can introduce green without reproducing a full matching suite. Keep the palette coherent with the room’s existing tile and wood tones; the aim is to make the green look intentional, not to match every surface.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Best Value
Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint-1 oz.- Avocado Green
  • Brilliant paints perfect for decorating and staining smooth leather, vinyl or anything permeable
  • Will not peel, crack or rub-off when fully dry while remaining flexible
  • Water based for easy clean up
  • Can be used for mesh, cotton and laces when mixed with 2-Thin
  • Mixing with Angelus Duller will dull the finish for a soft, matte look

Pair green with the mood you want

Warm wood and neutrals offer a calmer, more contemporary-feeling interpretation. Pink, mustard and pattern push the room toward a bolder, more eclectic direction. Livingetc and Woman & Home describe both restrained and more colourful styling possibilities, so treat these combinations as options rather than a single prescription.

What the comeback claim does—and does not—show

The available reporting supports renewed interest in retro colour and coloured sanitaryware, plus a preference among a portion of younger British homeowners surveyed by Wickes. It does not establish that avocado bathrooms are returning across every age group or region, or that survey preferences have turned into completed installations. The best-supported takeaway is practical: avocado is a viable design choice again for some people, and it can be introduced in a way that suits the room and your appetite for commitment.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint, 4 Fl Oz (Pack of 1), Avocado
Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint, 4 Fl Oz (Pack of 1), Avocado
Water-based; Non-toxic; Easy to clean up
$9.95
Bestseller No. 3
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint, 2-Ounce, Avocado
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint, 2-Ounce, Avocado
This product is Non-toxic; Highly pigmented; Excellent coverage in one coat; Smooth and creamy
$7.49
Bestseller No. 4
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint, 2-Ounce, Light Avocado
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint, 2-Ounce, Light Avocado
This product is Non-toxic; Highly pigmented; Excellent coverage in one coat; Smooth and creamy
$7.46
Bestseller No. 5
Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint-1 oz.- Avocado Green
Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint-1 oz.- Avocado Green
Will not peel, crack or rub-off when fully dry while remaining flexible; Water based for easy clean up
$9.98

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

More from the Paint Desk

Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You DownFree scan - exact matches
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.