Multipanel’s Elliott Fairlie – Why bathroom wall panels are an attractive proposition

Elliott Fairlie, product & marketing director at Multipanel, discusses the latest bathroom wall-panelling trends and reveals why alternatives to tiling are soaring in popularity.

Over the last few years, the wall panelling market has grown considerably and it’s a trend that is showing no sign of slowing down with the sector experiencing impressive growth year on year.

Without doubt, bathroom wall panelling is taking market share away from tiles as consumers, designers and installers alike become more aware of the practical, aesthetic and cost advantages that wall panelling provides. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that tiles are out of favour with consumers as wall panels that emulate the look of tiles – without any of the maintenance – are proving particularly popular.

It's why we have invested in our award-winning Tile Collection and extended it with the new XL Offset range. With the staggered tile trend continuing to go from strength-to-strength, we wanted to offer consumers and designers a beautiful bathroom wall panel that perfectly replicates the classic look of traditional brickwork-style tiling without any of the upkeep.

Providing a luxuriously modern style that minimises visible grout lines and creates a sleek, uninterrupted aesthetic, our new XL Offset range will enhance compact as well as larger bathrooms by bringing an expansive feel to any space.

We’ve thoughtfully designed the range to offer maximum flexibility for designers and to make it as quick and easy as possible to install, which is good news for retailers who are always looking to take on a greater volume of projects to maximise sales. 

To replicate the authentic offset tile effect, our panels come in ‘A’ and ‘B’ formats and are designed for alternate installation. Supplying the panels individually rather than in pairs really enhances their flexibility when planning layouts, particularly around features such as showers and taps.

With the addition of our XL Offset range, our Tile Collection now comes in 4 distinctive formats with our existing Large, Herringbone and Metro patterns all selling well for Multipanel.

As well as solid bold colours, we also offer modern neutrals, which can be mixed and matched, plus marble-effect and concrete-, wood-, granite- and quartz-inspired decors. Choice has become more important to consumers who are increasingly embracing the trend for more personalised bathroom designs, and our collections now come in a huge variety of beautifully curated decors to cater for all tastes.

We have also found that consumers are now much more clued up about what’s available in the market and being better educated has made them savvier too. While they want all the key components of a beautiful new bathroom, they are looking at ways to get the look for less. Bathroom wall panels, which replicate the look of tile, marble and stone but at a much lower price point, have become an incredibly attractive proposition, and we’re definitely seeing this reflected in sales at Multipanel.

Throughout the home, consumers are looking for low maintenance solutions and we believe this is also driving demand for our bathroom wall panels. Easy cleaning has become a real USP for time-strapped consumers who want the luxury of stylish yet easy-clean bathroom products.

There’s also a growing trend for panels in different dimensions, so we expect to see more choice in terms of size with half height panelling as well as taller panels to accommodate older properties, such as Victorian and Georgian homes, which tend to have higher ceilings. In line with this, we have just extended our Pure Collection by introducing panels in larger 2700mm formats for added design flexibility, especially in taller spaces.

Developments in design will also see more panels that emulate the look of wallpaper come onto the market with an even wider variety of decors set to be available. This will only boost the market further as bathroom wall panels continue to capture the imagination of consumers.