Grays, mixed metals, and farmhouse styles are some of the most popular trends for remodelers taking on sprucing up their master bathroom.

The 2018 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study is based on a survey of more than 1,100 homeowners who are planning or recently have completed a master bathroom renovation. Some of the trends that emerged from the report:

1. Seeing gray: Gray colors continue to dominate for walls and flooring in the bathroom. Gray cabinets are also gaining popularity, climbing from a 10 percent share in 2016 to 16 percent in 2018.

2. Taking the upgrade: More homeowners are upgrading their master bathrooms with special features when they remodel. The most popular premium features are dual showers, one-piece toilets, vessel sinks, and built-in vanities.

3. Mixing up the metals: Two in five renovating homeowners do not match metal finishes across fixtures and hardware in master bathrooms. Of the 58 percent of renovating homeowners who do match metal finishes, the most popular options are matte nickel and polished chrome (38 and 28 percent, respectively).

4. Going a little country: Farmhouse styles are jumping in popularity. While contemporary style continue to be the leading choice among renovating homeowners, the style has dropped over the past three years. Farmhouse style, on the other hand, has more than doubled in popularity, from 3 percent in 2016 to 7 percent in 2018.

5. Making it accessible: The majority of baby boomer homeowners (ages 55 or older) are addressing aging-related needs during master bathroom renovations. Nearly half of renovating baby boomers are changing the bathroom layout, and one-third are removing the bathtub. Other upgrades include installing accessibility features like seats, low curbs, grab bars, and non-slide floors in upgraded showers and bathtubs.

6. Building a master suite: The study found that homeowners are focusing on their master suite as a whole, not just the bathroom in their updates. Nearly half of master bathroom projects also were accompanied by master bedroom renovations (46 percent). Some homeowners are making their master baths even larger than their bedroom. One in ten master bathrooms is the same size or larger than the master bedroom (11 percent).

Mortgage rates were on the rise this week, and as a result, home buyers faced higher borrowing costs. The 30-year fixed rate rose to its highest average in seven years, averaging 4.94 percent this week, Freddie Mac reports.

“The economy continued to show resilience as strong business activity and the growth in employment” drove mortgage rates higher, says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Higher mortgage rates have led to a slowdown in national home price growth, but the price deceleration has been primarily concentrated in affluent coastal markets such as California and the state of Washington. The more affordable interior markets—which have not yet experienced a slowdown home price growth—may see price growth start to moderate and affordability squeezed if mortgage rates continue to march higher.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for the week ending Nov. 8:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.94 percent, with an average 0.5 point, increasing from last week’s 4.83 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.90 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.33 percent, with an average 0.5 point, increasing from last week’s 4.23 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.24 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 4.14 percent, with an average 0.3 point, increasing from last week’s 4.04 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.22 percent.

The Federal Reserve voted on Thursday to keep its key interest rate on hold, but signaled that rate hikes and tightened borrowing costs are likely on the horizon.

The Fed kept its benchmark target for rates unchanged in the 2 percent to 2.25 percent range. The Fed’s rate does not directly influence mortgage rates but does tend to have an effect.

“The labor market has continued to strengthen and … economic activity has been rising at a strong rate,” the U.S. central bank said in a statement. The Fed’s only note of caution on the economy was that growth in business investment had moderated in the third quarter. But inflation remains near the 2 percent target.

The Fed, which has already increased rates by one-quarter point three times this year, indicated that its next rate hike will likely be in December.

“Interestingly, there was no mention of the softer housing data,” Michelle Meyer, U.S. economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a note about the Fed’s report. “Moreover, there was no mention of the sell-off in the stock market in October, which implies that Fed officials were largely willing to shrug it off.”

The popularity of ride-sharing services and the coming of driverless cars paints a picture of garages disappearing from American homes. But we’re not there yet. Americans are still mostly dependent on their cars, and that means homeowners crave garage space—a lot of it.

In fact, the majority of homeowners want space in their garages to accommodate two or more cars, Jenni Lantz, DesignLends manager for John Burns Real Estate Consulting, told home building industry magazine BUILDER. The firm recently surveyed about 24,000 new-home shoppers across the country and almost none of them said they sought a home without a garage. “I don’t think we’re quite in the no-car garage space yet,” Lantz said.

Of the 795,000 new single-family homes built in 2017, 65 percent had two-car garages and only 6 percent had one-car garages, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In fact, the percentage of homes built with no garages has declined over the last decade, while homes built with two-car garages is one the rise.

Even households with only one adult or just one car are favoring larger garages. Some desire a two-car garage or more for the additional storage, according to Mikaela Sharp, a John Burns consultant.

As the size of homes goes up, so does the number of garage spaces the homeowner tends to want. For example, 78.3 percent of homes between 2,000 to 2,399 square feet have a two-car garage, while only 15.2 percent of homes smaller than 1,200 square feet have two-car garages, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders. Certain regions show a higher desire for three-car garages or more. Researchers identified one region that includes Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, and the Dakotas as having the highest share of garage spaces at three or more. And in areas of the Southwest, such as in Texas, three-car garages are more popular than two-car garages.