Ideas for Kitchen Renovations

Since Covid, home improvement has been a ~ $400 billion industry, and growing.  And it’s no wonder.  Many people have been working from home throughout the Pandemic.  In addition, the housing market exploded, with low rates and short supply.  Thus, it makes sense that homeowners would rather remodel than try to find new homes.  Furthermore, the most popular home improvement projects, since 2020, have been landscaping, bathrooms, and kitchens.  Additionally, bathrooms and kitchens have had steady ROI in the past couple of years.  But the main focus of this article will be ideas for kitchen renovations.

According to Houzz’s annual report, what inspires 45% of homeowners to remodel their kitchens is the fact that they wanted to all along.  Except now they have the resources to do so.  This increased 5 percentage points from last year.  And was also the primary motivating factor then.

Ideas for Kitchen Renovations:

Most Popular Features

Compared to last year, more homeowners are updating their countertops, backsplashes, and sinks.  In fact, remodeling countertops is so popular, it was the upgrade chosen by 9 out of 10 homeowners.  Moreover 79% of homeowners “splurged”, or spent more than originally planned, on their kitchen renovations.  And the top three options, where homeowners spent more than intended, were countertops, appliances, and cabinets.

Also, kitchens opening to either indoor or outdoor spaces have been trending down since 2020.  However, most kitchens, that open to inside spaces, have no wall separation at all.  And the overall size of kitchens has been increasing as well.  For example, now 54% of renovated kitchens measure 200 square feet or more.

Island Updates

Kitchen islands remain in demand, with 57% of homeowners either adding one or upgrading an existing one.  And almost 40% of kitchen islands are now over 7 feet long.  Since they’re frequently used for storage, the most familiar storage types are cabinets with doors (picked by 78% of homeowners) and drawers (74%).  Also, the most popular island shape continues to be rectangular or square.

In addition, working at the kitchen island rose 4 percentage points from last year.  Although, it still remains the area that homeowners mainly use to entertain.

Style

Transitional style maintains the top spot for the third year in a row.  Furthermore, 25% of homeowners choose this, while contemporary replaces modern style for the number 2 spot.  And ~87% of homeowners disclose adding new furniture and accessories.  Bar stools, wall art, and window coverings are the three most popular decor choices.

Also, the color white still dominates the kitchen for the number one color chosen.  Whether it’s white walls, backsplashes, cabinets, and/or counters, white makes rooms feel and look bigger and more open.  And the runner-up is medium-tone wood for both cabinets and countertops.

Additionally, homeowners often choose opposing colors for both cabinets and countertops.  While blue remains the primary choice for opposing cabinet colors, white is still a popular choice for a contrasting color.  Although, medium-tone wood is gaining popularity at 11%.

Countertops

Engineered quartz continues to be the top ranking material for renovated kitchen countertops.  And granite stays as the second most popular option.  With that being said, both quartz and granite have declined in trendiness within the past two years.  Quartz fell 9 percentage points, while granite dropped 4.

Plus, only 22% of kitchen islands have opposing countertop colors compared to 1 in 4 last year.  In addition, butcher block remains the top contrasting material at 35%.  Similarly, engineered quartz takes the second most popular contrasting material at 26%, up 11 percentage points from last year.

Hiring Pros

This year witnessed an increased demand for every service provider listed, except architects.  And general contractors, cabinet makers, and kitchen designers all saw an increase of 4 percentage points from last year.  General contractors rose from 49% to 53%, while cabinet makers went from 27% last year to 31% this year.  And kitchen designers rose to 23%, from 19% last year.

Cabinet Upgrades

Over 90% of homeowners upgrade their kitchen cabinets in some form; either by replacing doors, all the cabinets, or only some cabinets.  Or they refinish the exterior or interior of the cabinets.  Furthermore, they might even add some extra cabinets.

Moreover most homeowners replacing cabinets choose solid wood.  And almost 80% of those renovating their kitchens pick custom or semi-custom cabinets.

Whereas the majority of homeowners elect materials based on the look and feel and durability, over 40% indicated that cost was one of the top factors for their choice.

Appliances

Stainless steel is the most popular color for appliances, with refrigerators/freezers being the number one appliance upgraded.  Though, dishwashers and microwaves follow closely.  Likewise, homeowners are incorporating small appliances into their kitchens, like coffee makers, air fryers, and food storage containers.

In addition, 35% of homeowners reveal that, at a minimum, one updated appliance contains high-tech features.  And that’s up 6 percentage points from last year.  What’s more, the most common high-tech attributes are wireless smartphone and tablet controls.

Floors

Hardwood floors replace tile for the most popular flooring option this year.  While vinyl takes second place at 23%, tile dropped in popularity 5 percentage points from last year.  Though, it’s still the third most common flooring option at 19%.  In addition, wood remains the most common floor color at 51%.  And gray is 13%, dropping only one percentage point from last year.

To Summarize

In conclusion, some of the trends are on par with last year.  For example, the main reason why people remodel their kitchens and the color white being so popular.  However, some of the fads changed completely.  For instance, vinyl flooring replaced tile, knocking it to third place.

I hope this clarified some things for you.  And if you need help with your kitchen renovations, please give us a call; we’d be happy to help.