Knowing what types of designs and products are popular with homeowners can help you plan projects and understand your clients’ motivations better. That’s why we at Houzz are continually staying on top of trends through surveys and other research. Here we present some highlights from our latest report, the 2024 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends study, based on survey responses from more than 3,400 homeowners on Houzz.
1. A Return to Open Spaces
Creating separation naturally became more popular during the COVID pandemic, with only 38% of homeowners opening up their kitchens to other interior spaces in 2022 versus 53% in 2019. But now we’re seeing a gradual shift back to the open concept: 40% of homeowners went this route in 2023, and 43% are doing or planning to do so in 2024.
“We’re seeing a return to more open-concept spaces following a brief drop in interest during the pandemic, when people sought separation and privacy from other household members,” Houzz staff economist Marine Sargsyan says. “Creating a more open kitchen appeals to homeowners for both functional and aesthetic reasons, but doing so may impact the project’s overall budget, requiring more technical changes, such as modifying walls and changing the layout.”
2. Service Providers Are Being Hired More Often
Overall, the share of homeowners hiring professionals to help renovate their kitchens remains at 84%, the same as in 2023. However, perhaps as a result of wanting to modify walls and change layouts to an open concept, homeowners are hiring certain service providers at higher rates. In 2024, the rates stand at 55% for general contractors, 35% for cabinetmakers, 25% for kitchen designers and 16% for interior designers, versus 50%, 32%, 22% and 15%, respectively, in 2023.
Given the uptick in cabinetmaker hiring, it’s not surprising that the preference for custom and semi-custom cabinets has risen as well. Among homeowners renovating their kitchens in 2024, 35% are opting for semi-custom cabinets, versus 31% in 2023, and 45% are going for fully custom cabinets, versus 44% in 2023. The share choosing stock cabinets has dropped by 4%.
3. Complex Projects Are More Frequent
Another reason certain service providers are being hired more frequently is likely the increase in frequency of complex projects. For instance, the percentage of renovating homeowners who are modifying kitchen walls (39%) and completely changing the kitchen’s location (7%) grew by 3 points each year over year. Additionally, 45% of homeowners are changing the kitchen’s layout and 43% are changing kitchen systems. The latter share is up by 2 percentage points.
4. Sustainability Remains a Top Priority
The vast majority of homeowners (91%) incorporate sustainable features during a kitchen renovation. The four most popular product types are LED bulbs (67%), energy-efficient appliances (62%) timeless design (47%), and light dimmers (47%, up by 4 percentage points). While water-efficient fixtures are down by 2 percentage points, they’re the fifth-most-popular choice (32%), followed by energy-efficient windows (28%).
The top reason for incorporating sustainable choices is that they’re cost-effective in the long run (71%), but 55% do so for environmental friendliness. In fact, 3% of renovating homeowners have hired or are hiring an eco-focused professional in 2024.
5. Durability Matters
Dovetailing with an interest in cost-conscious and sustainable choices, durability is one of the top two considerations for homeowners choosing a new countertop material (58%) and a new cabinet material (47%). The No. 1 consideration for both, however, is look and feel (73% and 80%, respectively). The factors in third place are cost of the cabinet material (40%, down by 4 percentage points) and ease of cleaning and sanitizing the countertop material (41%, up by 3 percentage points).
As for appliances, the top two considerations are functionality (69%, up by 5 percentage points) and quality (58%). But look/feel isn’t far behind, at 55%, and 22% of homeowners care about energy efficiency.
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