Knowing what types of designs and products are popular with homeowners can help you plan your project and better understand your customers' motivations. Houzz stays on top of the latest trends through surveys and other research. Here are highlights from our latest report, “2024 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study,” based on survey responses from more than 3,400 Houzz homeowners.
1. Return to open spaces
Creating partitions has naturally become more common during the COVID pandemic, with just 38% of homeowners opening up their kitchen to other interior spaces in 2022, down from 53% in 2019. However, we are now seeing a gradual return to open concepts, with 40% of homeowners taking this route in 2023 and 43% doing so or planning to do so in 2024.
“After a temporary waning of interest during the pandemic as people sought separation and privacy from other households, we're seeing a return to open-concept spaces,” says Marine Sarkissian, staff economist at Houzz. “Creating a more open kitchen can be appealing to homeowners from both a functional and aesthetic standpoint, but doing so can impact the overall project budget and require more technical modifications, such as remodeling walls or changing the layout.”
2. Service provider adoption is on the rise
Overall, the share of homeowners who hire a professional to renovate their kitchen remains the same as in 2023 at 84%. However, whether it's a desire to remodel walls or change the layout to an open concept, homeowners are hiring certain service providers at higher rates: 55% for general contractors, 35% for cabinet makers, 25% for kitchen designers, and 16% for interior designers in 2024, up from 50%, 32%, 22%, and 15%, respectively, in 2023.
Given the employment growth for cabinet makers, it's not surprising to see a growing preference for custom and semi-custom cabinets as well. Among homeowners renovating their kitchens in 2024, 35% will choose semi-custom cabinets, up from 31% in 2023. And 45% will choose fully custom cabinets, down from 44% in 2023. The percentage choosing stock cabinets is down 4%.
3. Complex projects occur frequently
Another reason why certain service providers are being hired more frequently is the increasing frequency of complex projects. For example, the percentage of homeowners remodeling to change the walls in their kitchen (39%) or completely change the location of their kitchen (7%) is growing by 3 percentage points every year. Additionally, 45% of homeowners are changing the layout of their kitchen and 43% are changing their kitchen systems; the latter percentage is growing by 2 percentage points.
4. Sustainability remains a top priority
The majority of homeowners (91%) are incorporating sustainable features when renovating their kitchen. The four most popular product types are LED light bulbs (67%), energy-efficient appliances (62%), timeless design (47%), and light dimmers (47%, up 4 points). Water-saving fixtures dropped 2 points but remain the fifth most popular choice (32%), followed by energy-efficient windows (28%).
The top reason for incorporating sustainable options is because it's cost-effective in the long run (71%), but 55% do so because of environmental concerns. In fact, 3% of homeowners who are renovating have hired or plan to hire a green professional in 2024.
5. Durability is key
Combined with cost consciousness and interest in sustainable choices, durability is one of the top two factors considered by homeowners choosing new countertop materials (58%) and new cabinet materials (47%). However, the top factor for both is look and feel (73% and 80%, respectively). The third most common factor is the cost of the cabinet material (40%, down 4 points) and the ease of cleaning and disinfecting the countertop material (41%, up 3 points).
When it comes to appliances, functionality (69%, up 5 points) and quality (58%) are the top two considerations, but look and feel are not far behind at 55%, and 22% of homeowners care about energy efficiency.
Download the full 2024 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study.
