The already high cost to upgrade a kitchen continues to climb, according to remodeling resource Houzz, which just released its latest kitchen trend report.
According to the US Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, the average spending for a major kitchen remodel, in which cabinets and appliances are replaced, increased from 10% to 14% in mid-2021 compared to 2020.
A large remodel of a small kitchen costs $35,000, while homeowners with more than 250 square feet of space can pay $50,000 to improve a kitchen.
The cost of a modest kitchen remodel rose 25 percent to $10,000, said Houzz, an online resource with content by more than 2.7 million home remodeling and design professionals, including kitchen and bathroom remodelers, kitchen and bathroom designers, architects and general contractors. Huh.
The study showed that the cost has increased for the fourth year in a row. During the coronavirus pandemic, labor shortages and tariff- and pandemic-induced spikes in the prices of products and materials led to a jump in spending.
However, despite rising expenses, people are investing in the busiest room in the house. The kitchen island is now seven feet tall and has become a favorite study and work-from-home place.
Homeowners splurge on engineered quartz and granite counters, designer light fixtures and a beverage fridge within reach, according to a survey of nearly 2,400 homeowners and Houzz users who are planning or recently completed a kitchen renovation. .
Marine Sargsyan, senior economist at HOUSE, said in a statement that major changes are being made to the layout, systems and walls of the kitchen, which is a task beyond the skills of most homeowners.
Sargsyan said hiring licensed home professionals such as general contractors, cabinet makers, kitchen designers and interior designers is the highest rate in four years.
Among homeowners looking to change their floor plan, the L-shaped layout is the most popular (40%), followed by the U-shaped (31%) and the galley style with two facing walls (13%). . One in 10 homeowners renovating renovates the kitchen ceiling.
A surprising dip: Far fewer people than in the past three years are removing interior walls to open up their kitchens or making access to exterior space easier by installing double doors or a row of doors.
Nearly half of the homeowners surveyed started their own project because of the money to eventually improve their kitchens. Another strong motivation was that their old kitchen was in disrepair and in need of repair.
If you’re dreaming of replacing your kitchen with new counters or cabinets, or planning to build a new floor-to-ceiling kitchen, or if you’re just looking for new paint colors, here at US Hodge Kitchen Glimpses of trends are given. Study:
Enlon Custom Homes and Tiffany Thompson of Duet Interiors designed a Scandinavian-inspired farmhouse for the 2021 NW Natural Street of Dreams.Mark Graves/The Oregonian
According to the Hauz study, the transitional style, which works well in most homes, remains the top choice for renovated kitchens, up 25% from 21% last year.
The contemporary style has overtaken modern as the second most popular pick, and the farmhouse look is chosen by one of 10 kitchen renovators, a drop of two percentage points from last year and from its peak of 14% in 2019. and has decreased.
White continues to lead the way for kitchen cabinets, backsplashes and walls (41%, 40% and 32%), respectively. The most common alternative to white is gray, with 27% of renovating homeowners painting kitchen walls gray, 13% installing gray floors and 11% opting for a gray backsplash.
Splashes of color are still visible, with 20% of renovating homeowners choosing a multicolored backsplash and 6% choosing blue.
Hodge Design experts said that kitchen island cabinetry blue, black and green paint colors bring visual interest when contrasted with white cabinets.
Stained or unstained hardwood is the most popular kitchen flooring material among home renovators. According to the Houzz survey, hardwood floors are installed 25% of the time.
Vinyl or resilient flooring, however, continues its climb for the third year in a row, nearly doubling in popularity from 2019 to 23% and overtaking ceramic and porcelain tile (19%), which declined five percentage points, from which it fell. From first place to third place.
This model home at The Pacific Peak in Pleasant Valley Village features stainless-steel appliances.
Appliances are the second most common feature homeowners spend during a kitchen renovation.
For appliance finishes, standard stainless is the overwhelming favorite, with nearly three out of four renovating homeowners choosing this option, up three percentage points from last year.
More than a third of advanced equipment includes high-tech features. The most popular are wireless and smartphone controls. Color touch-screen displays are also gaining popularity.
When it comes to electronic upgrades, charging stations are still almost equally popular (41% and 40%, respectively), alongside Alexa and Google Home Assistant, while kitchen tablets outperformed stereo systems (17% versus 10%). left behind.
Nearly one in five homeowners are adding a beverage refrigerator to their renovated kitchen and 14% are adding a wine refrigerator. This may be linked to an increase in homeowners who use their kitchens for entertaining (56%), up four percentage points from the previous year.
This year, homeowners are also adding smaller appliances to their kitchens, with coffee makers (21%), air fryers (15%) and food storage containers (15%) being the most popular.
Other small appliances that make cooking and food easier and featured in advanced kitchens include toaster ovens (12%), blenders (10%) and slow cookers (10%).
Countertops are the most common feature during a kitchen renovation. They were upgraded by more than nine out of 10 homeowners and more than a third reportedly fell apart on these very visible surfaces.
The study showed that surveyed homeowners opted for materials based on look and feel, durability and ease of cleaning, rather than cost.
Engineered quartz and granite are the most popular countertop materials (42% and 24%, respectively).
More than one in five renovated homeowners who choose an island countertop material as opposed to their primary countertops, more than a third choose butcher block or a slab of wood.
Aesthetically, homeowners increasingly choose white for their countertops during renovations (39%), followed by multicolored (24%). Gray seems to be falling out of favor, with only 12% of renovating homeowners opting for it, down from 15% in 2020.
“It’s clear that despite rising prices for labor, products, and materials, homeowners are willing to spend a little more to get exactly what’s in countertops that are both beautiful and practical,” Sargsyan said.
As for the backsplash, ceramic or porcelain tile dominated 56%, in line with levels for the past four years.
Marble is the second most popular kitchen backsplash material, chosen by 11% of renovated homeowners and up two percentage points from last year.
Engineered Quartz takes third place at 9%.
Continuing last year’s trend, most homeowners who upgrade a backsplash extend it from the countertop to an upper cabinet or range hood (66%). Yet, about one in five partially covers the same area.
One in 10 renovating homeowners move from countertop to ceiling backsplash.
Of the 94% of homeowners who renovate, who either replace all kitchen cabinets (65%) or partially replace kitchen cabinets (29%) as part of a kitchen renovation, the majority is the primary cabinet material. Selects solid wood as the (76%). It is followed by plywood (20%) and medium-density fiberboard (14%), the survey showed.
While most homeowners choose the material based on look and feel (78%) and durability (52%), two of the top three reasons for choosing their new cabinet material are two.
Shaker-style cabinet doors are gaining ground, with 64% of renovating homeowners opting for it for upgraded cabinetry, up eight percentage points from last year.
Flat-panel cabinets remain a distant second (17%), followed by raised-panel (13%), both dropping by four percentage points. More than two out of five kitchen renovators choose custom cabinetry and more than one in three opt for semi-custom.
For main kitchen cabinets, white is again the most popular color (41%), as of 2021. After medium-tone wood, gray holds steady in third place (10%), followed by multicolored (8%) and light wood. (7%).
The trend continues to add built-in specialty organizers to cabinets. More than half of homeowners who renovate add organizers for cookie sheets or trays, which is in line with the previous year.
Deep Drawer, however, made strong gains, and is now chosen by 40% of those surveyed who have upgraded their cabinets.
Utensil organizers are also popular, chosen by 35% of renovators.
The most common specialty drawer pullouts remain waste or recycling options (63%), but both cutlery drawers and pull or swing-out drawers are growing in popularity. Now they are chosen by 40% and 38% of renovators respectively.
The Pacific Peak model home in Pleasant Valley Villages was designed with an island in the kitchen.
The kitchen island has become increasingly important for activities other than cooking: more than half of renovated homeowners use it primarily for entertaining, and nearly half use it primarily for socializing.
Homeowners are making room for islands, which are getting taller. About two of the five islands are more than seven feet long. The space is bright with most people installing new light fixtures above the island.
Unsurprisingly, given the pandemic-related changes in work arrangements, working is the top activity for one in five people on the island.
The most common island shape is rectangular (78%). The rectangular and square islands together make up 84% of the advanced islands. Demand for U-shaped islands declined to 4% this year, up from 6% last year.
More than half of renovated homeowners either upgrade or add an island, while nearly two in five still have no island.
The island is a common place to add kitchen storage; The most common storage types are cabinets with doors and drawers (74%). Open shelving is less popular this year.
Using a cabinet color or cabinet door style on the island that contrasts with the main cabinets is increasingly popular.
Light illuminates the kitchen in a Red Hills Construction Northwest-style home designed by Rebecca Dennis of Greylin Wayne. Mark Graves/The Oregonian
According to the Hodge survey, more sinks, faucets, light fixtures and interior doors are also being upgraded this year than last year.
Among homeowners looking to upgrade to kitchen light fixtures, pendant lights have made strong gains in popularity, with 57% choosing them. More than one in five homeowners choose a chandelier for kitchen lighting.
Under-cabinet lights and recessed lights continue to compete for the top spot (67% and 66%, respectively).
For island-top lights, 39% of homeowners renovating install two fixtures, followed closely by three (36%). One in 10 people turn on four or more lights.
Most people who upgrade their kitchens report that they added new decor or furnishings to the space. The most popular new additions are bar stools, followed by wall art (48%) and window coverings (38%).
Almost one in three homeowners add plants or greenery to a new kitchen space, similar to the bathroom renovation trend.
— Edited by Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072
jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman
