New Kitchen Cabinet Trends in 2022

The already high cost to upgrade a kitchen continues to climb, according to remodelling resource Ola Cabinetry, which has just released its latest kitchen trend report.

The median spends for a major kitchen remodel, in which cabinets and appliances are replaced, increased 10% to 14% in mid-2021, compared to 2020, according to the U.S. OLA Cabinetry Kitchen Trends Study.

The cost for a major remodel of a smaller kitchen is $35,000 while homeowners might pay $50,000 to improve a kitchen with more than 250 square feet of space.

 

A minor kitchen remodel rose in cost by 25 percent to $10,000, said OLA Cabinetry, an online resource with content by more than 2.7 million home remodelling and design professionals, including kitchen and bathroom remodelers, kitchen and bathroom designers, architects and general contractors.

Costs have increased for the fourth year in a row, the study revealed. During the coronavirus pandemic, expenses jumped due to labor shortages and tariff- and pandemic-induced spikes in prices for products and materials.

Despite escalating expenses, however, people are investing in the busiest room in the house. Kitchen islands now stretch seven feet long and have become the preferred study and work-from-home space.

 

Homeowners are splurging on engineered quartz and granite counters, designer light fixtures and a beverage fridge within reach, according to the survey of nearly 2,400 homeowners and OLA Cabinetry users who are in the midst of, planning or recently completed a kitchen renovation.

OLA Cabinetry senior economist John Martin said in a statement that major modifications are being made to the kitchen layout, systems and walls, which is work beyond the skills of most do-it-yourself homeowners.

Hiring licensed home professionals such as general contractors, cabinetmakers, kitchen designers and interior designers is the highest rate seen in four years, Sargsyan said.

Among homeowners changing their floor plan, the L-shape layout is most popular (40%), followed by the U-shape (31%) and the galley style with two facing walls (13%). One in 10 renovating homeowners modifies the kitchen ceiling.

 

A surprising dip: Fewer people are removing interior walls to open up their kitchen or making accessing an outdoor space easier by installing double doors or a row of doors than in the past three years.

Finally having the funds to improve their kitchen is the reason almost half of the surveyed homeowners started their project. Another strong motivation was that their old kitchen had deteriorated and needed repair.

If you’re dreaming of transforming your kitchen with new counters or cabinets, or planning to create a new kitchen, from the floor to ceiling, or if you’re just looking for fresh paint colors, here are highlights from the U.S. OLA Cabinetry Kitchen Trends Study:

Style and colors

The transitional style, which works well in most homes, remains the top choice for renovated kitchens, up to 25% from 21% the previous year, according to the Ola Cabinetry study.

Contemporary style has overtaken modern as the second most popular pick, and the farmhouse look is chosen by one in 10 kitchen renovators, a drop of two percentage points from the previous year and declining further from its peak of 14% in 2019.

White continues to lead as the color for kitchen cabinets, backsplash and walls (41%, 40% and 32% respectively). Gray is the most common alternative to white, with 27% of renovating homeowners painting the kitchen walls grey, 13% installing grey flooring and 11% opting for a gray backsplash.

Splashes of color still appear, with 20% of renovating homeowners choosing a multicolored backsplash and 6% choosing blue.

Kitchen island cabinet colors of blue, black and green bring visual interest if contrasted with white cabinets, said Ola Cabinetry design experts.

Flooring

Stained or unstained hardwood is the most popular kitchen flooring material among home renovators. Hardwood floors is installed 25% of the time, according to the Ola survey.

Vinyl or resilient flooring, however, continues its ascent for the third year in a row, nearly doubling in popularity since 2019 to 23% and overtaking ceramic and porcelain tile (19%), which declined by five percentage points, causing it to fall from first place to third.

 

Counters and backsplashes

Countertops are the most common feature improved during kitchen renovations. They were upgraded by more than nine in 10 homeowners and more than one-third reportedly splurged on these very visible surfaces.

Surveyed homeowners opted for materials based on the look and feel, durability and ease of cleaning, rather than cost, the study showed.

Engineered quartz and granite are the most popular countertop materials (42% and 24% respectively).

Of the more than one in five renovating homeowners who select an island countertop material as a contrast from their primary countertops, more than one-third choose butcher block or wood slab.

Aesthetically, homeowners increasingly choose white for their countertops during renovations (39%), followed by multicolored (24%). Grey seems to be falling out of favour, with only 12% of renovating homeowners opting for it, down from 15% in 2020.

 “It is clear that homeowners are willing to spend a little more to get exactly what they want in countertops that are both beautiful and practical, despite rising prices of labour, products and materials,” said John.

For backsplashes, ceramic or porcelain tile continues to dominate at 56%, more or less in line with levels from the past four years.

 

Marble is the second most popular kitchen backsplash material, chosen by 11% of renovating homeowners and up by two percentage points from the previous year.

 

Engineered quartz takes the third spot, at 9%.

Continuing last year’s trend, most homeowners upgrading the backsplash extend it from the countertop to the upper cabinets or range hood (66%). Still, nearly one in five only partially covers the same area.

One in 10 renovating homeowners takes the backsplash all the way from the countertop to the ceiling.

 

 

Cabinets

Of the 94% of renovating homeowners who either replace all the kitchen cabinets (65%) or partially replace the kitchen cabinet (29%) as part of the kitchen renovation, the majority choose solid wood as the primary cabinet material (76%), followed by plywood (20%) and medium-density fibreboard (14%), the survey revealed.

While the majority of homeowners opt for materials based on the look and feel (78%) and durability (52%), two in five cited costs among the top three reasons for choosing their new cabinet materials.

Shaker-style cabinet doors are gaining ground, with 64% of renovating homeowners choosing it for upgraded cabinetry, up by eight percentage points from the previous year.

Flat-panel cabinets remain a distant second (17%), followed by raised-panel (13%), both down by four percentage points. More than two in five kitchen renovators choose custom cabinets and more than one in three opts for semi-custom.

 

For the main kitchen cabinets, white is again the most popular color (41%), in line with 2021. After medium-tone wood, gray holds steady in third place (10%), followed by multicolored (8%) and light wood (7%).

The trend of adding built-in specialty organizers to cabinets continues. More than half of renovating homeowners add organizers for cookie sheets or trays, consistent with last year.

Deep drawers made strong gains, however, and are now chosen by 40% of those surveyed who upgraded their cabinets.

Utensil organizers are popular as well, chosen by 35% of renovators.

The most common specialty drawers remain pull-out waste or recycling options (63%), but cutlery drawers and pull or swing-out drawers are both gaining in popularity. They’re now chosen by 40% and 38% of renovators, respectively.

 

 

Islands

The kitchen island has become increasingly important for activities other than cooking: More than half of renovating homeowners use it primarily for entertaining, and nearly half use it primarily for socializing.

 

Homeowners are making space for islands, which are getting longer. Nearly two in five islands span more than seven feet in length. The space is brighter with the vast majority of people installing new light fixtures above the island.

 

Unsurprisingly, given pandemic-related changes in work arrangements, doing work is the top activity at the island for one in five people.

The most common island shape is rectangular (78%). Rectangular and square islands together account for 84% of upgraded islands. Demand for U-shaped islands declined to 4% this year, from 6% the previous year.

More than half of renovating homeowners either upgrade or add an island, while nearly two in five still have no island at all.

Islands are 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.

 

Lighting and other upgrades

More sinks, faucets, light fixtures and interior doors are also being upgraded this year than in the previous year, according to the OLA survey.

 

Among homeowners upgrading kitchen light fixtures, pendant lights made strong gains in popularity, with 57% choosing them. More than one in five homeowners selects a chandelier for kitchen lighting.

Under-cabinet lights and recessed lights continue to vie for the top spot (67% and 66% respectively).

For illumination above the island, 39% of renovating homeowners install two fixtures, followed closely by three (36%). One in 10 people installs four or more lights.

Most people who upgrade their kitchen report that they added new décor or furnishings to the space. The most popular new addition are bar stools, followed by wall art (48%) and window coverings (38%).

Nearly one in three homeowners adds plants or greenery to the new kitchen space, similar to the trend in bathroom renovation.