Houzz Inc., the leading platform for home renovation and design, including the all-in-one software solution for industry professionals, today released the 2024 UK Houzz Kitchen Trends Study. The survey of nearly 500 respondents found that homeowners are increasingly dedicating more space to their kitchens during renovations, with three in five homeowners making their kitchens bigger (60%; up 6 percentage points from 2023). A quarter of homeowners increased the total size of the room by more than half of the original size (25%). 

Interest in open-plan kitchens which can make the space feel larger is also strong. More than two in five homeowners make their kitchen more open to nearby rooms as part of their renovations (45%) and a third opt for a completely open-plan design with no wall separations (33%). Kitchens are becoming more open to the outdoors (46%), most often via a set of double doors or a row of doors (39%). 

“Creating a bigger and 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,” said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz staff economist. “We’re seeing homeowners make significant structural updates during their kitchen renovations, such as layout or location changes, which require the expertise of professionals.”

Among renovating homeowners, 71% reconfigure the kitchen’s layout and 62% upgrade plumbing, electrical or heating systems. The share of renovating homeowners making other structural changes like modifying kitchen walls (43%) and moving the kitchen’s location (24%) both grew year on year (up 4% and 2%, respectively). Homeowners overwhelmingly turn to home professionals for assistance with these more technical projects. In fact, more than 9 in 10 homeowners rely on professional help during a kitchen renovation (93%). Tradespeople are the professionals most commonly hired for kitchen renovations (68%), followed by kitchen fitters and designers (51% and 50%, respectively). Hiring home builders for kitchen renovations rose 9 points during 2023 (40% compared to 31% the previous year).

Along with growing substantial structural changes to the kitchen, the median spend on kitchen renovations is up 8% from the previous year to £13,000. For large kitchens,* the median spend is £15,000 and for smaller kitchens this is £9,000. Despite these rising costs, homeowners are saving up for these projects, with 34% of renovating homeowners citing having financial means as a key motivator for starting their kitchen update, up 4 points year on year.

Additional insights from the 2024 UK Houzz Kitchen Trends Study include:

• Move over neutrals: Grey continues to be the most common cabinetry colour (19%), however, it dropped 2 points year over year. Similarly, white dropped 4 points this year (15%). Green cabinetry (16%) and unpainted medium wood (5%) saw the biggest rises, up 3% and 2%, respectively.
• High-tech appliances: Homeowners are increasingly opting for appliances with high-tech capabilities, showing a 9-point increase to 44%. More than a quarter of homeowners now choose appliances with Wi-Fi connectivity (27%, up from 18% in 2023) and some prefer those controllable via smartphones and tablets (23%, up from 17% in 2023).
• Motivated by the look and feel: How the material looks and feels is the most important factor when selecting cabinetry, flooring and worktops (82%, 78% and 71%, respectively). An upgraded kitchen being easy to clean and disinfect is less of a motivator for homeowners this year, dropping 4 points (38%). While it is still a popular motivator for selecting certain materials, the share of homeowners who upgrade their cabinetry, flooring and worktops (39%, 48% and 41%) based on this factor has dropped significantly (6%, 3%, 5%, respectively). 
• Brass fixtures on the rise: Brushed nickel continues to be the most popular finish for handles (22%), however, the share of homeowners opting for brass has doubled year on year (14%, compared to 7% in 2023), overtaking chrome (10%) as the second most popular choice.

You can download the full 2024 UK Houzz Kitchen Trends Study here.