The kitchen draws family and friends for meals and conversation, which is why homeowners put so much effort into making it functional, comfortable, and their own. A survey of more than 3,600 respondents conducted for the 2023 U.S. Kitchen Trends Study asked homeowners and home professionals what they actually want from kitchen space, and the answers cover everything from sustainable materials to open floor plans. The findings give anyone planning a remodel a useful baseline. Before you order a single cabinet, check where the category is heading, including green kitchen cabinetry and design trends that have moved from niche to mainstream.
Sustainable Features
Sustainability is no longer an add-on in kitchen renovations; it is the default. A majority of homeowners surveyed, 92 percent, tried to incorporate sustainable options during their kitchen work. The most common choices were LED bulbs at 65 percent, energy-efficient appliances at 61 percent, water-efficient fixtures at 34 percent, and energy-efficient windows at 27 percent.
The reasons are practical more than ideological. Long-run cost-effectiveness drove 74 percent of sustainable choices, while 54 percent of homeowners cited the environmental benefit. The two motives usually point the same direction: fixtures and appliances that use less energy and water pay back their higher upfront cost over a few years of utility bills.
When shopping, read the energy labels rather than the marketing. The difference between an average refrigerator and an efficient model shows up on the label in kilowatt-hours per year, and that number converts directly into dollars at your local utility rate. The same logic applies to faucets and aerators: gallons-per-minute ratings tell you more than a product name ever will.
Where the savings show up
The table below shows the most common sustainable upgrades and what they deliver. None of them requires a dramatic change in how the kitchen looks or cooks.
| Sustainable feature | Share of renovators | Typical benefit |
|---|---|---|
| LED lighting | 65% | Uses about 75 percent less energy than halogen |
| Energy-efficient appliances | 61% | Lower monthly utility bills |
| Water-efficient fixtures | 34% | Cuts kitchen water use by roughly a third |
| Energy-efficient windows | 27% | Less heat gain and loss, lower HVAC load |
Residential kitchens keep borrowing from their commercial cousins. Restaurant-style ranges, reach-in refrigeration, and commercial-grade faucets appear in more homes each year, and the same commercial fit out trends that drive professional kitchens, durability, speed, and easy cleaning, now shape residential material choices.
Rising Remodel Costs
A kitchen remodel is an investment at any scale, and the price moved sharply in the survey year. Median spending on minor kitchen remodels increased 40 percent year over year to $14,000, up from $10,000 in the previous year. For major renovations of large spaces, at least 250 square feet, median spending held flat at $50,000.
What the median actually buys
A $14,000 minor remodel typically covers new countertops, a faucet, lighting, and a refresh of cabinet fronts or hardware, with the existing layout untouched. The $50,000 major renovation buys a full gut, new cabinets, appliances, and often a structural change such as moving a wall or relocating plumbing. The gap between the two is why budget planning comes first.
- Measure the space and list every item you plan to change.
- Price the top three finishes at two suppliers each.
- Add 15 percent contingency for surprises behind the walls.
- Compare that number against the $14,000 and $50,000 medians for your scope.
- Trim the list in order of least visual impact.
Why minor remodels jumped
The 40 percent jump in minor remodel spending reflects rising prices for countertop materials, cabinetry, and labor more than a change in what homeowners bought. Before you commit to a finish, check which home decor trends are already losing steam, because a trendy surface installed at peak pricing is the fastest way to overpay for something that will look dated.
The flat $50,000 median for major work is the other side of the same story: owners of large projects absorbed higher material costs by trimming allowances, shopping harder, and staging work in phases.
Open-Concept Space
Open kitchens are on the rise again after a dip in popularity. Forty percent of homeowners are making their kitchens more open to interior spaces, and 20 percent are opening them to the outdoors. Among those opening to the interior, 61 percent chose no wall separation at all, down four points from the previous year.
Ways to open the plan
- Double doors or a row of doors to the outdoors, chosen by 46 percent.
- A single door, at 29 percent.
- A pass-through window, at 14 percent.
- Full wall removal with no separation, the choice of 61 percent of those opening to the interior.
Structural work behind the wall removal
Removing a wall between kitchen and dining room sounds simple, but that wall may carry load. Headers, beams, and column placement are engineering decisions, and relocating plumbing and venting adds real cost. The same construction technology trends that changed how contractors plan openings, from laser layout to prefabricated headers, also affect how fast and how cleanly your kitchen opens up.
Opening to the outdoors changes the enclosure: doors need proper flashing, thresholds, and weather sealing, and a pass-through window needs a sill that sheds water. Size the opening around the table layout so traffic does not cross the work triangle.
Sticking With the Pros
Hiring experts remains the top choice for homeowners. Eighty-four percent worked with a professional on their kitchen project. General contractors saw the highest demand at 50 percent, followed by cabinetmakers at 32 percent, a figure that has risen for four consecutive years.
Who gets hired
The mix of pros reflects how kitchens get built today. Kitchen designers came in at 22 percent, interior designers at 15 percent, architects at 11 percent, and kitchen remodelers at 11 percent. With sustainability demand rising, 3 percent of homeowners hired dedicated pros to advise on eco-friendly designs. Before you interview a single specialist, do the budgeting and cost estimation for the whole project, because the number you land on decides which pros fit the plan and which do not.
| Professional hired | Share of renovators |
|---|---|
| General contractor | 50% |
| Cabinetmaker | 32% |
| Kitchen designer | 22% |
| Interior designer | 15% |
| Architect | 11% |
| Kitchen remodeler | 11% |
| Eco-friendly design advisor | 3% |
The general contractor tops the list for a reason: a kitchen remodel touches framing, plumbing, electrical, drywall, cabinetry, and flooring, and one entity has to own the schedule and the sequence. Owners who act as their own GC take on that coordination load themselves, which saves the management fee but adds weeks to the calendar, and the trade-off shows up in project duration.
Updating the Style
Style changes are part of nearly every remodel. Eighty-three percent of homeowners changed their kitchen’s style as part of the project. Transitional design remained the top choice at 23 percent, followed by modern at 14 percent, contemporary at 12 percent, farmhouse at 11 percent, and traditional at 11 percent.
Cabinet fronts lead the look
Shaker-style doors stayed in the top spot, but their share slipped three points to 61 percent. Flat-panel doors are the trending alternative, and they pair naturally with the cleaner lines of modern and transitional styles.
Pairing finishes with the front
Cabinet fronts set the style, but counters, backsplash, and hardware finish it. A shaker front reads traditional or transitional depending on the counter material; a flat-panel front reads modern or contemporary. Keep the palette to two or three materials and the room stays cohesive when trends shift.
Countertop choices follow the same logic. Quartz and porcelain hold the largest share of new installations because they need no sealing, while butcher block and concrete give a warmer look at a lower price point with more maintenance. Match the material to how the kitchen is actually used: a household that cooks twice a day wears finishes differently than one that mostly heats takeout.
The full sweep of decisions, from cabinet fronts to countertops to construction sequence, is covered in our kitchen remodeling design planning walkthrough, which goes phase by phase through a residential renovation.
Details That Finish the Job
Venting and moisture control
The details homeowners notice least cause the most problems later. Range hood venting is a good example: a vent that terminates through the wall or roof has to be flashed and dampened correctly. Rain can drive into an unprotected vent cap, and knowing how to keep rain out of your kitchen range hood vent saves you from water stains, odors, and a wet cabinet after the first storm.
Run the vent duct as short and straight as possible, use smooth metal duct rather than flex, and size the fan to the cooking surface. Ventilation rules apply in every climate, but they matter most where freeze-thaw cycles and driving rain put the flashing to the test.
Lighting is the cheapest upgrade with the biggest daily effect. Layered lighting, under-cabinet task lights, a dimmer on the main fixture, and a switched outlet for countertop appliances change how the room works after dark, and they cost a fraction of a cabinet line item.
Finish the remodel with a maintenance checklist: filter cleaning, faucet aerator checks, grout sealing, and cabinet hinge adjustment. Kitchens take more daily abuse than any other room, and the details that were planned well are the ones that still work five years later.