Home Remodeling Trends for Kitchens, Baths & the Outdoors

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey

Home remodeling has been surging over the last few years as more homeowners stay put in their homes longer, the age of homes gets older (averaging about 40 years old), and homeowners leverage their equity, benefiting from rising home prices.

With house projects on the mind, remodelers are still stressed: 43% of homeowners surveyed say they have experienced increased stress due to home repairs, maintenance, and remodeling, according to Angi’s latest State of Home Spending report. About one-third of homeowners identified “finding the right service providers” as a big challenge in a home remodel, according to research from Houzz. Also, they want to make sure they pick the right projects to boost their home’s resale value, and they don’t overspend.

Real estate professionals can be an ally to homeowners who embark on a home renovation, whether it’s recommending contractors or offering up ROI insights to remodeling projects.

“I always like to say, ‘You want to keep up with the Joneses, but you don’t want to beat the Joneses,’” when you remodel, says Angie Hicks, co-founder of the home services site Angi, formerly known as Angie’s List. “If you have three bathrooms when everyone else has two, you won’t be getting the return on that. In thinking of the resale of your house, a real estate agent is going to be a great person to talk to.”

What’s Trending in Remodeling?

Real estate agents likely will want to stay ahead of the latest trends in being a helpful resource to their renovating homeowners. Recent remodeling reports conducted by Houzz offers a snapshot of some of the most popular remodeling projects.

Kitchen Remodeling Trends

• Upgrading kitchen cabinets remains a top priority for homeowners. Shaker door styles and bar pull handles in brushed nickel finishes are the most popular choice.
• Accent cabinets are getting added to break up rows of cabinetry. Glass-front cabinets or open shelves can be used for showcasing glassware, décor, or collectibles.
• White cabinetry remains the most popular choice, among 33% of remodels, but wood tones are gaining at 23%.
• Engineered quartz remains the top choice for the countertop, among 39% of remodelers, followed by granite (19%). Losing popularity are butcher block or wood slab countertops, which have coincided with the fading trend of farmhouse-styled kitchens.
• Two-tone kitchen cabinets are gaining popularity, where homeowners opt for one color for the upper cabinets and a different color for the lower cabinets (like white for the uppers and black or blue for the lower cabinets).
• More homeowners are opting to extend their kitchen backsplashes higher up the wall, sometimes to the ceiling, serving as a focal point.  

Bathroom Remodeling Trends

• Bathroom vanities are a common upgrade, with the most popular choices being shaker cabinetry with bar pull handles in brushed nickel finishes.
• Wood—whether light or dark—has overtaken white for bathroom vanities—26% versus 22% of remodelers. Eleven percent of remodelers chose gray or blue for their vanity.
• Quartz dominates for bathroom countertops, most often in white, off-white, or gray.
• Most homeowners selected rectangular ceramic or porcelain tiles for their shower walls, but changed up the flooring with smaller hexagonal, square, or rectangular tiles.
• Large format tiles are increasingly being used for shower walls, offering fewer grout lines.
• Bathtubs are no longer considered a necessity in many owner’s suite renovations: 32% of remodelers upgraded a bathtub in their remodel, whereas 27% removed it, and another 27% had no bathtub at all.
• Accent walls are emerging as a trend in bathroom remodels in creating a focal point in the space, whether through patterned wallpaper or a contrasting painted wall color.

Outdoor Remodeling Trends

• Structural upgrades often include decks (e.g. composite, plastic, or pressure-treated lumber), porches or verandas, shade structures, or the addition of a shed or workshop.
• Outdoor kitchens are a popular upgrade, which are often outfitted with a grill, refrigerator, faucet, and cooktop.
• About one-third of renovators elect to upgrade their outdoor systems, through lighting, irrigation, security, audio or visual media, or even rainwater harvesting.
• The most popular outdoor lighting upgrades include adding landscape lights, string or bistro lights, porch or garage sconces, and recessed lights.
• The most popular exterior colors are white (23%), gray (19%), beige (10%), green (8%), and black (8%).
• Metal roofs have become an emerging trend, as homeowners become drawn to the durability and modern look. Asphalt shingle roofs, however, are still the most common choice.
• The most popular front door colors are: black (24%), red (22%), white (18%), blue (13%), and green (11%).

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