Trends in Tops

As both a kitchen design staple and a multifunctional surface that aids in a wide variety of tasks, countertops are a critical element in the kitchen. Prized for their beauty, durability and sanitary benefits, today’s hot surfaces are an essential element to the kitchen. Material wise, quartz is leading the way, while neutral colors with movement and texture remain on trend. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of demand for bold, statement-making colors as well.

That’s according to a new survey by Kitchen & Bath Design News, which polled 175 kitchen and bath dealers and designers about what countertop materials are seeing the greatest demand, what colors and materials are trending and what benefits their clients most want in their kitchen countertops.

MATERIAL INTERESTS

When it comes to what materials are hot and getting hotter, quartz remains the big winner, with 85.6% of those polled citing it as a material that’s seeing growing demand (see Graph 1). Quartzite was also named by more than a third (35.1%) of dealers and designers as a material that’s seeing increased interest of late.

While some designers might write off granite as a “been there, done that” material, granite, like stainless steel appliances, has perennial appeal. Indeed, more than a quarter (28.7%) of survey respondents still cited it as a material seeing growth right now, making it the third most popular material among those polled. This was followed by solid surface and wood (each being named by 19.5% of survey respondents as seeing growth in demand right now), marble (cited as growing by 14.4% of those polled), sintered stone/ultra compact surfacing (seen as growing by 12.1% of surveyed dealers and designers) and laminate (named as seeing increased interest by 9.8% of those polled). Other  materials cited by survey respondents as seeing growth right now included concrete (6.3%), glass (3.4%) and metal and tile (2.9% each).

Outdoor surfaces, long seen as a tiny niche area, seem to be making some headway as well, thanks in part to the growing number of new and exciting options available in this category. Indeed, 8.6% of those polled said that outdoor-friendly surfaces are currently seeing increased demand among their clients.

Shades of white continue to be top choices among dealers’ and designers’ clients, with 89.1% of those polled saying clients prefer white or cream hues, along with gray, which was cited by 63.8% of respondents as being popular (see Graph 2).

Black, however, is making inroads, with 21.8% of dealers and designers saying they’re seeing demand for dramatic black countertop choices, while colorful options like blue (10.9%) and green (4.6%) are also in the mix. Brown, once a trendy neutral, seems to have fallen off a bit, with only 8.6% of those surveyed citing it as a popular color for kitchen countertops. Reds and terracotta shades barely registered on consumers’ radar, with dealers and designers saying fewer than 1% (0.6%) of their clients are choosing these hues for their countertops.

While color choices are pronounced, opinions are split on favored countertop characteristics. For instance, when it comes to deciding between shiny or matte surfaces, both got plenty of support, with 59.5% saying their clients prefer shiny or glossy countertops, while 40.5% said their clients lean toward matte finishes (see Graph 3).

Solid colors are less popular than those with texture, movement and patterns, though nearly a quarter (22.8%) of those surveyed said their clients choose solid colored countertops, while 77.2% preferred surfaces with patterns, movement and/or texture.

While consumers have long been a fan of countertops that blend seamlessly into the design, there seems to be a growing interest in bolder, statement-making choices as well. Indeed, of those polled, some 28.7% said their clients opt for bold over neutral when it comes to their kitchen countertops (see Graph 4).

COUNTERTOP BENEFITS

Whether bold or neutral, glossy or matte, monochromatic or full of color and texture, countertops are highly prized for their aesthetic benefits. However, they are equally valued for their task-worthiness.

Dealers and designers polled said their clients expect materials to be durable enough to hold up to the myriad functions required in a kitchen, from food preparation and family meals to large-scale entertaining, homework, craft projects and more.

Not surprisingly, then, the whopping majority (92.5%) rated durability as “extremely important” (44.8%) or “very important” (47.7%) to their clients (see Graph 5). By contrast, not a single dealer or designer saw this as “not at all important,” while 1.2% said their clients view this as “somewhat important” and 6.3% rated it as “moderately important.”

Affordability also plays into clients’ countertop decisions, according to kitchen dealers and designers surveyed, and while this may not be their top concern, it is a factor in their material decisions. Few dealers and designers said their clients thought that affordability was either “extremely important” (8%) or “not important at all” (1.1%), with most coming in somewhere in the middle (see graph 6).
A total of 46% of respondents rated this as “moderately important,” while 35.1% saw it as “very important” and 9.8% said it was “slightly important.”

In light of the current Coronavirus crisis (see related stories, Pages 6, 8 and 14) it comes as no surprise that more than half of those polled cited sanitary benefits as “extremely important” (18.4%) or “very important” (34.5%) to their clients (see Graph 7). Another 31% viewed this as “moderately important” while 12.1% said it was “slightly important” and 4% rated it “not at all important.”

Interestingly, the trend toward environmentally friendly products seems not to be having much impact on consumers’ countertop choices, with a mere 1.1% of dealers and designers having cited this as “extremely important” to their clients (see Graph 8), and only 5.1% saying their clients viewed a countertop’s green properties as “very important.” At the other end of the spectrum, more than a fifth (21.2%) said that their clients believed having an environmentally friendly countertop was “not at all important,” while 41.2% rated this as “slightly important” and another 31.4% said their clients saw it as “moderately important.” ▪