The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) has released its 2013 list of the top trends. More than 300 NKBA member-designers in the U.S. and Canada participated in the survey about the design styles they specified during the final three months of 2012.
1. The new neutral: The popularity of gray color schemes in both kitchens and baths has dramatically increased since 2010. More than half of kitchens (55%) and baths (56%) use shades of gray. But despite growing popularity, gray still comes in as the third most popular color scheme. White and off-white remain the top options.
2. White wins out: White-painted cabinets have stayed on top of the chart since last year. Use of wood tones has also remained consistent — light cabinetry finishes (30%); medium finishes (54%); dark finishes (55%). Use of glazed finishes was up four percentage points this year.
3. Style options: Traditional kitchen and bath designs continue to give way to transitional styling — a seamless blend of traditional and contemporary. Transitional design takes the lead in 2012, used by 69% of kitchen designers (a 10-point jump) and 61% of bathroom designers.
4. Finishes & fixtures: Granite remains the top choice for countertops, used by 87% of kitchen designers and 71% of bathroom designers, but quartz is narrowing the gap.
Preference for glass backsplashes has grown dramatically, rising from 42% in 2010 to 64% this year. Ceramic and porcelain tile remains the top option for the third consecutive year, but overall use fell from 88% in 2010 to 77% now.
5. Bright light: LED Lighting is being specified by more designers, increasing to 77% from 70% over the past year — a significant uptick from 50% in 2010.
6. Faucet features: A third of member designers specified touch-activated faucets, compared with 20% for the last two years. Pull-outs are the clear leader by functionality, used by 94% of designers this year. Pot fillers are gaining ground, increasing 5 points over the past year to 33%.
7. Best finish: Satin nickel remains the most-used finish for kitchen fixtures, increasing from 42% in 2010 to 60% this year. Bronze and oil-rubbed bronze finishes are also gaining use.
8. For the floor: In bathrooms, ceramic and porcelain tile have declined in use over the past two years, but are still the most popular choice. Natural stone tile is the second most popular flooring type.
—Lauren Hunter is the senior products editor at REMODELING. Find her on Twitter at @LaurenHunter_HW or @RemodelingMag.