The 2027 Kitchen Trends Report from the National Kitchen & Bath Association highlights upcoming kitchen innovations, such as partial walls, concealed appliances, and expanded prep-area pantries. This forecast stems from a survey of 830 industry experts, covering trends in design layouts, materials, lighting solutions, and technological advancements projected to rise over the next three years.
Defined layouts are gaining interest, with designers favoring partial walls, movable partitions, and separate kitchen zones. Dedicated prep spaces and back kitchens are also emerging features, cited by nearly half of designers. Kitchens are expected to get bigger, with 52 percent of designers anticipating growth.
The kitchen’s surrounding rooms are growing, too, with mudrooms and laundry spaces being integrated into kitchen plans. The vast majority of designers expect attached mudrooms to be popular over the next three years, with 45 percent anticipating mudrooms getting larger and 43 percent expecting laundry spaces to grow.
Hidden appliances and enclosed storage are becoming increasingly popular, with 85 percent of designers agreeing that cabinets are being designed to hide appliances and other functional elements. Pantries are taking on more work, with nearly 90 percent of designers agreeing they are becoming extensions of the kitchen with multiple functions.
Wood cabinets and neutral colors remain popular, with neutrals being the leading color of choice, followed by greens and blues. Light and medium tones draw equal interest for cabinetry, and white oak is the preferred wood for roughly half of designers. Quartzite and quartz lead countertop preferences, with nearly half of designers favoring honed or matte finishes.
Layers of lighting are expected to be incorporated into kitchens, with under-cabinet lights, illuminated cabinet interiors, and nighttime path lighting being popular choices. Eighty-four percent of designers agree that kitchens will incorporate multiple layers of light, and 78 percent say lighting is increasingly being used as a design feature.
Ventilation, water filtration, and leak protection are among the report’s wellness features, with designers discussing ways to make kitchens more resilient. Sixty-five percent of designers cite leak-detection systems and automatic shut-off valves, while 62 percent cite backup power and a little over half point to ventilation and air filtration.
