2024 Trends

Every year the National Kitchen and Bathroom Association of NZ surveys its membership of designers, suppliers and manufacturers to discover the upcoming trends for kitchen and bathroom design. The 2024 results are finally in, and we now know that New Zealand is about to get a good dose of timber, porcelain and integrated appliances. Let’s take a closer look…

Project Types and Timings

The majority of respondents were working on renovations as opposed to new builds, with 58% of respondents saying that renovations were their largest line of work.

In 2024, 35% of respondents said they could be busier, while 25% said they were busy but keeping up with demand. This is a shift from 2023, where 48% of designers said they were busy, but keeping up with demand, and 20% said work was consistent.

Currently, most respondents said kitchens are taking between 2-4 months from design to install. Just 9% said kitchens are taking more than a year to complete.

Costings

The cost of a kitchen differs significantly depending on the quality of materials and of course the budget of the client; however, the NKBA survey results showed that 29% of kitchens in 2023 cost between $40-$60K, 22% cost $20-$40K and 19% were completed for $60-$80K.

For bathrooms, 22% of respondents said the average bathroom cost was $20-$30K, while 22% said $50-$60K.

Kitchen Trends

In 2024, we can expect oak, walnut and other timbers to take centre stage as the most popular cabinetry finishes, with 53% of respondents predicting this trend. For those who like to play it safe and classical; cream, white and beige are still on trend, with 30% of respondents picking this palette.

An overwhelming 76% of respondents said porcelain will be the benchtop material of choice. This has grown from 48% in 2023.

In terms of finish, matte was predicted as the most popular choice by 32% of respondents and was followed closely by textured (29%).

For the splashback, 75% of respondents said splashbacks will be seamless with benchtop.

The top three must have items for kitchens were integrated appliances, sustainable considerations, and innovative smart technology.

A kitchen with an island was predicted to be the most popular layout, as chosen by 48% of respondents, and this was followed closely with open plan kitchen design (41%).

Bathroom Trends

The top three trends for bathrooms were two-person showers, sustainable products, and a large shower niche.

For the all-important tiles, 51% of respondents predicted large format tiles will be in favour, followed by large stone slabs (27%).

The Big Issues

As an industry, respondents said there were five major issues affecting the sector. They are silicosis, supply of materials, finding good trades people, affordability, and clients sourcing finance.

More trends

For more trends follow the NKBA on Instagram @nkbanz and on Facebook National Kitchen & Bathroom Association – NZ.