Show-Stopping Kitchen and Bathroom Trends for Post-COVID Homebuyers
April 13, 2021
Kitchens and bathrooms have always been important features for home shoppers, and the pandemic hasn’t changed that. In fact, Zillow found that luxury kitchens and bathrooms were hugely popular in 2020, with listings including high-end features selling for more than expected. Furthermore, the American Institute of Architects’ recently released design trends survey also reiterates the desire for luxury features like modern faucets and outdoor cooking.
We’ve pulled some of the popular trends for this article. Keep reading to see what they are, and if you’re a home builder, keep in mind that you can earn builder rebates from HomeSphere while providing homebuyers with the luxury features they desire. Our HomeSphere Rebate Program is free for builders to join — sign up now.
Kitchens: Fancy (and smart!) appliances, larger pantries and more
According to Zillow, the top kitchen features that sold for more included steam ovens, the modern farmhouse style, pizza ovens and new appliances — an easy advantage in new homes. Steam ovens sold for about 4.9 percent more than expected while listings with modern farmhouse specified sold for about 3.6 percent more than expected.
Modern farmhouse can be seen in a lot of touches, like open shelving and Shaker style cabinetry to large sinks and wood flooring.
According to AIA, larger pantries were also found to be increasing in popularity, which is likely thanks to the need to accommodate more food storage as a result of the pandemic. Additionally, outdoor cooking once again topped AIA’s list. Outdoor cooking has been a popular trend for years now, and that's likely only been exacerbated by the pandemic and people’s increased desire to have great outdoor space.
Cabinets to help with storage and the modern farmhouse look
MasterBrand, which owns popular cabinet brands Aristokraft, Kitchen Craft, Decora and more, offers a large variety of custom, semi-custom and stock cabinets to add style and coveted storage space on any budget. See their latest products.
Use MasterBrand? Learn about rebates on their cabinets.
Bathrooms: “Curbless” showers and heated floors
Zillow found that listings that mentioned “curbless” showers (which are showers that are flush with the bathroom floor) sold for about 3.6 percent more than expected. Meanwhile, heated floors or radiant heat systems sold for 3.2 percent more than expected. There’s nothing much more luxurious in a bathroom than stepping out of the shower onto a heated floor!
AIA also found that larger, walk-in showers were the most popular bathroom feature in their survey, and funnily enough, the group is seeing higher demand for outdoor showers.
Adding coziness and luxury through radiant heating
Our brand partner QuietWarmth creates radiant heat systems that are designed to be the quickest and easiest to install in the industry. QuietWarmth systems provide maximum and uniformly distributed heat while offering a minimum thickness profile so flooring height is not disturbed. Find out more about how it works.
Use QuietWarmth, an MP Global product? Find out more about rebates.
Both: Universal design
While Zillow noted how modern farmhouse is selling for more (which also impacts bathrooms), AIA found that universal design continues to be a top design trend for both rooms. Universal design includes features that are accessible to everyone, regardless of age and ability — which is good news with multigenerational living on the rise.
Sleek faucets and toilets for universal design
Gerber creates high quality plumbing products for home builders at prices home builders will appreciate. Gerber offers faucet collections that are ADA compliant and include pull-down, pull-out, pre-rinse, bar and prep and pot filler options. Gerber also manufactures quality toilets for modern bathrooms. See their latest products.
Use Gerber? Start earning rebates on the brand.
Not yet a HomeSphere builder?
If you plan to or have already used these brands in a construction project this year, you can earn rebates through HomeSphere on your brand usage. When you use more than one of our brand partners on the same project, you can earn even more in rebates. It’s thanks to our loyalty program that rewards builders for using our brand partners. See our full list of partners, and search for additional brands that will help you create stellar kitchens and bathrooms.
