Restb.ai 2025 Special Report - Kitchens: Design Trends & Market Appeal

In this Restb.ai Special Report on Kitchens, we unveil a comprehensive analysis of six years of trends in kitchen design across the U.S, as well as a deeper look at five select markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Miami, and Los Angeles. By leveraging our market-leading proprietary computer vision technology, we unlock otherwise unavailable insights into the heart of every home: the kitchen.

According to a study by Rocket Homes, a property’s kitchen could make or break a home sale. 55% of 1,002 consumers surveyed said that a good kitchen could convince them to buy a home they otherwise wouldn’t. Conversely, a similar number of buyers said they’d be unwilling to buy a home with an ugly kitchen.

These statistics underscore the kitchen's pivotal role in both personal satisfaction and as a key driver of property valuation, highlighting the importance of understanding current design trends and consumer preferences.

This Restb.ai Special Report is designed to equip real estate professionals, designers, and developers with actionable insights by focusing on three critical areas of kitchens: layouts, cabinet colors, and cabinet styles. By analyzing the photos of millions of single-family property listings across diverse markets over the last six years, we reveal national patterns and regional distinctions for the first time.

Key National Insights

• Kitchen layouts: Islands dominate, featured in 73% of new homes and steadily increasing in existing properties. Peninsulas, while less common nationally, retain regional significance, particularly in Miami and Los Angeles.
• Cabinet colors: White cabinets continue to dominate kitchen design and remain the most popular choice in new (69%) and existing (45%) homes.
• Cabinet styles: Shaker cabinets maintain their position as the top cabinet style, appearing in 86% of new kitchens and 57% overall. Raised cabinets rank second at 34% of listed properties in 2024.

Regional Variations

• Atlanta kitchens show the largest preference for islands, while counter to the nationwide trend, Miami kitchens favor peninsulas over islands by more than a 2-to-1 margin.
• White cabinets are the most common color among all 5 sampled cities, holding the highest share in Atlanta at 58% and the lowest share in Chicago at 41%.
• Shaker cabinets have the greatest presence in Denver (64%) and Atlanta (62%), while more modern flat panel cabinets hold a comparatively larger share in Miami (16%), the only market with a greater than 10% share.

Introduction

As the cornerstone of a home, the kitchen is a primary consideration for prospective buyers, and its significance cannot be overstated. Over the past six years, shifting consumer preferences have transformed kitchen design, prioritizing modern aesthetics and functionality.

Restb.ai, a leader in AI-powered computer vision for real estate, analyzed millions of property listings to uncover trends in layouts, cabinet colors, and styles. Our analysis spans major U.S. cities, providing a comprehensive view of both national patterns and market-level distinctions.  

This report reveals never-before-available insights into kitchens by unlocking trends through the power of Restb.ai's advanced computer vision capabilities.

1. Overview of Analyzed Kitchen Features

Understanding the key design elements in today’s kitchens is essential for recognizing trends and meeting buyer expectations. This study focuses on three main features: layout preferences (i.e. kitchen islands vs. kitchen peninsulas), cabinet colors, and cabinet styles.

Below are the primary features analyzed with accompanying definitions and descriptions.

Island or Peninsula

A kitchen layout often revolves around whether it features an island or a peninsula, each offering unique benefits:

• Kitchen island: Freestanding and versatile, an island adds workspace, storage, and even seating. It's a go-to choice in open-concept layouts, often serving as the kitchen's centerpiece.
• Kitchen peninsula: A peninsula extends from existing cabinetry, creating a semi-open design. It’s ideal for smaller kitchens, adding functionality without taking up additional floor space.

Cabinets Colors

A kitchen’s cabinet color is one of the most visible aspects of its design, significantly influencing the room's aesthetic and ambiance. This report categorized cabinet colors into the following groups:

• White cabinets: Known for their clean, timeless look, white cabinets remain a top choice. They brighten spaces and pair well with almost any interior style.
• Brown cabinets: Stained wood cabinets offer warmth and tradition. While their popularity is declining, they are still a staple in many kitchens with classic designs. Due to their wide range of colors, we’ve divided them into light brown, medium brown and dark brown cabinets
• Gray cabinets: A modern alternative to white, gray cabinets provide a neutral yet sophisticated feel and are often used in contemporary or transitional kitchens.
• Other cabinets: A catch all for any other colored cabinet such as black, cream, blue, green, reddish brown, yellow, and red. While relatively less popular than the most common colors previously mentioned, these colors are often used by home owners looking to make a bold statement with their kitchen.

Cabinets Styles

Cabinet style and construction are critical to the overall design of a kitchen. This study examined several key styles:

• Raised cabinets: Feature a raised central panel that creates a traditional, detailed look often associated with formal kitchens.
  
• Shaker cabinets: Defined by flat center panels and square edges, standard shaker cabinets are timeless and versatile, fitting seamlessly into contemporary and classic settings.
• Arched cabinets: An additional design element present on both raised and shaker cabinets, they feature a softly arched design at the top (and sometimes bottom), lending the kitchen a traditional and ornate feel.

• Visible hinges: Include hinges that are exposed. These are commonly seen in traditional or rustic kitchen designs, as well as kitchens built prior to more modern hidden hinge designs being readily available.
• Flat panel cabinets: Characterized by a completely flat surface with no raised or recessed panels. Sleek, minimalist, flat panel cabinets emphasize simplicity and are often featured in contemporary or modern kitchens.
  

2. U.S. National Kitchen Trends

For each of the 3 studies, we looked at the percentage of listings with the relevant feature present for millions of nationwide listed properties over the past six years. The presence of a feature was determined by utilizing Restb.ai’s proprietary computer vision models to analyze each listing’s imagery. While in many cases, there is only one feature for each category for each property, it is possible that a home may have both a kitchen island and peninsula, or two tone cabinets. Alternatively, some properties may not have any features for a relevant category (e.g. a unique style of cabinetry). As such, the percentages may add up to more or less than 100%. 

Below you will find high level takeaways for each of the three categories, as well as insights looking at how the numbers vary when looking at all single family properties vs. when only looking at new construction or previously existing properties.

Kitchen Layouts

The popularity of kitchen islands underscores a growing preference for open-concept living, with islands dominating new construction and steadily increasing in existing properties. Their functionality, offering additional storage, workspace, and seating, makes them a desirable feature in modern kitchens. In contrast, peninsulas remain popular in compact spaces where they maximize utility without requiring additional floor space.

• All single-family homes: Six years ago kitchen islands and peninsulas appeared at near parity in sold properties. However, islands have shown steady growth being present in 38% of sold homes in 2024, while the presence of peninsulas has remained stagnant at 31%.

• New Construction: Kitchen islands dominate, being featured in 73% of new homes in 2024, while peninsulas account for only 18%. Interestingly, both show a barely perceptible decline over the past six years.

• Existing Single-Family Homes: The presence of kitchen islands is gradually increasing, likely influenced by more island-friendly new construction properties entering the resale market.

Cabinet Colors

White cabinets continue to dominate kitchen design, reflecting a shift toward brighter, more versatile interiors. The rise of lighter palettes aligns with broader design trends favoring minimalism and openness. Conversely, the decline of medium brown cabinets highlights a move away from traditional, darker tones.

• All single-family homes: Over the past six years, white cabinets have displaced medium brown cabinets as the most frequent cabinet color. However, gray cabinets show the largest growth over the past six years, more than doubling from 3% to 7%.

• New construction: Driving white cabinets takeover of kitchens across the country is their dominant advantage in new construction homes, featuring in 69% of new properties in 2024.

• Existing single-family homes: Despite the impact of white cabinets' prevalence in new construction homes, there is evidence that in existing homes white cabinets are similarly becoming the preferred choice. Medium brown cabinets, while decreasing, still hold an outsized position across 35% of resold homes in 2024.

• Other color cabinets: While less common cabinet colors only account for about 10% of all kitchens, when examined closely, there are clear trends of blue and green cabinets becoming much more popular while red and reddish brown cabinets are declining.
  

Cabinet Styles

Shaker cabinets, with their clean lines and versatility, are the most common choice for home owners, with their lead growing over time for both new and existing home sales.

• All single family homes: Over the past six years, shaker cabinets have grown by 10 percentage points, now featuring in more than 56% of kitchens in 2024, while raised cabinets have declined to 34%.

• New construction: Shaker cabinets appear in a staggering 86% of new home kitchens, reflecting their compatibility with both traditional and contemporary styles.

• Existing single-family homes: Arched cabinets and cabinets with visible hinges, two design styles that have faded since the turn of the millennium, hold surprisingly steady over the past six years, likely resulting from the added costs needed to completely replace cabinets rather than simply repainting them as part of a kitchen renovation project.

3. Selected Cities Kitchen Analysis

In addition to looking at nationwide data, we analyzed the sold properties in 2024 across five diverse metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Miami, and Los Angeles. The data reveals striking contrasts in kitchen design preferences across the U.S. While national trends indicate a dominance of white cabinets, shaker styles, and kitchen islands, city-level insights uncover regional nuances that reflect local architecture, culture, and consumer priorities.

Kitchen Layouts

• Peninsulas are most prevalent in cities like Miami, where they outnumber islands by a ratio of 2-to-1. Los Angeles and Chicago, show higher adoption of peninsulas, consistent with space-saving layouts in more compact homes.
• Islands are more common in Atlanta and Denver, where they surpass peninsulas by 12% and 8%, respectively.
  

White Color Trends

• White cabinets dominate in most cities but vary in prevalence. Atlanta leads with a 58% adoption rate and a more than double advantage over medium brown cabinets, while white Chicago kitchens’ barely edge out their medium brown counterparts 41% to 39%.

Cabinet Styles

• Shaker cabinets maintain the highest popularity in Denver at 64% and are the majority in Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles. While shaker cabinets still are the most common cabinet style in Miami, they only hold a slim 35% to 33% advantage over raised cabinets.
• While less common nationally, the more modern flat panel cabinets find a foothold in Miami being featured in 16% of properties.

4. Key Takeaways

Design Preferences are Evolving

White cabinets, shaker cabinets, and kitchen islands dominate across the U.S., highlighting a clear preference for clean, modern aesthetics. White cabinets, now featured in 69% of new constructions and 45% of existing home sales in 2024, have shown steady growth, while shaker cabinets appeared in an astounding 86% of 2024 new builds. Kitchen island's sustained presence in more than 70% of new homes over the six year study underscores the demand for multifunctional, open-concept spaces. These trends show a broader consumer shift toward timeless, flexible designs that appeal to the widest range of buyers.

Regional Nuances Matter

Distinct city-level preferences reveal the importance of tailoring marketing and design strategies to align with local buyer expectations. Miami, where islands are only present in 17% of kitchens, may require a different approach than markets where islands are strongly preferred. Alternatively, it may not be a requirement to paint your wood stained cabinets in a market like Chicago, where there is a much lower prevalence of white cabinets. These differences illustrate how design can vary market-to-market in step with the truism that all real estate is local.

Kitchens are a Market Driver

Kitchens continue to anchor buyer decisions, with design choices like white cabinets and shaker styles often enhancing perceived value. As buyers prioritize updated, functional spaces, trends like the rising prevalence of kitchen islands in Denver and Atlanta (43% and 42%, respectively) illustrate their appeal. The bottom line: modern, well-designed kitchens boost buyer interest and should result in fewer days on the market.

Conclusion

This Restb.ai Kitchens Special Report highlights how evolving design trends in cabinet colors, layouts, and styles reshape the real estate market. Restb.ai uncovers actionable insights that empower agents, designers, and developers to anticipate buyer preferences and optimize property appeal by analyzing six years of data from major U.S. cities.

The rise of white cabinets and the dominance of shaker cabinets signal a nationwide shift toward clean, modern aesthetics. Meanwhile, regional nuances, such as Miami's preference for peninsulas, emphasize the importance of localized strategies.

Kitchens are not just functional spaces but powerful market drivers that influence buyer decisions and property value. Leveraging these findings, real estate professionals, designers, and others gain unprecedented insight into what resonates with today’s consumers when it comes to the heart of the home - their kitchen.

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About Special Reports

Restb.ai Special Reports are based on unique visual insights from Restb.ai's Market Intelligence insights. For those interested in more studies like this, please let us know at insights@restb.ai what topic or city you would like analyzed next.

Note: The data used for this report was based on metro area boundaries, not the city limits.

Article originally appeared on GlobeNewswire.