Island time isn't just a vacation thing.
It's island time in American kitchens, according to the recently released 2020 Houzz Kitchen Trends Study.
The home-improvement resource surveyed nearly 2,600 U.S. homeowners who are in the midst of, are planning or recently completed a kitchen project. Nearly two-thirds of those kitchen projects include an island. One third of homeowners added a new island during renovations, while almost a quarter upgraded an existing island. And today's kitchen islands tend to be big, with a third measuring more than 7 feet long and another 39% 6 to 7 feet.
Islands today are designed to make a statement, with colors and materials that call attention to themselves. Making the island stand out from the rest of the kitchen was a design goal of many homeowners, with two in five opting for an island color that contrasts with their main cabinets. Color choices were led by gray (26%), blue (10%) and black (11%).
Contrasting countertop colors also are common for islands, the choice of almost a third of homeowners, with 23% choosing white and 21% choosing medium-tone wood. Butcherblock topped the list of materials at 41%.
Islands also are becoming multi-tasking workhorses. Nearly all (98%) of new islands have built-in storage features, and more than half include built-in appliances, including microwaves (32%), dishwashers (31%), garbage disposals (24%), cooktops (21%) and beverage refrigerators (9%).
As for how homeowners are using their islands, 58% plan on using them for dining, 49% for entertaining and 45% for socializing.
On the whole, kitchen makeovers, always a big-ticket remodeling project, are getting even pricier, with the median spend for a major kitchen remodel completed in 2019 at $35,000, up 17% from a year ago ($30,000).
