2024 KBIS: What’s New in Kitchens and Baths

The 2024 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) was held in Las Vegas from February 26- 29, 2024. Renowned as the premier kitchen and bath designer show in North America, this year’s KBIS boasted record attendance, with registrations reaching levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you have never attended a KBIS show, I highly recommend you consider it at some point. It’s well worth the investment. The show provides the opportunity to see the newest trends, network with vendors, meet prospective customers, and see innovative ideas. 

In addition to walking the show floor, KBIS offers educational sessions known as Voices from the Industry (VFTI). This year, they had over 75 sessions – industry experts presented all. Topics ranged from upcoming trends, marketing strategies, design inspirations, and leadership development. Each year I attend, I make it a point to attend several of these educational presentations, as I find them very helpful in my role at Meridian. This year, my takeaways include:

American Market Trends for 2024

US Cabinet Purchases:

• 45% Stock or Value Cabinet
• 30% Semi- Custom Cabinets
• 20% Custom Cabinets
• 5% Luxury Cabinets

Door Designs:

• 70% of designs are still viewed as shaker designs. 
• The biggest change to the market is the continued trend of the skinny shaker, which has reached 25% of the entire shaker workload.
• Meridian Products has seen this demand grow. Our Slab 400 skinny shaker designs continue to be in high demand.

Cabinetry:

• 60-70% of all kitchens are now produced as frameless boxes.
• 30-40% are constructed with a front frame. A large majority of which are in demand in our Northeastern states. Many believe that as labor shortages continue to be a challenge, frameless construction will continue to grow, as the production process is much simpler.
• US kitchens average over 30 cabinets.

Colors:

• As much as it pains me to say it, over 65% of all cabinets are still being painted, and of those painted cabinets, 45-60% are in a tone of white.
• Stained cabinets are holding their own. Rift White Oak and Walnut stained in lighter earth tones appear most popular.

Biggest Upgrade Requests:

• Features like trash can pull-outs are increasingly sought after by homeowners. Meridian Products developed a new bottom mount double trash can pull-out last year that our customers love. Check out page 18.16 of our 2024 Product Manual. Your clients will thank you….

European and Asian Market Trends

As we all know, European and Asian markets affect future US trends. So, here’s a quick look at what we can expect:

• 70% of kitchens produced in Europe have flat doors. That percentage is even higher in Asian markets, with over 90% having a flat front. This trend is already being seen here in the US. At Meridian, we’ve seen a big push for our slab TFL Evolution line. 
• Almost 100% of kitchens in these markets are produced as frameless construction.
• Kitchens in these markets average between 10-15 cabinets.
• While 85% of kitchens are painted, only 37% are in a tone of white.

Two trends that I hope do not make it to the states are:

• Frameless inset kitchens. Personally, I dislike everything about this new trend. They are producing inset doors with barrel hinges on frameless cabinets. I see many challenges with this construction type and hope it’s just a short-term fad. 
• Pocket doors are trending in these markets, keeping things cleaner and covered. Entire kitchens and/or butler pantries are hidden behind large oversized doors with pocket hinges. 

While I am not officially representing KBIS, my experience in this industry compels me to remain informed and share valuable insights with Meridian and its customers. Attending this annual show equips me with the necessary knowledge and understanding to fulfill this responsibility by staying abreast of industry trends and potential issues that could affect us all.

For continued updates, trends, and happenings at Meridian Products, make sure to visit our SHOP TALK, a collection of blogs where our team members share their insights and expertise.