4 Fun Kitchen Trends That Real Estate Agents Are Loving

Kitchens are the focal point of a home — the gathering place where everyone joins together in food and conversation. So if you’re selling your house, you’ll want to make sure the kitchen is right on target with trends to attract the highest bids. Here’s what you should think about including in today’s market.

Have you ever seen those refrigerators and dishwashers that match the cabinets so you don’t know they’re there at first glance? Well, now the trend has hit pantries.

“This concept has grown in popularity with the open-concept trend to help disguise a walk-in pantry, second refrigerator, coffee station, and more,” says Jennifer White of RE/MAX Specialists PV in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. “Typically, the opening to this hidden pantry is designed to look like floor-to-ceiling custom cabinets, but pulls open like a door to a large walk-in pantry used for storage.”

Buyers today are loving colorful and functional surfaces mixed together in the same kitchen.

“A top kitchen trend we’ve seen is incorporating multiple finishes in one space,” says Amber Shay, national VP of design studios at Meritage Homes. “Solid surface backsplashes have also become more popular, combined with the use of color and fun light fixtures in the kitchen to add more visual interest.”

Since everyone gathers in the kitchen, it’s nice when the kitchen is completely clean. And you can do that with a scullery kitchen, which is basically a second kitchen where all the cooking is done.

“A lot of discerning homeowners want a scullery kitchen to help hide the mess of food prep,” White says. “A scullery is a secondary kitchen located off the main kitchen that has a second sink, dishwasher, pantry, refrigerator and/or beverage cooler, storage for bulky kitchen items, food prep space, and more. It seems to have grown in popularity with the open-concept kitchen to help allow the main kitchen to be clutter-free; showcase clean and tidy floating shelves; and help hide coffee makers, toasters, toaster ovens, and other bulky kitchen items. The main idea is to have a second kitchen for food prep to help hide the mess called cooking!”

Cooking can be messy, and one thing buyers don’t want to see is a kitchen that’s going to make it more difficult to clean everything up — especially these days when Covid has turned the tide to people cooking more at home.

“Buyers are looking for kitchen products that require minimal maintenance, like easy-to-clean appliances and finishes,” Shay says. “Quartz may soon overtake granite as the most popular countertop option for this reason as it’s a very low maintenance material. Even though it’s typically more expensive than granite, quartz is harder, making it very durable. It’s also nonporous, which means it’s more resistant to bacteria and stains.”

This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: 4 Kitchen Trends That Real Estate Agents Are Loving Right Now