UK kitchen trends don’t happen overnight. They change in small, steady ways, until one day you realise the design you once thought was ‘safe’ is much less common.
Full kitchen renovations are all-consuming projects (the kind you want to get right the first time), so it helps to know what trends have been consistently appreciated. In this report by the UK’s number one Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom outlet, we’re looking at the details.
Cabinet door styles, colours, worktops (materials and colours), and the finishing touches that tie it all together: by looking at trends through a real-life lens, we hope to give shoppers an idea of how to style a home they’ll love for years to come.
UK-wide trends: style, colour & finishes
Door styles (Shaker, slab, handleless, in-frame)
If you’re trying to pinpoint the most popular cabinet door styles for 2026, Shaker is the frontrunner.
In renovation data from 2025, 61% of homeowners choosing new cabinets picked Shaker doors as their main style, well ahead of flat-panel (slab) at 22%, raised-panel at 12%, and glass-front at 3%.
Despite Shaker silhouettes being the market leader, we’re seeing a change in tastes towards more minimal designs. The same data shows that Shaker has dipped by 3 percentage points year-on-year, while flat-panel has climbed by 3.
That might sound subtle, but it indicates an appetite for door styles that have less visual ‘detail’ on the door itself – especially if you pair slab fronts with minimal taps. Recent industry data backs up this trajectory.
Looking ahead, NKBA/KBIS’ 2026 Kitchen Trends Report found that 69% of industry respondents identified flat/slab cabinet doors as a style that is increasingly sought after.
So, when you’re shopping for cabinet styles, decide where you want your kitchen to sit on the spectrum: Shaker is classic, slab-front doors are a nice midway point, handleless cabinets push minimalism further, and in-frame offers a furniture-like feel.
Cabinet colours (neutrals, greens, blues, darks, woods)
The hierarchy of cabinet colours has also reshuffled over the last decade. Back in 2017, choices were decisively safe and skewed strongly neutral. At that time, the top three contenders were white (31%), grey (27%), and beige (9%).
While these colours are still favoured in 2026, the dominance of the white-and-grey kitchen has notably lessened. By 2023, Houzz UK data revealed a much more varied top set.
Grey takes the number one spot at 21%, followed by white at 19%. Then come bolder shades of blue at 17% and green at 13%, with beige at 7% and black at 4%. From this, we can see that colours haven’t replaced neutrals, but have moved alongside them.
The mix becomes even more varied in 2024, with grey still the most chosen colour at 19%, with blue at 17% and green following closely at 16%. White sits at 15%, with beige at 8% and black at 5%. What’s even more telling is the direction of travel – in the data from Houzz’s 2024 report, grey dropped by 2 points year-on-year and white dropped by 4, while green rose by 3 and medium wood rose by 2.
Homeowners now want warmth amongst their neutrals. One of the most exciting shifts is how these colours are being applied. In a 2025 report, 31% of homeowners chose different colours for upper and lower cabinets.
For uppers, off-white (23%) and white (19%) lead, followed by wood tones at 18%. Then, when it comes to lower cabinets in a contrasting scheme, green takes the top spot at 21%, with blue at 16%, and beige and grey both at 11%. We’re even seeing a trend toward multicoloured cabinetry, with 26% of homeowners in Houzz’s 2025 report selecting two cabinet colours and 9% choosing three or more!
Worktops (quartz, laminate, wood, granite, porcelain)
Trends in colour and door styles may ebb and flow, but worktop upgrades are consistent. Worktops are the main element of a kitchen that homeowners almost always choose to replace in a renovation.
Even back in 2017, 93% of renovating homeowners said they updated their worktops, and the latest figure from 2025 shows that this pattern holds – 92% of renovators still chose to upgrade their worktops.
The material story: quartz becomes the default choice
Worktop materials
Worktops have become one of the clearest markers of how UK kitchen tastes have matured, and the data from 2017 was indicative of a fairly open playing field.
In 2017, quartz held 24% of the market, closely followed by granite at 20% and laminate at 17%. By 2023, however, the landscape had changed. Quartz had stretched its lead, reaching 41%.
Behind it, laminate and granite were level on 15%, with wood slab/butcher block at 13% and solid surface at 10%. Quartz strengthened again in 2024 to 47%, while granite reduced to 14%, and laminate remained at 14%.
In 2025, quartz remains the undisputed favourite. It secured 42% of the vote in 2025, with the battle for second tightening between wood slab and laminate (both sitting at 14%).
Worktop colours
These shifts in preferences have also been observed in worktop colours, specifically for pale, light-reflecting surfaces.
In 2017, the top worktop colours were relatively varied, with white (27%), grey (17%), and black (15%) all taking a sizeable share of the market. In 2023, after 6 years, light colours had become even more popular.
White rose to 45%: black and grey 11% each. Later in 2024, white strengthened to 48%, while grey rose to 13%, and black fell to 7%.
In 2025, the preference is clear: 32% of homeowners choose white, and 22% prefer off-white (54% combined), followed by wood tones at 16%. What can we take from this journey? Darker tops are becoming less common in renovation choices, while white and off-white worktops have become the favourites.
Hardware & tap finishes (chrome, brass, black, mixed metals)
Cool silvers have long been the standard for both domestic and commercial kitchens. But recent data suggests a significant rise in temperature!
Hardware finishes
In the latest UK trend reporting, brass hardware has doubled each year, rising from 7% in 2023 to 14% in 2024. That jump is big enough to reshuffle the usual favourites, with brass overtaking chrome (10%) for second place.
The rise of brass signals a return to warmer materials. Homeowners still love silver, but it shows a growing preference for more homely, inviting hardware finishes.
It’s not only on handles: retail data from Toolstation shows that brass taps have seen an 83% increase over the last three months and are up 22% since 2023. Another trend that’s taking hold of UK kitchens is darker finishes.
Alongside brass, we’re seeing matte black and graphite or gunmetal finishes being included in new mixer-tap lines, specifically catering to kitchens that favour darker schemes. It’s clear that chrome finishes still have their place in kitchens, but a preference towards moodier schemes and industrial kitchens can be inferred in the data.
Sinks & practical features (Belfast, 1.5 bowl, composite, etc.)
If worktops are the most-upgraded element in a renovation (92%), then this implies that the rest of the core kitchen fixtures also have to be swapped out.
In fact, historical data supports this: Houzz’s 2017 report found that 89% of renovating homeowners chose to upgrade their sink, and 87% also updated their taps.
Interestingly, recent coverage of kitchen sink design highlights that they’re no longer viewed as purely functional plumbing items: sinks are design features in their own right.
According to a guide from Enhance My Kitchen, homeowners today are leaning towards minimalist integrations, with undermount options preferred for their low-maintenance cleaning accessibility.
For those planning farmhouse kitchens, it’s no surprise that the classic Belfast or apron-front sink has a strong appeal. But what types of materials are popular? We’re seeing a move away from classic standard stainless steel or plain ceramic.
Composite and granite-composite sinks are positioned as a growing alternative, helped along by the promise of better durability, heat resistance, and far more choice in colours and finishes.
For even more proof that sinks are a feature piece, Toolstation’s study found that stone and copper sinks are trending, and searches for kitchen island sinks increased by 30%.
Shop for pre-loved kitchens, appliances and hardware with the UK’s number one Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom outlet!
If there is one key takeaway from the data, it’s that great kitchen design doesn’t come from chasing trends. As we’ve seen, the shift from Shaker to slab, or from chrome to brass, happens gradually over extended periods.
This is good news if you’re planning a renovation! Our high-end, ex-display, and pre-loved kitchen collection is full of enduring styles, so why not shop for fundamentals that have proved their staying power?
Right now, you can get thousands of pounds off Shaker kitchens from industry leaders like Burbidge and Smallbone of Devizes. Or, if you’re more interested in cosy, farmhouse kitchens, we’ve got beautiful cabinetry, courtesy of John Lewis and Mark Wilkinson.
