Kitchens are often the heart of the home, a place for families to enjoy a home-cooked meal or for friends to catch up over a cup of tea. Naturally, homeowners want their kitchens to look and feel amazing, but a full renovation can be unaffordable for many, with prices starting at around £6,000, according to property expert Jonathan Rolande.

That’s why we’ve investigated the best ways for households to transform their kitchens on a budget, providing affordable changes to take your kitchen from outdated to outstanding. After scouring online data about kitchen remodelling, we collated a list of the top recurring kitchen trends of recent years. We then researched which items, trends, and colours have seen a percentage increase in searches over the past year to determine which are most on the rise.

Discover the top kitchen trends of 2024, alongside simple, budget-friendly changes that will completely transform your space.

After analysing 2024’s trendiest kitchens so far, our research identified five key items which have surged in popularity in recent months. These items saw spikes in searches from 2023 and have become increasingly popular since the beginning of 2024.

This year’s standout kitchen trend is stone splashback, receiving a 136% increase in Google searches since 2023 and a further 189% increase in the last three months alone. The trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down and is one of the easiest yet most effective changes you can make to a kitchen.

Another popular trend is smart taps, a futuristic kitchen addition that incorporates advanced technology to control temperature, water flow, pressure, and other characteristics. This is a standout kitchen tap trend, as search interest has increased 51% from last year and a further 84% over the last three months.

Next is copper countertops, receiving a 25% increase over the last year and a 67% increase in the last three months. In fourth, laminate countertops have seen an upsurge of 24% since 2023 and 53% over the last three months. Rounding out the top five, pull-out taps are another popular trend, increasing 50% from last year. The trend has continued to build momentum, as they have also received a 50% search increase over the last three months.

2024 has seen a shift towards bold colours in the home, and kitchens are no exception. Searches for the term ‘bold kitchen colours’ have increased by 57% since the beginning of the year. But what are 2024’s standout colours?

Our data revealed that brown is the biggest colour for kitchens this year, with an incredible 929% search increase since 2023. Sophie Clemson, interior design expert at The Living House, says: “Brown is one of the trending colours for this year. You can incorporate brown in small doses in your kitchen through soft furnishings and decorative pieces such as dining chairs, rugs, and armchairs if you have an open-plan kitchen with a living area. See brown as your new neutral, but make sure not to overuse this shade, or it could feel quite dull.”

White, a timeless classic, also seems to be making a comeback, with a 353% search increase from last year. Similarly, beige has also seen a 300% increase in searches over the past year. Homeowners have also been searching for purple and silver in high volumes, with these colours increasing by 300%.

Other colour trends for 2024 include red (167% increase), orange (140%), grey (139%) and green (88%).

Cara Yates, Kitchen Senior Category Manager, says: “Adding colour to your kitchen doesn’t have to be difficult – small changes such as installing a colourful splashback or painting kitchen cabinets could make all the difference. Purchasing colourful appliances can also be an inexpensive and less permanent way of injecting colour into your kitchen.”

2024 appears to be the year of the splashback, with searches for ‘stone splashback’ and ‘splashback’ proving popular. Installing a splashback is an incredibly simple way of giving your kitchen a facelift, and you can pick them up for less than £50.

Cara Yates, Kitchen Senior Category Manager, says: “Splashbacks can be incredibly easy to install, and many products are self-adhesive. They’re perfect for DIY beginners, as most of the time you just have to cut, peel and stick your splashback to the surface.”

2024 has also seen an appetite for bold colours, floor tiles, and black kitchens, as well as crown moulding on kitchen ceilings.

One of 2024’s most popular kitchen trends is the coffee station, receiving a 128% increase since 2023. Sophie explains: “If you have an awkward alcove in your kitchen that you’re not sure what to do with, consider incorporating a coffee station. You could have your kitchen units continued into the alcove or a free-standing sideboard. Place some floating shelves above to keep the space open, and style the shelves with aesthetically pleasing glass storage jars, framed prints, and coffee mugs for a stylish coffee station.”

Property expert Jonathan Rolande lists lighting as one of the most important aspects of a luxurious kitchen. He says: “Your kitchen will look most attractive if it is bright, so improve lighting as required. LEDs at floor level are cheap and effective.”

Luckily, there are many ways to improve lighting, with homeowners in 2024 searching particularly for pendant lights and motion lighting. Pendant lights have proved trendy in 2024, famously spotted in Victoria Beckham’s kitchen at the end of last year. Motion lighting is also a great smart home addition, adding functionality and a luxury feel to your kitchen, as well as helping to save energy.

For those with a keen eye for detail, light switch covers are a simple way of adding a small touch of luxury to your kitchen. Opt for sleek stainless steel or cool black nickel for less than £10.

As technology advances, our study found a large uplift in demand for impressive smart and sensor taps. Such additions can instantly boost the functionality of your kitchen, providing boiling water in an instant and improving hygiene due to touchless designs. They are also an attractive, modern feature in any kitchen, instantly bringing it into 2024. Similarly, pull-out taps make it easy to clean your sink and bring a modern feel to any kitchen.

The study also found that brass, gold, and copper are popular materials for kitchen taps, with brass taps notably receiving an 83% increase in the last three months and 22% from 2023. Interior design expert Sophie says: “Bronze, brass, and copper materials work well in kitchens because they can add warmth compared to chrome and silver finishes. Brass is particularly popular as hardware in shaker-style kitchens, as this finish works so well with the timeless design of shaker cupboards.”

You can pick up new kitchen taps for as little as £35, and you can install these yourself for free. Danielle Robinson, Plumbing Category Manager, explains six steps for changing a kitchen tap:

1. Turn off the water supply: Under your sink, you should see two valves called stopcocks – one for hot water and one for cold water. Turn these clockwise to shut off the water supply to your tap. Run the taps to make sure the water flow has stopped.

2. Remove the old tap: You’ll need a basin wrench for this step. Look under the sink and you’ll see some nuts holding the tap in place. Use your tool to loosen these until you can remove them by hand. Once the nuts are off, you can lift the old tap out from the top of the sink. Disconnect the flexible connectors or copper pipes from the tap. Be sure to have a towel or bowl on hand to catch any residual water left in your pipes.

3. Prepare the new tap: Assemble your new tap as per the manufacturer’s instructions. This usually involves attaching the flexible connectors or copper pipes to the tap.

4. Install the new tap: Place the new tap in the hole in the sink. From underneath, screw on the nuts to secure the tap. Make sure the tap is in the correct position before fully tightening the nuts.

5. Connect the water supply lines: Attach the flexible connectors or copper pipes to the stopcocks. Make sure these connections are tight to prevent leaks.

6. Check for leaks: Turn the stopcocks counterclockwise to turn the water supply back on. Check around all the connections for any leaks.

Although they may not initially appear the most exciting, sinks can act as a statement piece in your kitchen. Our study found that stone and copper sinks are trending, illustrating an interest in using unique materials and standout colours for kitchen sinks.

Whilst kitchen islands are often associated with a dream kitchen, we know that not all spaces allow for this. There are plenty of other ways to achieve a luxury look on a budget, and an island is certainly not a necessity! However, for those with an island already in their kitchen, we asked our kitchen expert what she thinks of the 30% search increase in kitchen island sinks over the last three months.

Cara Yates, Kitchen Senior Category Manager, says: “Deciding whether to have a sink in your kitchen island depends on your lifestyle and priorities in a kitchen. Whilst this design choice can free up your main countertop space and provide better lighting when washing up, it also limits the space you have for entertaining guests around the kitchen island. Kitchen island sinks can be more expensive to install as they may need additional plumbing work and generally have higher installation costs. However, if you have your heart set on a kitchen where you can chat to family whilst doing the dishes, it may well be worth it.”

When it comes to kitchen furniture, countertops can make your kitchen look lighter or darker due to their large surface area, says Jonathan Rolande. So, it’s no surprise that homeowners are searching for a variety of countertop finishes, with copper seeing the largest increase. Laminate, marble and oak are also trending this year, all with a 20-30% search increase from 2023.

Although countertops can be pricey to replace, the surge in laminate counters shows that homeowners are enjoying a more budget-friendly option, as Sophie Clemson explains: “Laminate worktops are a great budget-friendly option to get a realistic-textured kitchen worktop such as marble without the costly expense. They have really improved over the years, and there are now a variety of finishes to choose from.”

If you want to hop on the countertop trend without completely replacing your counters, consider using upstands that complement your existing counters. These start at £82.98 and are easy to install yourself. Another easy trend to incorporate is the honed finish, which is when a glossy material such as marble is ground down to be smooth and matt. If you have marble countertops at home, honing them yourself can be an affordable way to transform your kitchen without replacing the worktops.

Moving away from countertops, our research also highlighted increased interest in handleless drawers. A popular style of handleless drawers is a J-Pull, which incorporates a small ‘J’ shaped gap into drawers and cabinets for fingers to hook into and pull open.

In terms of kitchen accessories, drawer knobs are a simple change that take just minutes to install. According to our research, gold, brass, and stainless steel knobs have proven popular in recent months, with searches for gold knobs increasing by 39% during the past three months.

Cara Yates, Kitchen Senior Category Manager, says: “Changing up your kitchen knobs or handles can instantly transform your kitchen at a very low cost. If you are just changing out the knobs, it can be as simple as unscrewing the old ones with a screwdriver and replacing them with new, stylish knobs.

“It becomes slightly more complicated when you want to change the position of your handles. For this, you’ll need a drill to create new holes in the desired position. The old holes can be easily filled with wooden dowels and wood glue.”

The study also found that searches for kitchen island sockets have increased by 24% over the last three months, a small change that caters to more appliances or electronics in the kitchen. Vent hoods have also received 24% more searches in the last three months, as these ventilation systems are starting to be seen as a fashionable rather than a practical choice.