Editor's Note
This editor’s note highlights the key facts and market implications behind “KBDN Survey: Kitchen Countertop Trends 2026”, with emphasis on sourcing, product fit, fabrication, logistics, or buyer impact.
CHICAGO — Today’s consumers continue to invest generously in the expansive array of materials, colors, patterns and finishes available for kitchen countertops – even in the face of inflationary pressures resulting in price increases for many of the most popular options.
At the same time, quartz and quartzite continue, as in recent years, to top the list of countertop materials growing most rapidly in demand, while consumers – impacted by economic, political and supply chain issues – are also increasingly basing purchase decisions, one way or the other, on whether countertop materials are made in America or elsewhere.
Those are among the key findings culled from a nationwide survey conducted by Kitchen & Bath Design News among 300+ kitchen design and remodeling professionals.
KBDN’s annual countertop survey, fielded online in January, also reinforced the continued importance of countertops as both an aesthetic and functional component in today’s kitchens, serving not only in their traditional roles of food prep, dining and entertaining, but increasingly as spaces for myriad household activities.
According to the survey results, nearly half of those polled (48.3%) report that their clients are willing to invest more now on their kitchen countertops than in years past. In contrast, fewer than 10% said their clients are investing less now in countertops, and the balance cite investment levels that are about the same as in past years.
In a related finding, nearly half of the survey’s (46.3%) respondents told KBDN that, when choosing a countertop, cost is either only moderately important, slightly important or not important at all.
KBDN’s survey also found, as in recent years, that quartz and quartzite are far and away the countertop surfacing materials growing most in demand, followed by porcelain, granite, marble and an array of other options, including sintered stone, wood, concrete and a variety of solid-surface materials. Light base colors, marble looks and subtle finishes lead the list of colors and patterns that are currently popular among kitchen clients, survey respondents told KBDN. Ease of maintenance and durability are the countertop properties that are most in demand, surveyed design pros reported.
Among the survey’s additional findings:
The vast majority of surveyed design professionals report that they are passing countertop price increases on to their clients, rather than absorbing the price hikes themselves.
When it comes to whether a countertop material is produced in the U.S., slightly more than half of those surveyed (54.2%) told KBDN that the origin of the material is either “moderately,” “very” or “extremely” important to them. By comparison, roughly 46% said the question of “made in U.S” is either “not at all” or only “slightly” important.
Natural Stone a Countertop Mainstay, Design Pros Report
According to KBDN’s annual countertop survey, natural stone accounts for nearly half of the myriad countertop materials requested by kitchen consumers and specified by design firms.
Source: Read the original article | Published: March 05, 2026