Charging Stations, Home Assistants Are Top Tech Picks in Kitchens
Home assistants and high-tech faucets remain popular in kitchen remodels, the 2020 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study finds
Erin Carlyle
January 28, 2020
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes to remodel. Former Forbes real estate reporter. Fascinated by cool homes, watching the bottom line.
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes... More
One in 10 homeowners remodeling a kitchen upgrades electronics as part of the project, and among this group nearly one-third include a home assistant such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home, according to the 2020 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study.
Home Assistants and Charging Stations Remain Popular
These numbers are in line with the popularity of home assistants and charging stations in last year’s report. This year among the 11% of renovating homeowners updating electronics as part of their kitchen renovations, 31% are including a home assistant, while 49% are including a docking or charging station.
These numbers are in line with the popularity of home assistants and charging stations in last year’s report. This year among the 11% of renovating homeowners updating electronics as part of their kitchen renovations, 31% are including a home assistant, while 49% are including a docking or charging station.
The Kohler Sensate faucet with Kohler Konnect turns on or off with voice command via integration with a home assistant device. Photo from Kohler
High-Tech Appliances and Faucets Less Popular Compared With Last Year
Among renovating homeowners upgrading faucets and appliances as part of their kitchen remodels, high-tech features remain fairly prevalent. Half (51%) of upgraded faucets are high-tech, with water-efficiency features (27%) or touch-only or touch-free activation (19%). One-quarter of major appliances have high-tech features such as wireless controls (14%) or built-in apps (5%), such as for recipes.
While these numbers aren’t insignificant, the share of upgraded faucets and appliances that feature high-tech elements is smaller in this year’s report compared with the year before: 57% of faucets and 30% of appliances were high-tech in last year’s report, compared with 51% and 25% in this year’s.
The 2020 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study gathered information from nearly 2,600 Houzz users who had completed a kitchen remodel or addition in the previous 12 months, were working on one or were planning to start one in the next three months.
Download the full study
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High-Tech Appliances and Faucets Less Popular Compared With Last Year
Among renovating homeowners upgrading faucets and appliances as part of their kitchen remodels, high-tech features remain fairly prevalent. Half (51%) of upgraded faucets are high-tech, with water-efficiency features (27%) or touch-only or touch-free activation (19%). One-quarter of major appliances have high-tech features such as wireless controls (14%) or built-in apps (5%), such as for recipes.
While these numbers aren’t insignificant, the share of upgraded faucets and appliances that feature high-tech elements is smaller in this year’s report compared with the year before: 57% of faucets and 30% of appliances were high-tech in last year’s report, compared with 51% and 25% in this year’s.
The 2020 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study gathered information from nearly 2,600 Houzz users who had completed a kitchen remodel or addition in the previous 12 months, were working on one or were planning to start one in the next three months.
Download the full study
More on Houzz
Top Colors and Materials for Kitchen Counters, Backsplashes and Walls
Find a pro to help with your kitchen remodel
Shop for products on Houzz
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Hey, Alexa....Got my hands full, turn on the faucet to 104 deg F. ..... ok, try again..... turn on the faucet to 104 deg F. ....... ah, Alexa.....forget it, I'll turn it on myself...... sheez.... :)
Yeah, We passed up on all the wi fi appliances too. Just plain and simple for us except we did add a charging station in a drawer which has kept a lot off clutter off the counters. And I added one electrical outlet fitted with a USB station (by Lutron) in a shelf which has been very useful. You can buy similar outlets at HD and Costco but my tech guy said to be sure to get high quality ones so the charge doesn’t damage your phone.
Now about the drawer charging station—my contractor told me that the charging unit we used will liking be out of date soon because the electronics makers are already changing the shape of the plugs. If I had known that I would not have spent the $$ on the outfitted drawer.
I wondered about plug compatibility. With some newer tech going to cordless charging I'm thinking about something simple, like a small shelf just large enough to hold a couple of phones. In a few years it could be removed or used to display small things.