NKBA Research Reveals Design and Life-style Trends at KBIS – NKBA

In a compelling presentation on the KBIS Next Stage in Orlando, NKBA’s Director of Research, Tricia Zach, mentioned how way of life shifts are impacting design for 2026 and past.

By NKBA Staff

The story of the 2026 house is about expertise. People need areas that help well-being, mirror who they’re, simplify each day routines, and adapt as their wants change.

Increasingly, they need the entire residence to really feel cohesive — related visually, functionally, and emotionally. Kitchens and baths are sometimes the place that whole-home story begins.

This was the overarching message from Tricia Zach, Director of Research for NKBA, who offered “2026 Kitchen & Bath Trends: The Themes Shaping the Future of the Home,” at KBIS 2026 on the Next Stage in Orlando. She shared insights gleaned from two NKBA analysis experiences — 2026 Kitchen Design Trends and 2026 Bath Design Trends — in addition to  designer enter, challenge information and rising client patterns. She shared the theme-based evaluation by means of a barely completely different lens.

“Rather than treating kitchens and baths as isolated rooms, we’re looking at how they connect to broader patterns shaping the entire home,” Zach stated. “Kitchens and baths aren’t just functional anymore — they’re lifestyle hubs, wellness spaces, and the backdrop to everyday life. And the trends we’ll be discussing reflect deeper shifts in how people want to live, feel, and function at home, across generations and life stages.”

Shifting client conduct has resulted in a cross-convergence of traits, and designers are shaping selections past Ok&B, throughout related areas and the broader residence, with the identical priorities showing in a number of residing areas. These traits mirror significant shifts in client expectations — they usually’re influencing whole-home design selections.

“One of the biggest shifts we’re seeing isn’t just what clients want, it’s how they approach design decisions,” she stated. “Today’s client is more informed, more intentional, and far less interested in chasing trends just for the sake of it. They’re asking better questions, and they expect design decisions to support how they actually live. So, this isn’t just a trends conversation, it’s a snapshot of how the home is evolving. Designers are no longer just specifying finishes, they are interpreting lifestyles, translating daily routines, wellness needs, and future flexibility into physical space, and to help guide long-term decisions.”

Zach organized the findings into six main themes (as an alternative of room-by-room) for example the larger patterns shaping the house. “These themes aren’t mutually exclusive,” she added. “Many share overlapping attributes and values, so you’ll hear common threads across multiple themes. Those threads weave together a cohesive design story across the entire home.”

1. Personalization because the New Standard

Homeowners more and more need areas that mirror who they’re and help their each day routines, preferences and private rituals. What was as soon as thought-about a premium or customized improve has now turn into an expectation throughout all value factors. This is being pushed by way of life variety: multigenerational houses, hybrid work, blended households. The concept of a one-size-fits-all ‘standard kitchen’ or ‘standard bath’ simply doesn’t exist anymore.

In the kitchen, personalization exhibits up in each type and performance. Look for:

• Spaces devoted to non-public rituals (grooming, make-up, wellness routines).
• Mixed cupboard finishes that create a curated look
• Islands designed round entertaining, prep, or seating
• Decorative lighting that expresses persona
• Appliance settings tailor-made to particular person customers.

In the tub, which is probably the most personally tailor-made room, personalization turns into much more individualized.

• Shower presets for temperature and spray preferences
• Storage designed round daily-use objects
• Lighting that shifts with temper and time of day
• Spaces devoted to non-public rituals (grooming, make-up, wellness routines).

2. The Wellness-Driven Home

Wellness has additionally shifted from a luxurious to a common expectation, and it’s shaping design selections from the beginning. Homeowners need environments that help psychological, bodily, and emotional well-being, they usually prioritize mild, water and air high quality, and calm.

Designers prioritize stress discount, cleaner air, pure mild and a way of calm and steadiness. Younger owners usually give attention to restorative environments and emotional well-being, whereas older owners prioritize consolation, accessibility and bodily ease.

Invisible wellness by design: Some of probably the most impactful wellness selections are the least seen. Lighting high quality, acoustics, airflow, water high quality and filtration, format and supplies all form how an area feels to stay in — usually greater than the finishes themselves.

In the kitchen, wellness exhibits up by means of each environmental and practical decisions:

• Larger home windows and elevated entry to pure mild
• Stronger indoor–out of doors connections
• Improved air flow and cleaner indoor air
• Improved air flow and cleaner indoor air
• Appliances that help more healthy cooking
• Hidden or built-in storage that reduces visible litter.

In the tub, wellness is usually the first driver behind each design choice:

• Spa-style showers that includes steam, aromatherapy, and lighting therapies
• Integrated or built-in seating to help consolation and accessibility
• Natural mild handled as a design precedence
• Spaces deliberately designed for leisure, decompression, and psychological reset.

Spa-like options resonate throughout generations, however they’re usually paired otherwise.

Younger owners could also be drawn to the expertise and ambiance, whereas older owners are likely to prioritize consolation, help, and options that cut back bodily pressure.

Together, these parts place the tub as probably the most restorative area within the residence.

3. Space Expansion & Smarter Functionality

Homeowners more and more need houses that work tougher for them, with rooms increasing in each footprint and objective. This ends in a elementary rethinking of area. We see extra multifunctional, versatile rooms; extra visible openness, and extra streamlined, simplified layouts which can be conscious of on a regular basis life and redefine how folks stay in and transfer by means of their houses.

In the kitchen, smarter planning could make the area really feel bigger and calmer with out rising sq. footage:

• Adjoining pantries that shift storage and prep out of the principle kitchen
• Adjoining pantries that shift storage and prep out of the principle kitchen
• More open, versatile layouts that help a number of actions
• Reduced visible litter by means of higher group
• Clear separation between major and secondary capabilities.

In the tub, area enlargement and smarter performance are carefully intertwined, and performance is in-built slightly than added on:

• Paneled home equipment
• Larger showers substitute tubs
• Layouts designed round wellness and accessibility
• Storage is intentional and item-specific
• Built-in niches, seating, electrical shops, and charging to scale back litter.

4. Seamless, Organic, Earthy Design

“Seamless, organic, earthy design is the aesthetic expression of many of the values we’ve already discussed — calm, balance, and connection to nature,” Zach stated. “We’re seeing a clear shift in the aesthetic mood of the home. Warm neutrals, soft greens, and natural wood tones are creating spaces that feel calmer, more grounded, and more connected to nature — reinforcing the growing emphasis on wellness and emotional comfort. These choices maintain visual calm and reinforce flow between kitchen, living spaces, and the outdoors.”

In the kitchen, that is expressed by means of materials continuity and visible restraint:

• Light woods and pure textures
• Countertops that stretch into backsplashes
• Paneled home equipment
• Paneled home equipment

In the tub, the main target is on continuity and softness to create a shower that feels calm, restorative, and simple to stay with:

• Earthy, nature-inspired palettes
• Large-format tiles
• Organic supplies and textures
• Biophilic parts.

5. Purpose-Driven Technology

This is likely one of the clearest mindset shifts revealed within the analysis. Homeowners don’t need extra expertise, they need higher expertise that simplifies on a regular basis routines. There’s rising resistance to something that feels intrusive or difficult. Smart options are valued once they improve consolation or comfort. Smart options are designed to mix in — not stand out — and will help perform and way of life with out disrupting the general aesthetic.

In the kitchen, sensible expertise leads the way in which, designed to help comfort, effectivity, and on a regular basis routines:

• Growing curiosity in good bogs and bidets.
• Wi-Fi-enabled home equipment streamline duties
• Smart refrigeration helps group and more healthy habits
• Motion-sensor lighting improves ease of use
• Embedded charging retains expertise discreet.

In the tub, expertise helps create areas that really feel restorative, comfy, and intuitive. The objective is easy: help the tub’s function as a private sanctuary—with out taking heart stage.

• Intuitive, shared layouts.
• Thermostatic valves and programmable showers
• Heated flooring and towel heaters
• Growing curiosity in good bogs and bidets.

6. Designing for All Ages and Abilities

Universal design is being reframed, not as a medical necessity, however as a marker of considerate design, long-term worth, and areas that help folks comfortably by means of each stage of life.

In kitchens, common design usually isn’t apparent, it merely feels comfy and intuitive. Features that cut back pressure and help independence — particularly in multigenerational households — embody:

• Clear pathways
• Ergonomic storage that’s straightforward to succeed in
• Multi-height work surfaces
• Adjustable, layered lighting
• Intuitive, shared layouts.

In the tub, common design is extra seen — however it’s nonetheless about consolation, ease, security, and considerate integration, slightly than medical necessity. When designed nicely, these options mix seamlessly into the area, creating baths that really feel elevated, spa-like, and supportive throughout life levels.

• Barrier-free showers
• Integrated seating
• And wider clearances for simpler motion by means of the area.

What This Means for Designers
“We’re designing for longevity, flexibility, and emotional return on investment — not just visual impact,” Zach noticed. “The most profitable designs are those that adapt gracefully over time. Features equivalent to open layouts, built-in seating, and seamless transitions enhance security and accessibility with out calling consideration to themselves.

The concept of accessibility has advanced. It’s now acknowledged pretty much as good design, thoughtfully and superbly built-in.

Designers ought to be designing for longevity, providing flexibility over mounted options, and figuring out that emotional ROI issues. The most profitable designs are those that adapt gracefully over time.”

Pulling It All Together
The identical themes — personalization, wellness, smarter performance, seamless design, purposeful expertise and common design — are shaping the complete residence. Together, these traits point out a 2026 residence that’s considerate, human-centered and made for actual life.

The story of the 2026 residence can be a story about expertise. Kitchen and bathtub traits form the complete residence. People need areas that help well-being, mirror who they’re, simplify each day routines, and adapt as their wants change. And more and more, they need the entire residence to really feel cohesive — related visually, functionally, and emotionally.

“Designing for 2030 starts in 2026,” Zach concluded. “These are foundations, not fads. What we are seeing in kitchens and baths today is shaping how the entire home will evolve over the next several years. And designers are at the center of that shift.”

Learn extra about accessing NKBA’s unique analysis right here.