CHARLOTTE, NC— Kitchen activities, design preferences and product applications have not dramatically changed over the past two years, although technology continues to be integrated into consumers’ lives, including their kitchens.

That’s one of several conclusions of a report issued by the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI), a Charlotte-based organization of industry professionals tied to the kitchen remodeling market.

RICKI’s newly released “Remodelers 360: Trend Report” was aimed at examining how Americans use their kitchens, as well as their design preferences and remodeling experiences. The research study, according to RICKI, was first conducted in 2006 and then repeated early this year to determine if significant differences exist in the findings. Some 10,000 consumers – defined as those who remodeled or made improvements to their kitchens in the past 12 months and spent $2,500 or more – participated in both projects, RICKI said.

According to RICKI, kitchen renovations remain “at the top of the list” in adding value to a home, and Americans still spend more on renovating their kitchens than any other room in the house. Although kitchen remodeling projects are down from two years ago, spending levels have remained steady among those who remodeled, RICKI reported.

Of the 17 activities that take place in the kitchen – from entertaining to paying bills – only one activity was significantly more likely to occur in 2008 compared to two years ago: “use a computer” (up to 9% from 6%), RICKI said.

Other key results of the study were as follows:

• Survey respondents were asked “if they were changing their kitchen now and had no budget constraints, on which of 11 different product categories would they be willing to splurge.” The products mentioned most often both in 2006 and 2008 were cabinets (20% in 2006 and 19% in 2008), countertops (14% and 22%), and range/oven/cooktop (18% and 17%), followed by a refrigerator (14% both study periods).
  
  The only feature exhibiting a statistically significant difference over two years was countertops, with 14% of remodeling consumers in 2006 saying they would splurge on countertops compared with 22% who said so in 2008.
• When asked to choose from a list of 22 adjectives to describe their “ideal” kitchen, the top five were identically ranked in 2006 and 2008: 1) organized (80% in 2006 and 79% in 2008), 2) comfortable (74% and 73%), 3) open (71% and 66%), 4) warm (60% both study periods), and 5) family (60% and 56%).
• The percentage of respondents who purchased appliances for their latest kitchen remodeling project increased from 72% in 2006 to 80% in 2008. The average number of products purchased overall declined slightly, from 8.5 in 2006 to 8.1 currently.
• When respondents were asked what they would do differently if they had it to do over, their responses stayed relatively consistent from study to study, however there were twice as many in 2008 who volunteered that they would “hire a professional/use someone different” (4% and 10%, respectively) and “get different/better countertops” (4% and 8%).
• Close to one-third of kitchen consumers (31%) said they were content with their newly remodeled kitchen and noted they wouldn’t change a thing if they could do it over, down from 41% in the 2006 study. Conversely, slightly more than half of remodelers in 2006 (56%) noted something they would do differently compared with two-thirds (67%) in 2008, “suggesting a sizeable majority of people could use consultation with a kitchen remodel to assure they complete the project with no regrets,” RICKI said.
• In both studies around three in 10 consumers said they would spend more on their kitchen project if they were doing the same project now (33% in 2006 and 30% in 2008) – even balancing budget realities. Consistently fewer than one in 10 said they would spend less (7% in 2006 and 8% in 2008).

“This indicates manufacturers, contractors and other involved parties are likely leaving money on the table despite a decline in remodeling jobs,” RICKI concluded.