ReportOutdoor Kitchens Are Now Trending, According to a Recent Industry ReportData from Google, TikTok, and Instagram reveals the top requests for contemporary kitchens

By Tim Nelson

May 25, 2022

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With Memorial Day more or less marking the official start of summer grilling season, there’s a decent chance you’ve had alfresco cooking and dining on your mind. If that’s the case, you’re far from alone—at least going by the 2022 Kitchen Trends Index published by Atlas Ceramics. The U.K. tile brand scoured the internet, surveying search and social media metrics to discover the top-searched kitchen requests so far this year. And if their data is any indication, consumers are eager to expand the possibilities of where the kitchen can live.

According to Atlas’s findings, outdoor kitchens are indeed the most sought-after kitchen trend of 2022. A desire to cook outside the four walls of our homes has inspired 2.18 million annual Google searches, 71.7 million views of related TikTok videos, and nearly 0.5 million uses of the phrase as an Instagram hashtag, for a composite “trend score” of 9.65 out of a possible 10.

In 2022 alone, outdoor kitchens have garnered more than 71 million views of related TikTok videos.

Photo: Onfokus via Getty Images

Although it might seem seasonal, this feature has had some staying power in recent years. In addition to its digital metrics, Atlas cites data from the American Institute of Architects, which has regarded outdoor cooking spaces as a notable trend as far back as 2017—years before TikTok took over as a top social platform. Add the global pandemic’s emphasis on outdoor gatherings over the past two-plus years, and the move’s continued popularity checks out.

Floating shelves followed closely behind, which scored 9.59/10 on the Kitchen Trends Index. These items, an unobtrusive method for storing kitchen appliances, scored a staggering 5.6 million Google searches (2 million more than any other trend on the list), whereas an interest in mudrooms—third place, led by 35.1 million views on TikTok—suggests a focus on the space before one enters the kitchen. Pendant lighting comes in fourth, led by 3.5 million Google searches and 4.5 million TikTok views, pointing to consumers’ desire for tasteful overhead illumination. And rounding out the top five is the ever reliable backsplash.

In addition to outdoor kitchens making waves, floating shelves and mudrooms were also top-searched trends.

Photo: Andreas von Einsiedel via Getty Images

The bottom half of the top ten trends mostly reflects a set of aesthetic desires or key materials of note. See, for example, interest in retro kitchens (sixth, 8.40/10), marble kitchens (seventh, 8.06/10), and herringbone floors (eighth, 7.99/10), each of which can serve as the starting point that shapes the course of a kitchen redesign. In terms of other design themes drawing interest, modern kitchens (87 million TikTok views) and Scandi kitchens (2.3 million Instagram hashtags) have captured a notable amount of attention this year.

At the bottom of the top 10, things get a bit more functional. Open-plan kitchens (ninth, 7.85/10) have inspired 16.2 million TikTok views, while smart appliances (10th, 7.36/10) garnered another 10.6 million. As Atlas points out, the interest in smart appliances may feed back into the interest in outdoor kitchens, as connected gadgets ranging from smokers to LED lighting can play a role in the open-air food prep process. And while no two kitchen redesign projects are created equal, keeping tabs on what’s trending can provide a useful window into what might be on a future client’s mind.