Things You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Kitchens – Infographic
It’s time to look at some kitchen stats and facts.
Although it may seem as if most people are eating out and spending less time in their kitchens, the kitchen furniture industry has grown significantly.
Today, it’s £1.4 billion-strong industry in the UK, while across the Atlantic, it’s grown into a $16 billion whopper. More than 1,200 companies are making and installing kitchens in the UK, having created 14,200 jobs. In the USA more than 115,000 people are employed by 10,000 companies working in the kitchen trade.
These kitchen stats show how big an industry it is. Looking at the overall output of furniture making as an industry, kitchens are worth one fifth of the total UK furniture sector.
The main growth happened between 2016 and 2017 when the UK saw its kitchen industry growing by 14.1%. This was mainly propelled by the Help-to-Buy scheme introduced by the Government. Although there is still talk about housing shortage in the UK, we probably don’t realise that 140,000 new dwellings are built every year. They all need kitchens, hence why cabinetmaking has developed into a very important business sector.
The main kitchen trends today are U-shaped kitchen layouts featuring a kitchen island. There is a scientific explanation behind this. Apparently, when working in the kitchen, the way a housewife (or indeed househusband) moves is predictable. It happens along an imaginary triangle connecting cooker, fridge and sink.
It’s called “kitchen work triangle” and the more even the triangle sides, the more convenient it is for people to perform their daily tasks. A U-shaped kitchen is perfect for the “kitchen work triangle” principle. That’s why 34% of all new kitchens follow the U-shape layout. The 2nd place with 25% is G-shaped layout. Galley kitchen is chosen by 20% of people while the L-shape is considered awkward, hence only chosen by 17%.
Kitchen designers predict that our kitchens will grow upwards in the next few years. Tall kitchen cabinets are going to enjoy a 7% surge in popularity by 2021. In the meantime, 59% of the UK kitchens (51% in USA) are opening up to incorporate a breakfast room or a conservatory.
Is it time to redesign your kitchen? Did you know that an average customer revises their plan 3 times before settling for the final kitchen plan? While doing so, it may take around 2 months from the initial contact with the kitchen designer till the final decision. And then it takes 6 weeks on average to build a bespoke kitchen.
All in all, designing a new kitchen takes a few months, however, if you think about it, it’s one of the spaces that you spend the most time in, so you want to make sure it’s perfect. You could start by looking at our kitchen product choices or giving us a call on 01202 481177.
