This Is the Year’s Most Sought-After Kitchen Trend, According to a Recent Industry Report

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.

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.