The kitchen continues to expand beyond traditional boundaries and has become a central design focus in the home.
By Dianne M. Pogoda
The kitchen has been a gathering space for quite some time, with designers, builders, remodelers, and homeowners recognizing the growing need for greater cohesion across multiple living areas. And the pandemic reinforced just how crucial the “heart of the home” is to the overall living space of a house. With whole-home integration becoming an increasingly important element in design, the NKBA is partnering with High Point Market Authority to foster a greater connection between both the kitchen/bath and interior design communities.
High Point Market Authority organizes the semi-annual High Point Market, the world’s largest home furnishings trade-show destination. In May, NKBA and HPMA unveiled a long-term partnership designed to enhance service to the design community through custom experiences, brand connections, and industry education. This partnership marks a convergence of the kitchen and bath sector with the home furnishings industry, expanding both organizations’ influence throughout the design community and the growing focus on the whole home.
According to the NKBA 2025 Kitchen Trends Report, kitchen footprints have continued to grow, via physical expansion or cleaner, more open views. The kitchen plays a critical role in influencing the “whole home” mindset, with a holistic approach to kitchen design recognized as an “emerging” or “growing” trend by 61 percent of designers. Further, 54 percent believe that the kitchen sets the tone for the entire home; 87 percent agree that kitchen flooring choices influence the look and material continuity throughout the home, and 86 percent say having clean sightlines to entertaining areas is also important.
Some 76 percent of designers anticipate the kitchen footprint will increase, either by an actual home addition, eliminating a formal dining room to increase the size of the kitchen, or claiming space from adjacent living areas. Removing walls to create an open-concept layout, installing larger windows and glass doors, connecting indoor and outdoor spaces, and reducing visual clutter by increasing storage and hiding workspaces, appliances, and food-prep areas are other ways to expand the space visually.
At High Point Market, Oct. 25 to 29 in High Point, NC, NKBA will unveil a new design hub in Broad Hall. This dedicated presence will bring together prominent bath, appliance, lighting, and indoor/outdoor kitchen brands in full-scale vignettes, including partners Kichler Lighting, James Martin Vanities, Ferguson Home, Sherwin-Williams, Fabuwood, BlueStar, Signature Hardware, Miele, Urban Bonfire, FreePower, and others. The space “embodies the evolution of kitchen and bath into whole-home design,” said Bill Darcy, global president & CEO of NKBA | KBIS. “It’s a dynamic destination for discovering the latest trends across furnishings, surfaces, appliances, and more, and for understanding how the convergence of these elements is shaping a more connected and powerful design industry.”
All brand spaces were designed by Kerrie Kelly, Vice Chair of the NKBA Board of Directors and CEO and creative director of Kerrie Kelly Studio, who created an immersive experience that celebrates the intersection of luxury kitchen and bath design with craftsmanship and innovation. “Designing Broad Hall was an opportunity to honor High Point’s rich history while reflecting NKBA’s forward-looking commitment to whole-home innovation,” said Kelly. “Through layered materials, curated brand collaborations and immersive storytelling, the space invites designers to explore what’s next in luxury design — beyond the kitchen and bath.”
The opportunity for a long-term presence at High Point Market was first presented to NKBA by Cosentino, which secured a multi-year investment in Broad Hall. NKBA’s space is adjacent to Cosentino’s new, dedicated Broad Hall showroom, which aims to expand its reach to the design community at High Point and showcase the diversity of its products beyond countertops. The NKBA footprint also expands outdoors, where a Dekton floor (by Cosentino) is adorned with Feeney railings, an Azenco pergola, and an Urban Bonfire outdoor kitchen. NKBA and its brand partners will also present curated programming and events during the market.
To learn more about NKBA’s presence or to attend, visit nkba.org/hpmkt-fall-2025.
