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More than 350 National Kitchen & Bath Association member designers took part in the 2012 NKBA Design Trends Survey to cite the materials, product types, and styles that they’ve incorporated into their kitchen and bath designs over the final three months of 2011. The following are 10 overall trends for kitchens and baths across the United States and Canada.

Kitchen

1. Cherry wood use in decline but no other wood really dominates. The use of oak and bamboo is on the rise.

2. Move to Darker finishes for cabinetry, distressed finishes are making a comeback and white is still the popular choice for painted cabinetry.

3. Glass backsplashes have been used by more than half of kitchen designers surveyed and have become almost as popular as natural stone. The use of ceramic tile continues to decline from 78% one year ago and 88% two years ago.

4. LED lighting is the choice for energy efficient lighting.

5. Pull out faucets that integrate two functions: 14 of out every 15 designers who designed a kitchen over the final three months of 2011 incorporated a pull-out faucet. These versatile models might also be mitigating the need for pot-filler faucets, which have been recently specified by just 28% of designers, down from 41% two years ago.

Bathrooms

6. Medicine cabinets are coming back as homeowners look for more efficient use of space and designers seek an effective way to gain additional storage without changing the foot print of the room.

Kitchens & Bathrooms

7. Transitional design is now the most popular style of design. Transitional is a blend of traditional and contemporary, typified by lines that are simpler than traditional but more elaborate then contemporary in order to create a modern classic look.

8. Solid surfaces a year ago their use was a key trend in the kitchen this year it’s even stronger. Granite and quartz continue to be the clear first and second choices.

9. Gray and its many shades are the popular choice followed by whites and off-whites.

10. Polished chrome is over taking brushed metals. In the bathroom use increased from 46% to 65% over the previous year. And in the kitchen 52% of designers specified polished chrome compared to only 34% last year.