As homes surpass the 25-year-age mark in the greater North Phoenix Anthem area, more homeowners are choosing to invest in improving the functionality of their homes, as higher housing prices and a shortage of both new and existing homes on the market are swaying homeowners to stay put.

Kitchen renovations top the home improvement list—whether it be a refresh with cosmetic updates, or a new design and more efficient layout. A solid kitchen renovation allows homeowners to reap the immediate benefits and makes good financial sense when they decide to resell down the road. Homeowners tend to recover roughly 75 percent of the cost of a kitchen overhaul when they go to resell, according to an National Association of Realtors Remodeling Impact report.

Remodeling a kitchen today is less centered on chasing trends, and more about customizing a functional space designed to support everyday living, according to the report.

Valley Vibe spoke to Bret and Skyler Buckner, the father and son duo who own Rise Above Remodeling, a general contracting company in the greater Anthem area, to find out how local homeowners are investing their dollars back into one of their most valuable assets.

Functional Prep Space & Ample Storage

When reconfiguring the design of a kitchen, keeping in line with national trends, local homeowners desire as much functional prep space as they can fit within their layout, Bret and Skyler told Valley Vibe.

Larger, multifunctional islands with seating and butler’s pantry areas for additional prep space top the list of desired features.
White cabinets will always be a classic look, but many homeowners are choosing stained woods, including maples, alder, birches, mahogany and pecan. Range hoods are favored over microwaves over the oven, and pot fillers by the cooktop and lighting above cabinet crown molding as well as under the cabinets are trending.

Walk-in pantries, when space allows, go beyond storage for food and bulk items, serving as a place to store smaller appliances including blenders, toasters, air fryers, coffee makers out of the main kitchen area, keeping it clutter-free. Double-stacked wall cabinets to the ceiling for added storage is also a common request to utilize available space and hide the clutter, the Buckners agree.

Maximizing cabinet space with customized drawers for cutlery and kitchen tools, pull-out shelves with built-in dividers for pots, pans and dishes, and hidden waste and recycle bins help keep the kitchen tidy and clean.

Cleaner Aesthetics

More homeowners are choosing range hoods to effectively clear smoke, grease, and cooking odors in lieu of the over-the-range microwave. The microwave is integrated elsewhere into an island drawer or in the base cabinets, Skyler told Valley Vibe. This allows for a sleeker, seamless design within the kitchen.
Other popular specialty touches include integrating decorative glass on cabinet doors, decorative door panels on appliances like refrigerators, adding pot fillers by the cooktop, and incorporating lighting under the cabinets and above the crown molding.

Cabinets & Countertop Styles

Homeowners are replacing their cabinetry from the older styles of the early 2000s like golden oak and honey maple and updating it with newer wood tones. “White oak is a popular choice, as well as maple ryes,” Skyler told Valley Vibe. “We still see a lot of dark cabinet choices, but the wood tones are coming back,” Bret said, adding that stained maples, alder, birches, mahogany, pecan—all the woods are in, he said. White cabinets are still a classic, but off-white tones are also popular, along with painted cabinets in green and navy hues.

For countertops, quartz remains the most popular choice for its affordability, durability, low maintenance and antibacterial properties.

Quartzite, a natural stone–harder than granite, although pricier, (50-60 percent higher in cost) is also a top selection, if budgets allow.

Backsplash choices vary but range from quartz to porcelain, natural stone, glass and ceramics.
“Whether they’re replacing their flooring, or keeping the existing flooring, they’re choosing cabinets and countertops that flow together,” says Bret.

Where to Start

The median spend nationally, rose to $60,000 over the past year for kitchen renovations, according to a 2025 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study. Locally, Bret and Skyler say a typical kitchen renovation project generally falls in the $35,000–$85,000 range.

During a first meeting with a potential client, the Buckners begin with determining the homeowner’s needs and wants, and prioritize what’s important to them and their lifestyle from there. Things like the condition of the cabinet boxes and doors, and the current functionality of the kitchen layout, and whether they want to keep the same footprint or make it bigger are generally the first topics of discussion.

An initial measure of the kitchen space helps create the framework for the kitchen redesign project. From there, color schemes and styles are discussed to try to narrow down the material selection.

The average kitchen renovation project takes roughly four weeks from start to finish, or six-to-eight weeks for larger kitchens, Skyler said.

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