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Cary, NC Kitchen and Bath Trends for 2027: New Cabinet Releases, Real Costs, and Permits | The Remodel Report · USA Cabinet Store Remodeling Podcast

• 0:05
  Welcome back to the Remodel Report by USA Cabinet
• 0:08
  Store. I am Chris. Today we are in Cary, North
• 0:11
  Carolina, sorting through a year's worth of new
• 0:14
  cabinet releases for homeowners near our showroom
• 0:17
  on Walnut Street. Jessica, why Cary and why now?
• 0:22
  Because of the houses. The Census Bureau puts
• 0:25
  the median year built in Cary at 1999, and about
• 0:29
  39 % of homes there date from the 1980s and 90s.
• 0:33
  Those original kitchens and hall baths are hitting
• 0:35
  the age where the boxes sag and the tub nobody
• 0:38
  uses takes up half the room. So a lot of people
• 0:41
  are about to remodel. What is new on the cabinet
• 0:43
  side? Fabuwood had the busiest year. In August,
• 0:48
  it added five designer stains to its Allure Galaxy
• 0:51
  shaker door. Biscuit, claystone, elderberry,
• 0:55
  dark aqua, and seaside pine. Plus natural oak,
• 0:58
  its lightest stain. It also launched Ovella.
• 1:02
  a frameless plywood line. That is a big year
• 1:05
  for one brand. It is. And Fabuwood usually ships
• 1:09
  in two to three weeks, so a warm, stained kitchen
• 1:12
  no longer needs a semi -custom budget. Showplace
• 1:15
  went the same direction with Bourbon, a mid -tone
• 1:17
  brown stain for cherry and white oak. Anything
• 1:21
  for people who want white? Mantra added steam
• 1:24
  for fall. They call it a warm white with a soft
• 1:27
  gray undertone. And 1951, cabinetry added two
• 1:31
  oak finishes, Garrett Bourbon Oak and Garrett
• 1:34
  Harvest Oak. And the European side? Bau Format
• 1:39
  showed its next model year at its in -house show
• 1:42
  in Germany in September. According to local press
• 1:45
  there, the hinges and interior fittings went
• 1:47
  black. There is a new front program called Miami.
• 1:50
  And the color range now runs to more than 4 ,000
• 1:53
  shades. With 10 to 14 -week lead times, if you
• 1:56
  order early next year, you are buying that program.
• 2:00
  So what is the pattern across all of it? Warm
• 2:03
  wood, warm white, and more frameless. That lines
• 2:07
  up with the NKBA 2027 Kitchen Trends Report.
• 2:12
  White oak is still the top wood at 49%. Neutrals
• 2:15
  lead at 96%. And 85 % of designers say cabinetry
• 2:19
  is being designed to hide appliances. How does
• 2:23
  that play in a 1990s Carrie kitchen? Better than
• 2:26
  you would think. 81 % of designers say zoned
• 2:29
  layouts are here to stay. So that half wall between
• 2:33
  the kitchen and the family room? Often you keep
• 2:36
  it and make it work harder, instead of paying
• 2:38
  to knock it out. I saw a Cary homeowner on Reddit
• 2:41
  say they took their 1980s home and brought it
• 2:43
  into the 2020s. That is the classic project.
• 2:48
  Ask to see the kitchen drawn twice, once with
• 2:50
  the wall gone and once with it kept. And plan
• 2:53
  the outlets, because adding receptacles in an
• 2:55
  island is permitted electrical work in Cary.
• 2:58
  Let us talk bathrooms. NKBA has not released
• 3:02
  its 2027 bath report yet, so we go with 2026.
• 3:07
  Wood vanities now beat painted ones, 62 % to
• 3:10
  53. And 55 % of professionals say a larger shower
• 3:14
  matters more than a tub. So the corner garden
• 3:17
  tub goes? In a lot of primary baths, yes. And
• 3:22
  in a humid climate like the Triangle, put real
• 3:24
  money into the exhaust fan. Cary lists bath fans
• 3:27
  among the work that needs a permit, so it gets
• 3:29
  inspected. Okay, money, what does all this cost?
• 3:33
  Our 2026 cost guide puts the national average
• 3:36
  kitchen remodel at $27 ,000 to $35 ,000. A medium
• 3:41
  kitchen runs $18 ,000 to $35 ,000 for a basic
• 3:44
  remodel and $35 ,000 to $70 ,000 for mid -range.
• 3:48
  The guide does not publish a separate triangle
• 3:51
  number, so treat those as your baseline. And
• 3:54
  bathrooms? The national average is $16 ,500.
• 3:59
  with most projects between $8 ,000 and $45 ,000.
• 4:03
  A mid -range remodel of a 5 by 8 hall bath in
• 4:06
  the same layout runs about $16 ,000 to $28 ,000.
• 4:10
  One homeowner on the Raleigh subreddit got a
• 4:12
  $23 ,000 quote for a basic plastic shower. Quotes
• 4:17
  swing because the scope swings. Our guide says,
• 4:20
  keep the toilet, shower, and sink where they
• 4:22
  are and you stay in the lower tiers. Build a
• 4:25
  wall, move the valve, move the drain, and you
• 4:27
  are in the upper tiers, which start at $30 ,000.
• 4:31
  Always ask for line items. What about resale?
• 4:35
  In the 2025 cost versus value report for Raleigh,
• 4:39
  a mid -range minor kitchen remodel, which keeps
• 4:41
  the cabinet boxes and replaces the fronts, recoups
• 4:44
  95 .5 % at resale. A major kitchen remodel with
• 4:48
  all new cabinets recoups 45%. So if you are selling
• 4:52
  soon, refresh rather than replace. Last big one,
• 4:56
  permits and carry. North Carolina exempts work
• 4:59
  of $40 ,000 or less, but only when it does not
• 5:03
  touch load -bearing structure, add or redesign
• 5:05
  plumbing, or add, replace or redesign wiring,
• 5:09
  heating, or air conditioning. Most kitchens trip
• 5:12
  one of those. Replacing cabinets in the same
• 5:15
  layout needs no building permit. Adding an island,
• 5:18
  moving a sink, adding outlets, or adding a range
• 5:21
  hood does. And if someone skips it? Under the
• 5:25
  town's fee schedule for fiscal 2027, work started
• 5:28
  without a permit is charged double permit fees,
• 5:31
  and you may have to open finished walls so the
• 5:33
  work can be inspected. Give me three things to
• 5:36
  remember. One, take a sample door home before
• 5:40
  you pick a stain. Two, zone before you demolish.
• 5:44
  Three, if your plan adds an island, plan the
• 5:47
  permit too. The full guide with every release,
• 5:50
  the cost tables, and the carry permit checklist
• 5:52
  is at usacabinetstore .com. The Cary Showroom
• 5:56
  is at 2226 Walnut Street. Open Monday through
• 5:59
  Saturday. Book a free design consultation and
• 6:02
  bring your measurements. Thanks for listening
• 6:04
  to the Remodel Report.