The Material That's Really Trending For Kitchens In 2025

Close your eyes and picture a home kitchen. Odds are, a few design elements come to mind right away, such as a tile backsplash, linoleum flooring, and painted cabinets. They're all design staples for the kitchen, thanks to their versatility, resilience, and charm.

In 2025 and beyond, though, there's a new material shaking up the space — treated wood. People are looking for ways to freshen up a cold millennial gray kitchen, leaning towards personality over pristine. Hardwood has long been a favorite flooring option for the rest of the house, but usually avoided in humid environments like kitchens. But treated wood has a coating that makes it a more durable and water-resistant option, making it not only a great choice for floors, but for other parts of the room as well. 

When used wisely and handled with proper care, treated wood finishes can add depth, texture, and a sense of grounded calm to kitchen areas like backsplashes, accent walls, ceiling accents, exposed beams, and other architectural nooks and crannies. It infuses minimalist spaces with easy warmth, and adds layers of homey charm into any aesthetic. Plus, the treatment process the material undergoes makes it uniquely suited to hold up to the messes and moisture found in every well-loved kitchen.

Treated wood isn't your standard hardwood you should avoid buying for your kitchen. Unlike that hardwood, treated wood goes through a pressurization process that infuses the material with chemicals. The chemicals help the wood resist wood's natural predators, like insects, moisture, and decay.

The added resilience makes treated wood a popular choice for outdoor home projects, where the wood faces more challenges when it comes to pests and extreme weather. But since kitchens aren't total strangers to elements like humidity, spills, and infestations — and since wood is becoming a more popular kitchen design element thanks to its natural beauty and warmth — people are considering treated wood as a durable decor option.

Treated wood can be use for floating shelves in a chic modern space, or a backsplash option for a rustic kitchen. Like ordinary wood, it can be stained to different finishes,  such as a Sedona red to bring an organic boldness to kitchen design, or a stunning black walnut to add dimension next to dark stone countertops and black appliances. If you have a kitchen that overlooks or opens onto a wooden backyard deck or patio, bringing some of the same treated wood indoors can add cohesion between the two areas, helping the entire space feel like an earthy oasis.

Before you move forward with treated wood in your kitchen, keep in mind that the pressurization can involve chemicals you don't want to ingest. Recent advances have made newer treated wood materials less toxic than before. Still, treated wood shouldn't be used in the kitchen for anything that comes into direct contact with food, like countertops, tables, or cutting boards.

Additionally, you want to make sure you are working with suppliers or contractors who can verify the toxicity levels of the treated wood you choose, and adhere to proper installation or disposal. For example, a professional can help you look at a wood's specifications to determine whether it's safe for indoor use. Additionally, you should never burn pressure-treated woods indoors or outdoors, even if it's just a few leftover scraps. If you are still wary about using treated wood inside the home, remember that you can always turn to laminate with a wood veneer to get the look of wood without the potential of toxicity.