For kitchen and bath remodelers

A full design calendar. Not a full voicemail box.

Kitchen and bath clients shop for months, browse photos at midnight and call when they finally feel ready, often while you’re mid-consult in the showroom. Outfitter gives your company a website that shows off your cabinets, tile and finished rooms, an AI Front Desk that answers the calls you can’t, and ads and reviews handled by Emma, your AI agent.

Build my Kitchen & Bath website → Start my marketing
Built for how kitchen and bath shops sell
Design consults pre-scheduled Cabinet, tile & countertop galleries Tub-to-shower lead screening Review request after final install Tile setter & installer hiring ads Showroom hours on every page No contracts
Example owner of a kitchen and bath remodeling company

One agent.No logins.

Call or text Emma the way you’d talk to an office manager. She does the rest.

01

Answers every call

EmmaAvailable 24/7

Asks your questions, offers the homeowner a time and texts you the details to confirm.

02

Free website

Built for your trade in about five minutes, from what already wins work.

A free Outfitter website on a phone
03

Ads, done for you

  • Facebook & Instagram
  • Google Business
  • Direct mail postcards
  • ChatGPTComing November
Call or text Emma: (507) 628-0400
Kitchen & bath by the numbers · 2025–2026

What the surveys say about selling kitchens and baths now.

Six numbers on spend, timing and buyers, from Houzz, NKBA, the BLS and the Cost vs Value report. Each one links to its source below.

$24,000
median kitchen remodel spend
Up from $22,000 the year before. Primary bathrooms rose to a median $15,000 and guest baths to $7,000.
Houzz & Home Study, 2026 [3]
87%
of kitchen renovators hire a pro
Most lean on general contractors and kitchen designers. 84% update their cabinets, and 68% replace every box.
Houzz Kitchen Trends, 2026 [2]
9.5 months
of planning per kitchen project
Versus 5.8 months of construction. Homeowners spend longer deciding than building, so you have to stay in front of them the whole time.
Houzz & Home Study, 2026 [3]
$26,138
average midrange bath remodel
The 2025 national job cost, recouping 80% at resale. A minor midrange kitchen ran $28,458 and recouped 113%.
Remodeling Cost vs Value, 2025 [4]
-2%
NKBA’s 2026 sales outlook
Cut from +4% a quarter earlier. The design segment scored 49.7 in Q2 2026, the weakest of the four NKBA tracks.
NKBA / John Burns KBMI [5]
45%
ask AI tools who to hire
Share of consumers who’ve used ChatGPT or similar for a local recommendation. Clear pages on cabinets, tile and baths give those tools something to quote.
BrightLocal, 2026 [1]
The kitchen & bath year

January dreamers, October deadlines. Plan the showroom around both.

Design inquiries jump after the holidays, when people have stared at their old kitchen through a month of hosting. They spike again in early fall, when everyone wants it finished before family arrives. Emma runs your marketing to that clock.

Winter · Jan–Mar

Design season.

Kitchen and bath ads go out as people set the year’s plans. Front Desk fields consult calls while you’re with clients and pre-schedules showroom visits for you to confirm.

Spring · Apr–Jun

Selections and orders.

Clients pick door styles, tile and fixtures. Emma posts finished projects and sends review requests after each final install.

Summer · Jul–Aug

Install season, steady leads.

Crews are setting cabinets and tile. Postcards go to the houses around each job, and bath ads aimed at aging-in-place upgrades keep the fall pipeline growing.

Fall · Sep–Dec

“Can it be done by Thanksgiving?”

Front Desk takes the rush and asks your timeline questions without promising a date. Leak calls on recent installs get flagged urgent and texted to you.

Cabinet lead times and your install backlog move these dates. Emma works from the calendar you give her, not a generic one.

Front Desk · answers 24/7

A design consult missed today is a $24,000 kitchen someone else draws.

Invoca’s 2026 call study found 55% of home-services businesses never ask the caller to book. Front Desk always asks: it picks up the calls you can’t, gathers room, style and budget, pre-schedules a consult and texts you the details.

How it handles a kitchen or bath call
  • Opens every call by saying it’s an AI assistant, in your own cloned voice or a natural one
  • Asks your questions: kitchen or bath, keep or move the layout, cabinets and tops picked or not, budget
  • Flags leaks on fixtures you installed as urgent and texts you
  • Pre-schedules a showroom or in-home consult for you to confirm
  • Won’t quote a cabinet line, a price or an install date unless you told it to
  • 35¢ a minute from your tokens. Setting it up and changing it are free.

How Front Desk works →

Example call. Front Desk follows the rules you give it.

Website

A kitchen and bath website that works like a showroom.

Tell Emma about your shop and the site is ready in about 5 minutes. Text her to update it: “Add the walnut island kitchen to the gallery.”

Built for kitchen and bath remodelers
  • Kitchen remodels, bath remodels, tub-to-shower conversions, cabinets, countertops and tile, each with a gallery
  • Showroom address and hours, service area and how your design process works
  • Consult requests sent to your email, plus live AI appointment booking
  • Live at getoutfitter.ai/site/your-name from day one. Professional ($79/mo) adds your own web address, no banner, and Google reviews and posts.
getoutfitter.ai/site/your-name
Example site for a made-up kitchen and bath company. Yours is built from your own rooms and product lines.
What changed in 2025–2026

Cabinet tariffs, quartz rules, showerheads. Clients bring these up in the showroom.

Three shifts that touch cabinet pricing, countertop choices and shower design this year. Have a clear answer for each, and you sound like the designer who knows the product.

Cabinets
Imported cabinets and vanities carry a 25% tariff
A Section 232 tariff of 25% on imported kitchen cabinets and vanities took effect October 14, 2025. It was set to double to 50% on January 1, 2026, but that step was postponed to January 1, 2027. Imports from the UK are capped at 10% and from the EU and Japan at 15%. [8] [9]
What to doTell Emma which cabinet lines you carry and where they’re made, so your site and Front Desk explain pricing the way you do.
Quartz
California is moving to ban engineered stone work
After a unanimous May 21, 2026 vote to begin rulemaking, Cal/OSHA released a draft in September 2026 that would bar fabricating and installing engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica. Over 650 stoneworkers have been sickened. Countertops already in homes aren’t covered. [10] [11]
What to doOutside California, clients still read the headlines. Put your countertop options, including natural stone, on your site.
Showers
Multi-head showers are back on the table
The Department of Energy repealed its rule that counted each nozzle as a separate showerhead, effective May 15, 2025. The 2.5 gallons-per-minute limit now applies to the showerhead as a whole, as under the 1992 law. State plumbing codes may be stricter. [12]
What to doAdd spa-shower packages to your bath page by texting Emma.

For context: NKBA’s Q1 2026 index showed kitchen and bath prices up 4.3% year over year, retail input costs up 6.3%, and 51% of firms expecting skilled-labor shortages to affect them. Check current pricing with your suppliers before you quote. [6]

Hiring installers and tile setters

Great design dies with a bad install. Recruit the hands that finish it right.

The BLS projects about 6,400 openings a year for flooring installers and tile and stone setters, with tile and stone setters earning a median $55,690 in May 2025. In NKBA’s Q1 2026 survey, 51% of kitchen and bath firms expected skilled-labor shortages to affect their business. [7] [6]

What Emma runs for you
  • A Facebook and Instagram job ad near your showroom, with pay and schedule up front
  • Your requirements spelled out: tile layout and waterproofing, cabinet install, finish carpentry
  • A quick, phone-friendly application
  • Each installer who applies is sent to you by text and email
Example hiring ad with the pay in big numbers, a short application, and the applicant texted to the owner
Example hiring ad and pay.
One agent · four jobs

One agent handles the front of the shop. You stay with the client at the design table.

Call or text one number. Emma, your AI agent, runs your website, your ads, your phones and your hiring, set up for your kitchen and bath company.

Website

Kitchen and bath galleries, cabinet and countertop pages, and showroom hours, laid out like a showroom.

Marketing

Design-season ads in January, review requests after each install, postcards to neighbors of finished kitchens.

Front Desk

Answers while you’re mid-consult, flags leaks on recent installs, pre-schedules design visits.

Recruiting

Job ads for tile setters and cabinet installers, with every applicant sent to your phone.

Example conversation.

The kitchen & bath growth guide

Websites, ads and consultation calls for kitchen and bath firms, done right.

What design-led kitchen and bath companies should put on their websites, how to market a long, considered purchase, and how to turn a phone call into a paid design consultation and a signed selection.

On this page: Website · Marketing & ads · Phone calls · FAQ · Sources

1

Kitchen & bath website best practices

Build galleries by room, style and material

Let visitors filter finished projects by kitchen or bath, then by look: white shaker, walnut slab, painted inset, spa bath, curbless shower. Wood cabinets just passed white as the top kitchen choice, 29% to 28% [2], so make sure your wood kitchens are easy to find. Label each project with the door style, countertop and tile used.

Give cabinets, countertops and tile their own pages

84% of kitchen renovators update their cabinets [2], and most weigh countertops and backsplash just as carefully. Write a page for each: the cabinet lines you carry and their construction, the stone and quartz options you fabricate or source, and the tile you install. Product pages catch the shoppers who start with materials, not contractors.

Explain your design process and what it costs

Spell out each step: first consult, measure, design presentation, selections, order, install. Say whether the design fee is credited toward the job if they sign. Homeowners spend about 9.5 months planning a kitchen and only 5.8 months building it [3], so a clear process page keeps you on their list the whole time.

Put the showroom front and center

Show the showroom address, hours and a few photos on every page, with directions and parking. Note whether visits are walk-in or by appointment, and whether evening or Saturday slots exist. For a showroom business, a visit is the conversion. Make booking one obvious and quick from a phone.

Write bath pages for the jobs people search for

Create separate pages for primary bath remodels, guest bath updates, tub-to-shower conversions and accessible or aging-in-place baths. Mention curbless entries, grab bars, blocking and waterproofing systems you use. A midrange bath remodel averaged $26,138 nationally in 2025 [4], so show what that level of finish looks like.

Choosing who builds it? 18 website options compared, with first-year costs and who owns the site.

2

Kitchen & bath marketing & ads best practices

Use Houzz as a second showroom

Kitchen and bath shoppers save photos for months before they call. Post every finished room to Houzz with full product tags: cabinet line, door style, countertop and tile. Answer questions under your photos. 87% of kitchen renovators hire a pro [2], and many find that pro by saving an image of their work.

Collect reviews that mention design, not just install

Ask after the final install, and suggest the client mention the design process, the layout and how the crew treated the house. Detailed reviews sell the next consult better than “great job.” BrightLocal found 47% of consumers skip businesses with under 20 reviews [1]. Outfitter’s Website Professional sends review requests and Google posts for you.

Run design-season ads in January

Kitchen interest climbs after the holiday hosting season. Start Facebook and Instagram ads in January with your best finished kitchens, and a second push in late summer for people who want a bath done before guests arrive. Show real rooms with natural light, and invite people to book a design consultation, not “get a quote.”

Host showroom events and designer nights

Hold a Saturday open house when a new cabinet display or tile line arrives, and invite past clients, local designers and realtors. Keep it small: coffee, samples, a short talk on layout mistakes. Events give past clients a reason to bring friends, and give you photos to post.

Offer financing for the bigger kitchens

With the median kitchen at $24,000 [3] and full remodels running much higher, many clients finance. If you work with a lender, mention it on your kitchen page and at the design presentation, not after sticker shock. A monthly-payment option keeps clients from cutting the island or downgrading the cabinets.

Track cost per signed design agreement

Count where each consult came from and how many turned into signed design agreements and then contracts. Kitchen and bath work has a long cycle, so measure over months, not weeks. NKBA’s market index cut its 2026 outlook to a 2% decline [5]; in a softer market, put money only behind sources that sign.

Choosing where to spend? 26 marketing options compared, including which leads are shared with other contractors.

3

Turning calls into design consultations

Answer during consults, or call back the same day

You can’t walk out of a design presentation to grab the phone, but the caller may be ready after months of browsing. Have a team member or answering service pick up, and return every message the same day. Outfitter’s Front Desk can answer, ask your questions and pre-schedule a consult for you to confirm.

Ask the questions that size the project

Ask kitchen or bath, which room, whether they’re keeping the layout or moving plumbing and walls, and whether they’ve picked cabinets, counters or tile. Ask about timing and anything driving it, like a parent moving in. Those answers tell you whether this is a vanity swap or a full gut before you book a slot.

Get a budget range before the first consult

Ask what range they have in mind, and share what your typical kitchens and baths run so they can place themselves. Clients who expect a $24,000 kitchen to include moved walls and custom inset cabinets need that conversation now. Qualifying early protects your designer’s time for buyers who can sign.

End every call with a consult or showroom visit

Invoca’s 2026 report found 55% of home-services businesses don’t ask the caller to book [13]. Always offer two times for a showroom or in-home consult, and ask them to bring photos, measurements and inspiration images. Confirm by text with the address and how long to plan for.

Follow up after the design presentation and selections

Call within a few days of presenting the design and ask what they’d change. If selections stall, set a selection appointment at the showroom to pick tile, hardware and fixtures together. Decisions made in person, with samples in hand, move a project from “thinking about it” to an order.

Choosing an answering service? What it should ask and which ones fit this trade, from live answering to AI.

Kitchen & Bath owner questions

Questions kitchen and bath owners ask us most.

How do kitchen and bath remodelers get more clients?

Show finished rooms and stay reachable. Houzz found kitchen projects take about 9.5 months of planning before construction, so homeowners browse your galleries and reviews for a long time before they call. When they do, someone has to answer.

Keep your website full of your own projects, ask for a review after every install and run design-season ads early in the year.

How much does an AI answering service cost for a kitchen and bath company?

At 35 cents a minute, paid from tokens, Front Desk runs about 100 minutes on $35. Houzz puts the median kitchen remodel at $24,000, so a single consult that would have gone to voicemail can cover a long stretch of answering. No contract.

Can an AI receptionist schedule design consultations?

It pre-schedules them. Front Desk asks your questions, offers a time for a showroom or in-home visit, and texts and emails it to you to confirm. You stay in control of your calendar.

Will clients know they’re talking to an AI?

Yes. Before any talk of cabinets or tile, Front Desk tells every caller it’s an AI assistant. It can speak in a natural voice or your own voice, cloned only from a recording you make yourself.

What about leak calls on a bath I just installed?

Front Desk marks leaks on fixtures you installed as urgent and texts you the details right away. You can tell it what to say first, for example to shut the supply valve under the sink or toilet.

How do I get more Google reviews for my kitchen and bath business?

Ask after every final install, the same day. BrightLocal’s 2026 numbers: 74% of consumers check for reviews from the past three months, and 47% rule out a business with fewer than 20. Smaller jobs like vanity swaps and shower conversions count. Website Professional sends the request automatically.

Do I need a website if I have a showroom and a Houzz profile?

Yes. Your website is your showroom after hours. It shows your cabinet lines, countertop and tile options and finished rooms, and it’s what AI tools read when someone asks who designs kitchens nearby.

How much should a kitchen and bath company spend on marketing?

Pick a monthly budget and judge it by signed design agreements. You set the ad budget with Emma and can raise or cut it whenever you like. Ads run at cost plus 30%, the first $10 of Facebook ads is free, and nothing is locked in.

What do I tell clients about cabinet tariffs?

Imported kitchen cabinets and vanities have carried a 25% Section 232 tariff since October 14, 2025. A planned increase to 50% was postponed to January 1, 2027. Explain where your lines are made and how your quotes handle price changes.

Is quartz being banned?

Not nationally. In California, Cal/OSHA released a draft in September 2026 that would ban fabricating and installing engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica, after 650-plus stoneworkers were sickened. It is not final yet. Countertops already installed aren’t affected.

Can I install multi-head showers again?

Federally, yes. The Department of Energy repealed the rule that treated each nozzle as its own showerhead, effective May 15, 2025, so the 2.5 gallons-per-minute limit applies to the showerhead as a whole. Some states set lower flow limits, so check yours.

Is the kitchen and bath market slowing down?

Somewhat. NKBA and John Burns cut their 2026 forecast to a 2% decline in Q2 2026, and the design segment scored below 50. Projects are still happening, but clients take longer to commit, which makes answering and following up matter more.

How do I hire tile setters and cabinet installers?

Put the pay and schedule in the ad and name the skills you need, like waterproofing and cabinet leveling. The BLS projects about 6,400 openings a year for flooring installers and tile and stone setters. Emma runs the ad on Facebook and Instagram and sends every applicant to you.

Does Outfitter replace my design software?

No. Keep your design and quoting tools. Outfitter sends every call, request and applicant to you by text and email, so it works next to whatever you use.

Free website: what’s the catch, and who owns it?

None. The no-cost version is hosted at getoutfitter.ai/site/your-name, carries a small Outfitter banner and stays free for good. For $79 a month, Website Professional adds your own web address, removes the banner and automates Google review requests and posts. You get 30 days free, with no contract.

Your client and project data belongs to you.

Sources

Figures on this page come from these reports. Vendor research is labeled as such; government sources are primary.

  1. BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (vendor research).
  2. Houzz Pro, 2026 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study.
  3. Houzz, 11 things to know about home renovations today (2026 U.S. Houzz & Home Study).
  4. Zonda / JLC, Remodeling 2025 Cost vs Value Report: national averages.
  5. NKBA / John Burns Research and Consulting, Q2 2026 Kitchen & Bath Market Index (KBMI) (trade association survey).
  6. NKBA / John Burns Research and Consulting, Q1 2026 Kitchen & Bath Market Index report (trade association survey).
  7. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Flooring installers and tile and stone setters.
  8. Troutman Pepper Locke, Tariffs imposed on timber, lumber and derivative wood products.
  9. Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, Tariff increase delayed on furniture, kitchen cabinets, vanities.
  10. KQED, California regulators unveil plan to ban new quartz countertops.
  11. Stone World, California Standards Board votes to begin engineered stone rulemaking.
  12. U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Department repeals legal definition of showerhead.
  13. Invoca, Home Services Lead Conversion Benchmarks Report 2026 (vendor research).

Written and reviewed by Eric Smith, Outfitter AI. Last reviewed . Rules and programs change; check with your suppliers, your state and a professional before you quote work or incentives.

Get your next design consult on the calendar.

Open with a kitchen and bath website that works like a showroom, ready in about 5 minutes. Marketing has no sign-up fee: you pay only for the ads and minutes you use, with no contract.

Build my Kitchen & Bath website → Start my marketing