Dumb kitchens

I have heard that in London they are now developing some new small condos aimed at singles without kitchens at all, since most people of this demographic never cook at home anyway.

Yeah, I think I pointed this out before - the "one-size-fits-all" kitchen remodeling you see in MA has gotten completely out of control.

My favorite? When brainiac remodelers use those cute little bowl sinks in a "cook's" kitchen. Seriously, if anyone can comfortably wash an 8 quart stockpot or a lasagna pan in one of those, they get a medal.

This reminds me of the "don't touch" living room many people have, where they have the nicest furniture in the house, but don't allow themselves to sit on it. People often buy nice things with limited or no intention of using them. And as far as the flippers go, the bottom line is that putting in granite & stainless will raise the selling price much more than the cost of those additions, so whether or not they're practical for the home owner is beside the point. They are practical from the perspective of the flipper making more money.

As a cook, that brightens my day. For me it's about solid functioning, durable equipment and enough space to store stuff, lay out ingredients, chop, and toss garbage away. Good lighting is important too.

But, one wonders...during the boom a place HAD to have the granite and stainless steel. Someone was demanding it.

This is my biggest pet peeve in the current market -- sellers who throw low-end granite on low-end cabinets and expect a premium from buyers for it. Meanwhile, the layouts are usually terrible.

Rona, those folks probably didn't have any pots because half the time, there aren't any cabinets in the entire kitchen large enough to store any of them in!

Who is Mark?

Clarification:
This string comes off of a comment that Mark made on Binya's entry on Julia Child's house.

Sorry, Ted and others who were bewildered.

We bought our first home recently and one of the things we love about it is that it has the original kitchen (the home was built in 1973the '70s).

Now, I know most people are groaning right now, imagining orange countertops and avocado appliances, but the previous owners did small, inexpensive updates like painting the solid cabinets a neutral color, changing the hardware (makes a difference) and putting in new, white (not stainless) appliances. They also changed the faucet/sink to something more practical that will allow you to wash large stockpots. There is also a neutral tile floor that is in good condition.

Not showy or "upgraded" by any means, but perfectly functional, and clean without being disco '70s.

The only drawback (which turned off all the other potential buyers apparently) is that the countertops are the original laminate Not something I would choose, but this is the reason we are excited about this home - we can turn it into whatever we want it to be. We can choose the cabinets and counters we want and design it to our tastes.

When we were househunting, it seemed like all the houses that flew off the market were ones that already had the brand new stainless & granite configuration. We are actually happy the owners left the kitchen this way so that we can renovate and put some money into a project that will give us a great return.

To be honest, granite and stainless would be out of place in a house of this age and style. I think putting those things in would be an overimprovement for the neighborhood. We'll proably end up choosing finishes and materials that are more traditional and will age well.

I'm not sure a lot of people notice the kitchen layouts or lack of cabinet space until they actually start moving in and using the kitchen, but the last time I went househunting, lack of cabinet space took many places out of the running because I knew there was no way I'd have room for my (admittedly oversized) collection of cooking equipment and still have a place to store food.

On a more specific note, I think poor kitchen layout is often connected to a poorly designed open floor plan. I see a lot of listings where a small galley kitchen is installed at one end of an open kitchen-dining-living area, often in small places like urban condos. I think it's an attempt to make the whole unit look bigger, but it often means that there is very little cabinet space and almost nowhere practical to store household items like brooms and mops, which end up propped awkwardly in a corner.

I'm also no fan of dark granite. I think it really sucks the light out of the work surface. I much prefer to work on a well lighted surface in a light color.

A property with a kitchen in need of an upgrade is always more attractive to me as a buyer. I hate to pay for someone else's dream kitchen.

Interesting...I had somehow gotten the impression from watching the market for the last several years, speaking with buyers and their agents/Realtors(r); and reading message boards and blogs that most home buyers were interested in purchasing someone else's "pretty" (functionality runs a close 2nd).

I'd be thrilled to hear of the tide turning - but I doubt it.

We're going to live with this kitchen for a while so that we start to accumulate a list of must haves for the reno. As the days go by we find ourselves noticing little things that we're adding to our wish list for when the time comes. It's been a great learning experience as we discover the improvements (small or large) that would make the kitchen more functional for us.

clwho: We saw a beautiful townhouse that we had to eliminate off the bat because it had a tiny galley style kitchen that was closed off completely on one end, that only one person could occupy at a time. It was clear that the kitchen was downsized at the expense of a larger "open floor plan" living/dining area.

The kitchen size was so bad that you couldn't even have someone go into the fridge to get a drink if the cook was busy at the stove.

Even light, good-quality granite, gets stained pretty easily; that's why you see so much dark granite, which I don't like either. But I love the convenience of being able to place hot pans on it without worrying.

A great compromise is manufactured quartz. You can get any color, nothing seems to hurt it, and it always looks fresh and clean.

As far as buyers not wanting to redo kitchens: when both spouses work, and there are little children, redoing a kitchen just becomes a huge burden, even if the money is available.

I like to cook, so I know what a good functional kitchen needs. The 1972 ranch I recently sold still had its original laminate countertops. They were *very* ugly. But they worked really, really well. Never stained, never dinged, cheap, heat resistant, needed no sealing... and so on. They took 35 years of abuse from 5 different families. If you ever wanted to change the color, its easy to do since they are so affordable. They are so light you can replace them yourself. For my next kitchen, I am embarrassed to say it, but Im really considering laminate.

Out of curiousity, where would you go to look for good kitchen reno ideas? I see a lot of listings and some friends going to places like IKEA to renovate their kitchens? On the market, are these considered to be really shoddy cabinets that look good or more than sufficient?

I've also been hearing more about quartz countertops. Anyone seen these?

fine homebuilding kitchens and baths issue is usually good.

Ikea cabinets are surprisingly good for a cheapo - I'd bet most can't identify them when they are up.

A nice kitchen is one that a) is useful b) is in good taste c) fits the house. A kitchen that may be in good taste and fit a colonial would look wretched in a craftsman.

But the devil is in the details.