even cheap kitchens are awesome!

[amha]

Megan McArdle, Bloomberg finance columnist, writes about her constant desire to have a fancy kitchen.

I have drooled over many a kitchen on home renovation shows or in the pages of a decorating magazine: white “coastal living”-style kitchens, ultra-modern kitchens, rustic kitchens, kitchens that at least have adequate shelving for your plates.

... [But] the truth is, my kitchen is more than adequate. It looks a bit funny, and sometimes I have to take extra steps. But it’s filled with magic stuff that would have made my great-grandmother faint from envy. And I’m not just talking about my amazing collection of kitchen gadgets. I’m talking about things like my mid-range GE oven, which has a thermostat so that I don’t have to make “try cakes,” burners that are instantly adjustable and insulation so effective that I have to be careful about the puff of very hot steam that hits my face every time I open it during cooking. My refrigerator, which not only keeps things cold, but also makes me ice -- automatically. My quiet dishwasher with a garbage disposal built right in so I neither have to pre-rinse nor clean the gunk off the bottom. I am already living in The Future, and it is awesome.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-20/my-kitchen-tis-of-thee

[deborah]

An automatic ice maker in your refrigerator!! A  dishwasher! A dishwasher with an automatic garbage disposal unit - they really make such things! Cor!

Why do you need such stuff?

[Rural]

I don't know why, maybe it was watching it all go in, or maybe it's the nearby spring, but I remain continually grateful in this house for water that just pours out if I pull a lever. What's more, it goes away magically even if I don't use it and don't carry it out.

[MrsPete]

That's a cute article, and a good reminder to all of us:  We may lament our "outdated" countertops or cabinets that are showing their age ... but every last one of us is rich.  Very rich compared to past generations.


Related topic:  This makes me remember moving into our first house and owning a washer/dryer for the first time.  No need to squirrel away quarters, no going outside and to another building to move a load from the washer to the dryer, no trudging back to the apartment because I forgot the soap.  Oh, the luxury.  I was on cloud 9 owning that basic washer and dryer.  I need to remember that a bit and stop thinking of today's laundry as a chore. 

[NinetyFour]

Reminds me of last summer when I had a water leak in my main water line.  While I was in the process of locating it and having repaired, I could access the water, but I did not want the main line to be open 24/7 because my water bill would be huge.  So, if I wanted water, I had to grab a wrench and a flashlight, walk 60 feet out to the curb, remove the manhole cover, reach down into the water meter pit, and use the wrench to open the valve.  Then I had to go back out and close the valve when I was done.  Made me very grateful that, most of the time, water is readily available in my kitchen and bath.

As for fancy kitchen stuff, I have a box that magically keeps things cold (fridge) and another box that warms things up (microwave).  That's as fancy as my kitchen gets.

[CabinetGuy]

Ack, no way!  Buy a new kitchen!  Yours is old and worn, and your neighbors are judging you. :)

Keep a self-employed guy employed.   Shiny granite, stainless steel, the smell of fresh lacquer paint...