“Gourmet Kitchen!” — uhm, really, do you think so??

June 21st, 2007 categories: Real Estate News, For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers

The term “Gourmet Kitchen” is dead. I’m making the pronouncement right now, Time of Death: 12:37 PM Thursday June 21, 2007. (Happy Summer!)

I remember the days when it used to mean something to have a gourmet kitchen. Now, every Tom, Dick and Harry has a gourmet kitchen to go along with their shag and dark wood paneling.

A quick search of the Columbus MLS active listings shows that it’d take us almost two straight months of looking at 8 gourmet kitchens a day to see all of the 459 Greater Columbus gourmet kitchens (61.5% of which reside in Franklin County). So far this year, you’ve already missed out on 184 gourmet kitchens.

Don’t fret though, there are still 85 Chef’s Kitchens still out there on the market waiting for a homeless chef to snap them up. Here’s one now. It was described as a, “Chef’s dream kitchen w/lots of cabinets.” And a pantry!

I realize these other agents are only doing their best to sell their clients homes and that, in some parts of Ohio, these may indeed pass for up-scale kitchens. What do I think makes a gourmet kitchen? How about, at a minimum:

• Newer, Top-of-the-line appliances (not necessarily stainless steel but for crying out loud a gas burner)
• Serious storage space and I’m not talking an appliance garage,
• Natural, Solid surface counter tops – quartz, concrete, granite, etc.
• Some kind of a hood, albeit even an under the microwave type
• In-Kitchen seating of some kind that’s easy and convenient (though that doesn’t help the cook, does it?)
• Plenty of room to do everything one needs to do in a kitchen – times two and under the counter lighting.
• Wine Fridge?
  

Best of the best would have

• two sinks
• two ovens - at least one of which is convection
• cold, filtered, drinking water on demand (because I love this)
• natural floor – ceramic, marble, wood (I know), slate, etc.
• and a freezer solution that isn’t small or cumbersome
• lots of nice extras would be defined prep and cleanup areas, great triangle work flows, lots of light, easy to clean yet great looking backsplashes, and places for trash and recycling that aren’t out in the open.
• Light from a window with a view over the sink and other places

What am I missing? Let me know what you think a true gourmet kitchen should have.