How Has Kitchen Expectations Changed Over the Years

George Souto - You and your family members made it through the tough times. Congratulations! I always remembered a refrigerator in my parents kitchen, but I have no idea when they actually got it and who would have hauled it up their steep and winding stairs and into their kitchen. I'm glad you mentioned the iceman. It was something I heard about but didn't have a clue when I was young or what they were talking about! 

As always, it's great to hear from you!

Kat Palmiotti - I haven't heard or seen a Nutone Box before. How interesting!!! Isn't it fun to make these types of discoveries in other people's homes and to watch the faces on clients when they learn about them with you too! Now that is very, very cool!

How exciting for you and your client and I hope they have or will be making a decision soon! I wish you the best!!!

Nina Hollander - I chuckled when I read your comment. It reminded me of a home I sold to buyers a few years back. Their goal was to have a dream kitchen. We searched in vain and then they finally settled. It was the curved island, as big as a conference table with exported marble that was their winning choice. On the day of the Walk-Through, I brought them my gift. It was for the kitchen, of course. But when I asked them if they were excited about cooking and preparing meals in their new kitchen, they looked at me as if I was from another planet. They said they bought the house to have wine parties and the island was perfect for party guests, wine and cheese.

Nina, you can never assume what you're buyers are thinking, can you? Don't you just love buyers!!! 

Myrl Jeffcoat - Thank you for the feature! Yeah! 

As I read your comment, I felt your pain! The weight of that first microwave or whatever name they called it back then was a backbreaking experience! When I got my first Amana Radaroven, you might as well have called me skinny and my husband bones. I thought we were both goners when we brought that heavy piece of equipment into our home. When we finally got it out of the box, there was no counter space to accommodate its size! Then my husband had a brilliant idea! We went shopping to Sears for a portable Dishwasher (another big and heaving appliance) and we felt like we were living in luxury with a kitchen that had both, dishwasher and Amana Microwave on top! But the problem was, I rarely got to use the dishwasher because we had to take the Amana off, set it on the floor, and wheel the big dishwasher up to the sink; then I had to wait for him to make the connections to the plumbing under the sink!

Oh! Those were the days, my friend! Thank goodness they ended!!!

Myrl, I have a feeling if we ever sat down to talk, you and I would spend hours rolling on the floor laughing about our life experiences in the kitchen!

Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®,CRS, - Many of those appliances back then were built to last! I don't think anyone thought about longevity for appliances or replaced them as frequently then as consumers do today. I'm already on my third refrigerator, third microwave, second dishwasher, and second electric stove. 

I can only imagine how much fun you had with your buyers who really appreciated getting what "Grandma" had in her kitchen. They must have been such a joy to you to see how excited they were and to be a part of their home buying experience! 

Wishing you many more clients just like them! Have a great day!

Endre Barath, Jr. - I'm glad you enjoyed it! A couple of years ago I went up to Dennison, TX. The home that President Eisenhower was born in. When I peaked into the kitchen, it was hard to believe it was really a kitchen! We have come a long, long way. I scratch my head in wonder why has technology and design spent so much time and research developing products for consumers that seem to be on "display," in many luxury homes? 

I really do wonder about what type of appliances are in kitchens in restaurants and B&B around the world. I'm sure many of them don't have those luxury items and yet doesn't their food tastes delicious?

If a kitchen could talk, I'm afraid they would have many sad things to say. 

Thanks for coming along down memory lane! It's always a pleasure when you're around!

Dorie Dillard - Ah! Canning! a skill I never learned but grew up in that environment. I grew up in a house with Grandma and Grandpa living across the hall, behind their own door. I had my parents and 4 sisters in our flat. Downstairs below us was my father's brother and aunt and their 2 kids. Across the hall from them behind their own door was my Aunt and Uncle without kids.

Grandma and Grandpa canned. My mother cooked what they canned. The dairy was on the next block. As a kid, I went down into the shed in the basement to pick out the jars my mother wanted. Now that I think about it, my grandparents shed was like the local grocery store! 

Those were really, really good meals and everything was homemade. In a recent visit to see my daughter, I offered to take her and my son-in-law to the restaurant for dinner. My daughter looked at me and said, we don't go to restaurants, we eat at home and make our own meals. Mom, she said, since when did you start going to restaurants? That's not how you raised me.

Oops! As a Texan, only you could understand - what said about Foodies in Texas stays in Texas! 

William Feela - Master Bedroom and Kitchen is what does sell the house! It is the culture in which we live!

Debe Maxwell, CRS - Rest assured, after reading your delightful comment, I am still rolling the floor laughing about that talk about radiation by our parents generation because WE bought microwaves! Whether it was true or not, we SURVIVED! I can see now how important it was to have dry, hard, rubber meat without taste as we tried to prepare a nice meal back then in 35 minutes or less! We were the "Love Child," generation! We had no time to waste for hours making dinner in the old fashioned oven our parents used! Women like us worked outside the homes to bring home the BACON! Weren't we all singing "I AM Woman, hear me roar!!!" 

You might be interested in reading what Myrl Jeffcoat had to say in comment # 5 and my reply in #13. I can see now why the weight of meat and the microwave was a blessing and curse. Both were so heavy. Remember - "he's not heavy, he's my brother?" Well that goes for the meat in the microwave from the 70's too! When the hard rubber meat got out of the microwave, it could have been used as a weapon on a football field! There was no way we could have gotten radiation because we couldn't chew it or digest it! I don't know why the old folks made such a big deal out of it!

Today in America, I haven't seen one kitchen (regardless of whether it's a luxury home or not) with out a build-in Microwave! They sure make a great statement for any kitchen!

I also love the front porches! Recently, I have traveled to Georgia, the North Woods with a client who is hoping to move there. Those front porches on the cabins are to die for!  So far, all the kitchens are too small. I remember Charlotte in the 90's looking at homes for myself. My tongue was drooling for one of those southern homes you have down there in Charlotte with the large front porch and those to die and go to Heaven for Kitchens! I couldn't agree with you more, being a gourmet cook or not, having a "trophy kitchen," is the best way to live! 

Debe Maxwell, CRS and Myrl Jeffcoat - He's not heavy, he's my dinner!!!

Debbie Reynolds - First of all, thank you for 38+ years in the real estate business. I applaud you for going through the many peaks and valleys, the highs and the low interest rates, and everything else in between. 

My first kitchen appliances when I got married in 1971 were the Avocado Stove and Refrigerator. Neither my husband or myself liked the color, after all, technically, he was still property of U.S. Army. But it was a deal we couldn't refuse. Both were built to last. After he passed away in the 1980's, I got rid of a perfectly good stove and refrigerator because I could no longer stomach the color of avocado or anything green, other than what was naturaly green, i.e., grass, tree leaves, and other plants. I then bought the Almond colors which didn't last and needed almost immediate replacements. 

I remember how black seemed so depressing to me, especially in kitchens that had red and black Z-brick. Unfortunately, I lived with that too and it really, really felt depressing! 

I now have SS and love it. I have seen retro colors coming back in the Dallas stores, i.e, red, baby blue, pink, red, yellow, and other funky colors that some might enjoy. As for me, I'm stuck on SS, the better quality and more modern SS products. 

I certainly hope the trend doesn't go back to Coppertone, green, brown, or gold. That's just too much for me!