A reader tipped us off to a recent Yahoo Shopping Article and thought you’d like to share in the findings:
Steam Shower
“I just had to have a steam shower. My whole bathroom was torn up to install the pipes and the fittings, the glass door needed to be sealed in a certain way, the ceiling specially painted to resist mold. Unfortunately, I never have time for the spa day I fantasized about. I don’t even take long showers. I’ve used it maybe two times. If you divide the amount I spent by two, I probably could have purchased a small interest in Bliss Spas.” — Richard MishaanCommercial-Grade Stove
“When I moved into my home six years ago, I was sure I needed a commercial-grade stove in the kitchen. I had visions of dinner parties and guests gathering around for a home-cooked meal. I neglected to consider one important point — I don’t cook. I have yet to turn the stove on.” — Nate Berkus
Or, in the case of 469 Clipper, which appears to have finally found a buyer at the current $765,000 asking price (sold July of last year for $1,020,000), you could get the steam shower and the commercial grade stove all in one…no extra charge! That is, if you just have to have them both.
The amount of money a person puts into kitchen renovations is inversely proportional to the amount of time the person spends cooking.
D you’re so right.
When we bought our house and brought the architect along during our offer visit, the seller’s agent asked what my plans were for the kitchen – and I answer “why would I remodel the kitchen? it’s working as it is” (kitchen is from the 70s, updated in the 90s and 00s – and we only un-remodel the 00s when we moved in – ie the commercial range is history for the sake of my children’s safety)
realtor’s comment “oh yes, you’re french. You can probably cook Thanksgiving and Xmas diner on a Coleman camping burner” ;)
My inversely proportional is that one:
the finishes are inversely proportional to the functionality of the kitchen.
ie: the more the kitchen is designed for canning about 300 jars of tomato sauce (size of cooking appliances, size of countertops etc), the less stain-free the kitchen is (high maintenance countertops, white cabinets with intricate carving etc).
For me, a real Chef kitchen (not a B*S* one) is looking pretty much like your local restaurant/diner one. Something like the kitchen of JohnnyRocket or MelsIn. The only item that is hard to transfer from commercial to residential is the floor drain (a dream) because of @!#%!#$ SF code.
Anything else should be called something else. Like High End Kitchen, or formal diner-ready kitchen, or catering friendly kitchen … but not “chef’s kitchen”.
HAH!! That is hilarious. Real classy ;)
Why didn’t the owner of 469 Clipper just go for it, and deal with the headache/wait? I will never understand that one.
This was the one non-performing asset in a portfolio of 15 properties. This was where we cut our losses and moved on. It was an opp cost decision.
OK, thank you for that. I was curious, because I think it still plays. And I’m pretty sure I know who’s taking it off your hands finally. Good luck. I’m pretty sure we have a mutual friend or two.
Some friends of mine live in Jackson Hole and after a long day of hitting the slopes the steam shower in their guest bathroom is HEAVEN. However, I just don’t see it having the same affect around here.
As far as “chef’s kitchen” goes, hubby and I bought a home with the six burner Thermadore, huge center island, etc etc, and we love it. We probably entertain 2-3 nights per week. Even when we’re not entertaining, I make ludicrously elaborate meals because I can. Love it.
@danalotus,
We’d gladly accept an invitation to either Jackson for some pow pow, or your “chef’s kitchen” for some grub. Just say the word.
Who left the lower drawer open on the oven? Don’t they know anything about staging? Sheesh, no wonder it took a while to sell.
I hear about steam showers being expensive and I don’t know where these people are buying them. I bought a top of the line steam shower for under 4 grand. I use it daily and on the weekends I usually soak in the whirlpool tub to relax and reflect. Works for me!
So a floor drain is prohibited by code in residential ? That’s just silly. One of the nice features of a commercial kitchen is that you can basically hose it down and squeegee the floor dry. It takes about 5 minutes max. I’d probably cook more if my kitchen was so easy to clean.
The downside of a floor drain is that it would probably be a liability when it comes time to sell. How many buyers see the value of an easy to clean kitchen ? Maybe it could be done classier : a stainless steel slot rather than the standard 4 inch round cast iron grate.
I’ve been wondering a long while about this issue of floor drains not being in residential kitchens and bathrooms. What is up with that ? I’ve seen plenty of horror stories about high rise condos getting flooded from neighbors units. Why aren’t floor drains required in all kitchens and bathrooms, and at least why aren’t they showing up as desirable elements in expensive residential tower condos like Infinity and Millennium ? The drains are found throughout Asian and Europe and work well. (Sure the engineering of them needs to be well done to avoid the problem they had in Hong Kong with dry traps.) Can someone enlighten me ?