Half of Americans sick with kitchen envy

Nine in 10 Americans said their kitchen needs to be “better looking than any other room” in their home, according to a new study.

The poll of 2,000 U.S. adults found a grand majority believe the heart of their home needs to be more superior than other rooms and half admit experiencing “kitchen envy” when they see a kitchen nicer than theirs.

Those who see green claimed they get jealous when they see a preferable kitchen layout (61%), and high-end appliances (44%). 

These findings implied that those with kitchen envy want better-quality appliances for their own homes. One in five (22%) believe the quality of their kitchen’s appliances has a major impact on their ability to host and entertain guests in their homes. 

Specifically, the study found 42% of Americans have a new refrigerator at the top of their kitchen envy “wish list,” and 55% said a refrigerator with ample storage space was the top “must have” for their dream kitchens.

Commissioned by Thermador and conducted by Talker Research, the study revealed one in four are likely to snoop around their friends’ and family’s kitchen (25%), with 69% of snoopers replicating what they observe to enhance the look of their own.

An additional 36% have also snooped through someone else’s refrigerator to see what groceries they buy or how things are organized.

Of all generations, Gen Zers were found to be more likely to both snoop through a friend’s or family member’s kitchen (36%) and their refrigerator (57%).

The survey identified one possible source causing people’s envy: 18% of people said they’re too embarrassed to show off their kitchen, but 59% of them would be more likely to show it off if it resembled their dream kitchen. 

In fact, seven in 10 said if they had unlimited funds, creating their “dream kitchen” would be among one of the first spends, and refrigerators were the appliance most people would be willing to spend the most money on for their dream kitchen (42%).

Knowing storage is important, four in five (83%) said having an organized refrigerator was important for them, and 55% have either previously participated in, or currently participate in “fridgescaping” — reorganizing items in their fridge to curate a visually stunning display.

Some respondents even mentioned what they would be willing to sacrifice to achieve their dream kitchen: 33% would go without takeout for an entire year, 21% would go vacation-less for a decade and 18% would willingly encounter spoiler alerts for their favorite TV shows and movies. 

“The kitchen is the central space in the home, and homeowners aspire to create an environment that reflects personal taste and lifestyle,” notes Beatriz Sandoval, at Thermador. “Appliances designed to inspire, with innovative features and luxury design, offer our consumers the ability to create a kitchen they’ll love — one that sparks envy and showcases their individuality.”

Research also found where people get kitchen inspiration from: many draw inspo from their friends and family (31%), TV and movies (30%), magazines (26%) and social media platforms (25%). Top among the platforms were Facebook (61%) and YouTube (60%). 

Gen Z stood out from the rest of the generations, preferring to get their kitchen inspiration from YouTube (67%) more than any other social media platform. 

The youngest buying power was also found to be more likely to get inspiration from celebrity homes than any other generation (25%, compared to millennials (20%), Gen X (14%), baby boomers (9%) and the Silent Generation (3%)).