I'm partial to the Star Trek thing where I can tell a wall what I need and it'll [twinkle, twinkle, twinkle] appear.
Since that's probably not going to happen, I'm secondly partial to a built-in maid, cook, and bottle washer.
I really don't count, though, because I barely cook anymore.
You have brought up some very notable points about today's U.S.' kitchen, vs. the rest of the world.
Still beats cooking over a fire in the middle of a straw hut.

Lindsay, that's a great idea for the smoke detector! Meanwhile, I have to poke it with a broomstick.

How about a builtin or pop-up toaster? My mom had a built-in flip-up mixer, something like that for more appliances.

i want interchangeable dishwasher racks, or completely reconfigurable ones.

I'm surprised that we don't have dedicated kitchen computers. It could swing down from an upper cabinet, be waterproof, and be set up to keep all of our recipes as well as a pantry inventory. The right program could make suggestions based on what you have in stock, or tell you what you need to buy for a planned recipe. Of course, it would have to come with a nerd to enter all of the data and work the darn thing!

I like the idea of a built in chef, housekeeper, Alice or Rosie. So I can get a break sometimes. LOL I like Mushcreeks idea.

They do have the computer screens on refrigerators now.

I saw a documentary years ago that spoke of how the first cake mixes only required water, and people didn't want to use them because it didn't feel like they were doing anything. So, they changed them to allow the cook to add the eggs and oil, too.

When we were appliance shopping, and I saw the Miele ovens that had everything programmed in, all kinds of settings for various recipes, I felt like it was like those early cake mixes. People who would actually cook those things don't want the oven to just do it for them.

Years after my parents bought their fancy at the time microwave with preprogrammed recipes, my dad jokes about their $xxx hotdog cooker. We used it all the time, but the only time we ended up using the preprogrammed things was Recipe 49 for hotdogs.

Anyway, I do feel like technology in the kitchen will always have to leave room for the human element, making it easier and safer without removing the creativity.

French door ovens ...Frameless cabinets ... Fridge with ability to convert between fridge and freezer ... Touch faucet technology ... pantry organizer ... Star Trek thing where I can tell a wall what I need ... builtin or pop-up toaster ... interchangeable dishwasher racks ... dedicated kitchen computers

Eh, most of these things sound like "more for the sake of more" rather than actual moves forward in function. Yeah, the French door ovens are actually a good safety feature /back saver, and interchangeable dishwasher racks sound like a functional idea. But why do we really need a refrigerator that can become a freezer? At what point are we going to be willing to give up the refrigerator to have more freezer? Consider the expense when the built-in toaster breaks -- is that really better than the $10 models that we have now? The pantry organizer would only be useful for a few items that are genuinely "always on hand". As for a dedicated kitchen computer, we have that: It's an iPad. Small and portable, easy to prop up in the kitchen so you can read a recipe. The iPad is also portable, so you can surf the web on the sofa AND use it a a cookbook in the kitchen; furthermore, when you want to upgrade to a newer model, you don't have to have it installed.

I think a whole lot of this is just a "dog and pony show". Lots of flash (and lots of cost) but small value in the long run. I think the reality is that kitchen items are pretty much as good as they're going to get within the constraints of typical kitchen size, typical kitchen budget, and inclusive of human interaction. The cake mix analogy is a good one.

How will a typical kitchen look different in the future? I wonder if they won't be smaller. People are eating out more often, and more and more people just don't know how to cook. I don't think the over-sized commercial appliances will last; they're just not something a typical home cook needs.

I think that if the trend does go towards smaller kitchens, we probably will see more of the innovations like the Europen doors that slide back in under the oven. They have been working with older, limited spaces for years and their products accommodate that. We Americans have trended towards just building newer, bigger kitchens to fit the larger appliances.

MrsPete, there are certainly times when I'd like to swap my fridge and freezer sides. Not for long, just a few days. Sometimes I need more fridge space, but not often enough to warrant another fridge.

I've tried using the programs on my microwaves and find them totally inappropriate for what I'm doing. So they sit there taking up front-panel space, kind of like the tv remote control. There are buttons on there I have no idea what they do. On the micro there's one labeled "Inverter Turbo Defrost". I'm kind of afraid to press it without a helmet on.

Kitchen should have Rosie from the Jetsons and all the gear the Jetsons home had, even the car.

I find I prefer simplicity over techy. When shopping for appliances I usually buy the best brand in my price range with the least amount of buttons - I figure the less to go wrong:)

It would be great if the trash and recycling could take care of themselves - not sure it that will ever happen.

A cheese fridge, and a hands-free hot pocket dispenser.

Casey

Was there a requirement that the question be answered with moves forward in function? I thought it said what would we like to see in a kitchen of the future. Less parents are home to cook and kids and people definitely need to eat healthier food, I personally do not prefer to eat out when time crunched so would prefer "techie" options even though in the rest of my life I feel more electronics mean more to go wrong.

In the 1950s, there was an obsession with "Kitchens of the Future", like this 1959 Look Magazine article, and I remember watching The Today Show around the same time when they had a special show featuring what the kitchen would be like in the year 2000. They seemed to expect the food to cook itself and the dishes to clean themselves.

On the other hand, when I was researching kitchen design back in 1986, I searched the libraries for information on what kitchens were like in different countries, and what I found from Russia was particularly primitive. In cooking, there is a trend to make things simpler and faster, and so I can see kitchens getting smaller and simpler, but that's not necessarily what I personally would want - I just want a larger pantry. I think there need to be new and better ways of storing things and accessing them, sort of like Cher's rotating closet in the movie Clueless.

I'm not really much into useless techie but I'd love help on things like auto composting, recycling and make trash disappear. I'm tired of filling my garage with bags of recycle materials until I can get them to the center. The stink in bags of trash also make it unpleasant as well.

A dead corner cabinet on a hydraulic lift, like the lifts in auto repair shops. Push a button and one could reclaim at least 6 cubic feet of every dead corner. Or make the dead corners freezer chests, with hydraulic lift lids. Push a button, and the heavy stone counter is lifted on corner posts, revealing the hidden contents. Wouldn't those things be great in tiny apartments? Of course, those of us who keep the toaster on the counter, in the corner, would need to rethink that, so we wouldn't end up with a compacted appliance.

Lol, lindsaymarie--my young grandson has been trained to head for the nearest door when the smoke detector goes off--no questions asked. When I hear running feet I yell, "It's OK!" to let him know the house isn't on fire.

I would like a "Cone of Silence" for my exhaust hood. Also, trans-dimensional storage for my small closet-type pantry.

@mtnfever ditto both of what you said. Forgot about the hood noise. Being without a kitchen for 2 yrs makes me forget.

If I get a trans-dimensional pantry like Mary Poppins' bag, I would probably become a prepper.

Ah, yes, the TARDIS cabinet! It's bigger on the inside.

I'm still don't have a dishwasher, so future tech is right out. Though I would like a robot maid.

Yes! Doctor Who pantries that are "bigger on the inside" would be awesome!

Lol! Cross-posted with cawaps!

And silent appliances would be amazing.

Anyone remember the episode of 'Home Improvement' when they featured the Binford Man's Kitchen? That's what I really want!

I bet we will have home 3-D food printers. I saw that they demonstrated one for pizzas down at OSU the other day.

MrsPete,
there are certainly times when I'd like to swap my fridge and freezer
sides. Not for long, just a few days. Sometimes I need more fridge
space, but not often enough to warrant another fridge.

I can't remember a time when I've wanted more fridge space AND at the same time had excess freezer space. And I certainly wouldn't want to pay more (lots more) for this option. If you really need extra fridge space occasionally, you can pick up a dorm-sized cube refrigerator for $50 (less if you buy used) and store it in the attic when you're not using it.

It would be great if the trash and recycling could take care of themselves - not sure it that will ever happen.

Now that would be great, but I can't see how it could happen.

Was
there a requirement that the question be answered with moves forward in
function?

That's a fair question. I think we all want better function from our kitchens, but perhaps the real question is, What constitutes better function as we move into the future? For some people it might be a faster way to cook prepackaged foods ... and that might lead into a desire for healthier options in prepackaged foods, which isn't a kitchen question but is certainly related.

They seemed to expect the food
to cook itself and the dishes to clean themselves.

Put it into perspective; consider the reality of cooking just prior to that article. Compared to peeling your own potatoes, canning your own green beans, and baking your own bread ... frozen dinners and canned food served on paper plates IS food that cooks itself and dishes that clean themselves.

I would like a "Cone of Silence" for my exhaust hood.

Now that sounds both useful and possible.

I bet we will have home 3-D food printers. I saw that they demonstrated one for pizzas down at OSU the other day.

Thing is, you can't create something out of nothing. Even if you had a Star Trek type replicator, you'd still have to load in pizza sauce and cheese -- at least at home. Perhaps a mall food court could feature a "replicate your own pizza machine", which could make your pizza to order -- but someone in the back'd have to load up the ingredients.

I don't not think it is so much what they will have as it will be how they will be put together. When you look at the sunk costs of a new kitchen it is simply outrageous. The whole cabinet maker industry is slowly killing the goose that laid the golden egg. In much of the world when you move out of a house you take the kitchen with you. I think kitchens of the future will become much more easily installed, uninstalled and transportable. At one point Ikea had such a kitchen and then they let it go because there's just too much money to be made on kitchens that have to be installed. It is just not that interesting to me to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on a kitchen, when I could buy all of the appliances that I could ever need for less than $1000, sure, they won't be the big built-ins but they will do the job and in many cases they actually do a better job than the big built-ins.

It should have me and the people I love. Ah, some food would be helpful too lol.

(when i was little I dreamed of a special magic machine that mixes you any food or drink of you choice. You just need to sit there..

Then I understood than we'll all arrive eventually to "just sitting there", and don't dream of that machine anymore:)

I want the oven from the movie "The Fifth Element". Milla Jojovich put in what looks like a marble, pushed a button, and it instantly prepared a full roast turkey dinner big enough for probably 12 people. She ate the whole thing, but of course she wasn't human...

I would like to see a stove top that cleans itself, not even ashes left and tall pantry selves that move out and down with the push of a button so you can reach them without a stool. Also a bottomless trash can, grinds the garbage and Sucks the garbage out into city holding area for them to empty.

I want the Jetson's "shower" - enter the "shower" on the conveyor belt all mussed up in the morning and exit seconds later ready for the day! Clean, clothed, hair done, and make up perfect!

The idea of the replicator on Star Trek (Next Generation) is to convert non-specific matter or energy into whatever you request. So, no need to pre-load it with cheese, etc. While I'd like that for mundane, everyday needs, I'd still want the ability to cook myself - the best of both worlds! :-)

TARDIS - If I had a TARDIS, I wouldn't care about the Kitchen!

Here's something we used to have, that I would love to see again -- a gas stove with a 'Burner with a Brain' with a temperature sensor that pressed against the bottom of the pan. You set the dial to a temperature and the gas would cycle on and off to maintain that temp.

****

Much lab work is basically cooking (measure, heat, cool, stir), and there is lab equipment already developed that would be handy to have in the kitchen. A sous-vide water bath for example, or a heating plate with a magnetic stirrer for the perfect béchamel:

A sink-side glassware drying racks with tray that drained to the sink through a tube (imagine the pegs/holders better arranged for home-kitchen items)

Oh, and a set of kitchen beakers.

Doesn't everyone look for the meniscus in their measuring cups?

-CB