The Kitchen as Status Symbol

I was re-watching a classic movie a couple of weeks ago. Part of the action took place at a grand country estate and part of it took place in posh city home. In one abode, the kitchen was utilitarian and unremarkable. In the other, it was hidden away in the servants’ quarters, much like the kitchen in “Downton Abby.” I’ve noticed that in a lot of period pieces and classic films kitchens were utilitarian at best and unattractive underground lairs at worst. It seems that for part of the last century and all the centuries preceding it, kitchens were unobtrusive work spaces and little else. And an “out of sight, out of mind” kitchen was often a signifier of wealth. Why did a kitchen need to be prominent or fancy or attractive? It was for the cook(s) and/or servants.

Contrast that with today’s gleaming showrooms, and it seems that kitchens have gone the way of tans and svelte figures. What? Yes. Pale skin and plumpness were once fashionable signifiers of wealth. Specifically, they signified that you weren’t A.) toiling in the sun and B.) you were getting (more) than enough to eat. But the 20th century changed all that. Suddenly the the leisure class couldn’t be tan enough or thin enough. Tans meant you had time to loll in the sun, thinness–now more than ever–may mean that you have access to healthier food choices or simply more information about good nutrition. In short, black is white, white is black. The signifiers of plenty have changed, and I’d argue that kitchens are our new tans.

Look in any interior design magazine; kitchens are the heart of the home. Kitchens are decked out and tricked out. Glass tile backsplashes, six-burner, four-figure stoves. Gleaming, state-of-the-art appliances. Work islands the size of actual islands, complete with seating for four or more… Kitchens aren’t just working, they’re showing off.

And that’s the funny thing. See, I have no idea what people are doing in these gorgeous rooms. I don’t know if they’re being put to good use or they’re just sitting there, looking fabulous. One thing I do know is that kitchens have become a status symbol, perhaps a home’s ultimate status symbol.

How times have changed.

Bonus question…food for thought, if you will…can you think of any other status symbols that have evolved or changed over the years?

UPDATE: A couple of commenters have noted that Bobo already did a riff on this. Fair enough. I’d like to think that every brilliant thought I have is a special, gleaming snowflake,  but the chances of that being so are pretty much nil. So, I wrote about something that Bobo wrote about. Please talk to me when I start extolling the virtues of Himalayan pink salt.