apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I don't care for a tv in the kitchen - but i do love a radio and an ipod docking station.

I certainly don't have a problem with it - Perhaps someone spends alot of time in there alone preparing family meals and/or enjoys various cooking shows for instruction or inspiration.

It's a great concept... especially for dysfunctional families.

"It's a great concept... especially for dysfunctional families."

That wins comment of the day!

My grandma has one too. I like it.

Too many T.V.'s. I'm with susang...ipod w/docking station and a glass of wine works for me!

It depends on your lifestyle. If you're doing dishes by hand, preparing tray after tray of cookies, snapping beans... why not a tv in the kitchen? If you're hardly in your kitchen, then why? If your kitchen is the center of the house and people always gravitate there, then no tv. If your kids stare at the tv in the mornings, rather than talk to you, no tv. See my point? Design-wise, just keep it away from the sink/dishwasher area because of moisture and away from the stove area because of grease spatters. Ewww.

I don't agree that you have to be dysfunctional to enjoy a TV in the kitchen. Functioning adults watch TV. I have one in my kitchen and love to watch it sometimes. I also like music on sometimes. To assume you have to be dysfunctional is perhaps ignorant and you sound as if you might think you're better than other people. I'm with bepfs.

I've always lived in houses or apartments with open floor plans where you can see the television in the living room from the kitchen. My first reaction to the thought of a television in the kitchen is "yuck," but then I realized that I always watch/listen to the news while I'm making dinner, so I guess I'm sort of guilty of this, even though mine isn't technically in my kitchen.

I don't necessarily agree that a TV in the kitchen equals a dysfunctional family. I have a friend that is a stay at home mother and she has a small TV by her kitchen table. With two very young children (2 and 4) and it really helps her get things done to know that she can put on Dora the Explorer in a place where she can supervise her children and still get things done.

They don't watch TV during meals or family time, but sometimes she uses it when she is home and the kids are asleep for cooking shows and news, and sometimes she uses it for safety and peace of mind.

I don't buy the idea that parents who put their children in front of the TV sometimes are not good parents.

I grew up with a TV in the kitchen. It does seem cozy to me.

Of course it wouldn't seem right unless "The Mike Douglas Show" is on.

I think a tv in the kitchen is a wonderful idea. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and it's great for me. I also drag my laptop along with me. And a great plus for having a tv in the kitchen that has cable and a dvd player was a great way to get my husband to cook. A cooking husband is NEVER dysfunctional!

My grandmother had an open kitchen, which allowed her to see the living room TV. She liked to watch the news, baseball games or football games. I wish I had a TV in the kitchen! I live alone, so it would be great. As it is, I listen to NPR while I cook.

I don't have a problem with it. My mom has a TV/DVD/CD player combo that mounts under the cabinets. When not in use, the screen is tucked up and makes it barely noticeable. She does a lot of baking, so she uses is for the news, favorite movies, and music.

The ability to watch TV in the kitchen was how my parents were able to bribe us into doing dishes more often (we were expected to help periodically anyway).

When I have a kitchen that isn't open to the living room, I will most definitely have a TV. At our house, no one is a morning person. Having a TV is a good way for us to eat breakfast and get awake while Matt and Meredith do the talking.

I think a computer is more convenient. Not only can you watch tv shows, but you can look up recipes online or in your digital cookbook.

Once more, people project all kinds of ideas onto someone else's lifestyle. I don't think a T.V. in the kitchen has to say anything bad, and it could say several good things like someone cooks their own meals a lot and it's the only place they can catch some shows, they watch cooking video or shows and follow along, or simply that they like sitting in the kitchen rather than the living room... or, possibly that having it in the kitchen instead of the living room keeps the living room free for other more social activities.

Judging people by their homes is not serving anyone well, especially reaching conclusions like they must be "dysfunctional".

You guys need to lighten up, that comment was golden.

Ugh. I don't think it means your dysfunctional, but I hate it. It reminds me of those restaurants where there's many televisions and it's too loud to talk. I'd rather listen to music or the radio.

the comment was golden indeed :-D

i think there is a lot too much tv in everyday life to begin with - i wouldn't want one in the kitchen.

I guess this isn't the forum or medium for sarcasm.

I grew up with a TV in my kitchen and wouldn't have it any other way.

our tv was always hidden in the basement when i was growing up, and now our little tiny 13 incher is hidden in a closet in our family room. I know people who use a tv to keep them company (they live alone) and perhaps that's also why some grandparents have had them. But in our busy life, there's no real room for tv...and to tell the truth, no desire for one either. It's a screen on which the kids periodically watch a magic school bus video (and I do mean video; we're a bit behind the times). and our kitchen is small. really small...not for us.

Way to light a fire robino032. i like it.

TV in the kitchen turns my stomach, but that's a personal preference.

love b-rad's idea - I take my laptop to the kitchen all the time when cooking - I've always wanted one that would be safer for use near water, etc. MUCH more useful than a television, imo.

Speaking from experience much, robino032?

My mom watches the noon news in the kitchen while she cooks for the whole family every weekday. And we're pretty funtional.

Robino32 - I think people were expecting someone to be smug about not having a TV in the kitchen, so they just assumed you were being serious. Sarcasm is hard to pick up on when you can't hear the voice!

we have a tiny kitchen and although I am in there a lot, preparing food and doing dishes, my little one usually chills in the neighboring dining room playing with hot wheels at the table, coloring, etc. I have a tv and a radio in the kitchen, because I like to watch/hear the news, a baseball game or the like. We don't have a tv in our living room, so that is where I get my media fix.

I just gave up my TV. It was fat, clunky, and analog. I had the cable turned off because I am economizing.

I could see it from my little galley kitchen, which was nice because I only watched a few morning and late night shows, and I liked to be eating my quick breakfast or dinner while watching.

Frankly, though I am a snob about TV, I miss it terribly. (I am still getting used to Anderson Cooper's head going missing from my apartment.)

If you want a TV in your kitchen, have one. I saw an article about the ultra stylish Ines de la Fressage, who seemed to have a number of enviable residences, and whose dream was to watch television as she hand-washed dishes. In her apartment in Paris. OK, if it's good enough for Ines, it's good enough for your grandmother, and good enough for you.

I hate it. I've never seen a family with a TV in the kitchen that doesn't have it on all the time, distracting people from *gasp* talking to one another at the table. Kitchens for my family are an almost sacred space, and the TV violates that.

Now, as for a radio or an ipod dock, I do love to listen to music while I cook and clean.

Although I might add that I live in a town with an astronomically high divorce rate and an astronomically high redneck rate, so it's possible my sampling of families isn't exactly the greatest. ;)

I know that I personally wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of having it there.

"I don't buy the idea that parents who put their children in front of the TV sometimes are not good parents".

Sometimes is the key. Most parents have trouble with the "sometimes".

TV in kitchen is like TV in bedroom, maybe not quite as bad.

Seriously? Can we not be alone with our thoughts for one goddam moment?

I've thought about putting a tv in the kitchen, since I spend so much time there (sigh... churning out 2 meals -- lunch and dinner -- a day...). We often stream the latest news broadcast on the laptop, and usually I prefer to listen to the radio, but it could be good.

I have largely gotten off tv since being in Europe. French tv is not that great -- very few originals shows (although there are some cool ones like a show, designed for teenagers, was an eery mystery/adventure vibe set in New Caledonia, much more mature than the crap we have), although a really good lunchtime news program which I always miss because I am making lunch.

We do have an open floorplan and the TV can be seen from the kitchen, but I'm not one for it in the kitchen. A small radio, my laptop so I can look up recipes, etc is fine - but I think a TV is too much. I agree with a poster above - it does remind me of those restaurant with a dozen televisions and it gets too loud to talk to those you went to dinner with.

But this could be me sick of televisions since the fiance wanted one in the living room, bedroom, and spare room.

i also have an open floorplan and can see the tv from the kitchen. however, if i couldn't, i would probably get one because i watch the news in the morning while getting tea and then lunch ready....

no room for a tv in my kitchen, but I can see it from my desk. I have it where I can see it partly want to know about weather alerts or other such news and partly because I can't sit still in front of the tv and I am always doing something while "watching" tv. I realized how little I actually watch tv when I decided to watch a new muppets christmas special and had to look up and see which muppet was talking. I know them all by voice and now they have new voices. : (

Whats cozy about a tv?

No, I think a radio or stereo (or i-pod docker these days) is enough. But then again I think one tv per household is enough.

My grandmother also had a black and white TV in the kitchen. She had an electric fireplace too.

It's not my preference, but I don't think it's an automatic design no-no. I have to say I was also swayed by that Ines de la Fressange article. Anyone who has a Sèvres pink office can put a TV wherever they please.

I have a really small TV tucked under the cabinets over my sink and I LOVE IT !!! I don't have it on all the time but it's good company when I'm alone and spending a lot of time in there. I don't have any music, I'd be dancing all the time and not get any cooking done !!!!!!!!!

"TV in kitchen is like TV in bedroom, maybe not quite as bad.

Seriously? Can we not be alone with our thoughts for one goddam moment?"

There's a lot of TV snobbery in this thread...

Since I'm a stay at home mom of 2 older kids, wife of 1, and am unfortunate enough to have a small galley kitchen where I can't socialize with my family while I'm making lunches or cooking breakfast/lunch/dinner (definitely not room for more than one person in there at a time), I'd love to have a TV in my kitchen. If only I had the room for it...

I like the 'golden comment' too, and agree that we should be able to have a laugh at our own expense, and not get too defensive.

TV in kitchen? For me it's great - encourages me to stay busy and be productive while being able to watch my favourite shows at the same time!

What's so wrong about a TV in the bedroom? Sure beats the heck out of having to carry/scoot/drag one in there when I'm sick or when I can't sleep. But I do have it hidden in an armoire.

Yeeeeeah I don't really understand why people have such a problem with tvs. I don't own one but that's because all my favorite shows are on premium cable so I just rent them on dvd (netflix is cheaper...) and watch on my laptop. But the attitude that a tv in the house, and *gasp* possibly somewhere other than the living room, is somehow bad and wrong makes no sense mang. The "it distracts you from interacting with PEOPLE" reasoning clearly does not apply to us singles.

Two years ago, I ran cable into my kitchen during the renovation thinking I'd have a small TV mounted under the cabinet. I've never actually purchased one though, and not sure if I still will. If I've needed entertainment while cooking, I bring in the laptop instead. Thank goodness for WiFi and YouTube!!

urgh... t.v is evil, read the newspaper back to front instead.

I'd much rather have one in the kitchen than in the bedroom or bathroom. I do a lot of stuff in my kitchen (cooking and other crafts on the dining table) so I can imagine enjoying having one, although I'm happy with my radio for now. I don't really like this snobbery about television, although I would make active decisions either not to have one, or to have it turned off at mealtimes, if I had children as I place great importance on mealtime conversation.

appleton - I am beginning to think those who can't help but hide their feelings about their hatred of TV are the real evil ones. A television can not be evil - mostly because it is an inanimate object.

I just don't see the point of a television in a kitchen still. I have my laptop so if I needed to look up pointers on a recipe or wanted to listen to music I could turn on internet radio. I also don't see a point of a TV in a bathroom (have had a radio in one before) - but we do only have one and we can't take up enough time in there to watch a show before the next person wants in.

I grew up in a house with the tv on ALL THE TIME (really, even though we ate dinner in the dining room, the tv would be on in the living room the whole time, with no one watching it) and I think a tv in the kitchen is a bad idea. I'm sure it would be too easy to turn it on and zone out instead of talking to your spouse and/or kid.

I do enjoy watching tv and don't think it's evil, I just think that the more places you have one in the house, the more it will be watched and the less social interaction will go on.

I agree that the dysfunctional comment was awesome, although my family is one of the most functional I know, despite the fact that we watched a TON of tv while I was growing up.

Well stated. I'd love to read a psychotherapist's report on those who have such strong emotional responses to a piece of electronic technology. I suspect that there are some extreme issues at play there.

I'll strongly admit that I have several shows I like to watch on a daily basis (most are reruns like ER), but it doesn't kill me to miss an episode. And I don't think we are a dysfunctional household because we do have two televisions with cable hookup and another one with a ton of video games hooked up. It's our lifestyle and most of the time none of them are in use unless we are both watching something since both of us would prefer to turn on the radio, settle down with a good book, and zone out for a few hours.

Oh no...now I'll have to hear about how books are evil and don't allow people to communicate. People don't necessarily need to hold a conversation with people in household 24/7 - some nice personal time alone is VERY healthy, no matter how they want to spend it.

Growing up, no one in my immediate or extended family ever had a tv in their kitchen. I can't imagine having one now. Then again, I don't have a tv at all.

Now a laptop in the kitchen I wouldn't have to worry about ruining? That would be useful.

I've had my laptop in the kitchen before - I just sat it across the room from the stove and sink on the table so I wouldn't splash on it.

My grandma has a TV in her kitchen- I remember thinking that it was ridiculous when I was 8, if that tells you anything.

kill your tv.
its an expression, please dont read too much into it.

i second the notion that one tv per house is more than enough.

It's TVs, not TV's. It's plural, not possessive.

I don't have TV at all, so can't comment on what room it should or shouldn't be in. Regardless of where it is, I just wish people would turn it off when they have guests.