6 “Smart” Kitchen Upgrades You’ll Regret Splurging On, According to Design Pros

1. Automatic sinks

Cabrera has noticed that automatic motion-activated faucets are increasing in popularity, as has Ariel Baverman, a Realtor for Coldwell Banker Realty. However, just because more people are installing them doesn’t mean they’re worth the cost. “The issue I’ve seen is that they aren’t as good as the ones in commercial bathrooms,” Baverman says, which also takes away your of-the-moment water temperature needs. Imagine it even less responsive and you “standing at the sink waving your hands frantically while nothing is happening,” she says, which also wastes precious time in a room where there might be time-sensitive things going on.

2. WiFi-required tech

Baverman says that anything that needs to have WiFi to work is a waste if you don’t have a network backup. “If your internet goes out and you have power but can’t use the item,” it’s essentially pointless, she says. For example, a keypad for your kitchen door, garage door opener, or dimming function in smart bulbs. She’s also had clients get locked out of their smart thermostats after they’d moved out of the house. “It kept reverting back to 85 degrees in August and they couldn’t manually adjust it! And they’d installed a bunch of smart items, but once you don’t have WiFi and you’re looking at a vacant house, all the smart items are no longer smart, and they can make things harder to operate,” she says.

3. Smart refrigerators

Smart refrigerators are becoming increasingly popular among consumers, with jazzy features like voice assistant integration, touch screens, grocery monitors, and digital calendars and grocery lists. Some now even have cameras inside to allow owners to peek inside without opening the door or even being in the same place as the refrigerator (e.g., at the grocery store).

But Sebastian Jania, owner of Ontario Property Buyers, says they might be a waste of money. “Even if they’re cutting edge, not everyone will find the expensive cost to be worth the advantages. Certain features, like grocery tracking, may not function properly if the user doesn’t maintain them consistently.” In Jania’s opinion, these smart features “can be ideal for larger families or tech enthusiasts. But to fully utilize the functions, they need regular updating and maintenance, and the cost may be high. So rather than being necessary, these could seem gimmicky.”

4. Smart dishwashers 

Jania says the advantages of smart dishwashers do bring some value, but they’re more useful than revolutionary. “The benefits of smart dishwashers include tracking of water usage, remote monitoring and control, and occasionally even alerts when detergent levels are low,” Jania says. “They’re good for people who value the ease of notifications and cycle tracking, and want more control over their appliance.”

Cabrera, on the other hand, believes “smart dishwashers do not make sense with their high pricing — they give little improvement over their traditional models.” And Baverman agrees: “Maybe in a household with a lot of people or dishes, this might be helpful to tell your spouse or kid to load the dishwasher or double-check if they started it. But in a smaller household, I just run it overnight and unload it in the morning. Now if the dishwasher loaded and unloaded itself, I’d buy that!”

5. Voice command garbage disposals

“I had a client who connected her garbage disposal to respond to voice command, but it had some weird command to ensure that no one could turn it on while her hand was in the drain,” Braverman says. “So when they moved out and disconnected Alexa, we couldn’t turn on the disposal.” She says this is a feature she “hates” (with emphasis).

6. Smart TVs 

A few decades ago, tiny televisions installed into the bottom of cabinets were all the rage. Since then, they’ve given way to a newer trend; Jania confirms that some people have been building smart TVs into their kitchen features, like around cabinets or in their walls, so that they can access streaming services, recipes, or even video chat. “While cooking, they can be useful for following recipes or entertaining guests, and also provide a contemporary touch,” he says. 

But as Cabrera says, “built-in smart TVs just go unused; tablet and smartphone usage dwarf that of integrated TVs in the kitchen.” Jania also agrees that “not everyone will find them necessary, especially when another device might accomplish the same thing for less money, unless you spend a lot of time in the kitchen and want continuous access to media.”

Baverman notes that many kitchens now often open into living spaces where the main TV is installed, so the feature doesn’t make sense. Plus, most people take their TVs with them when they move, and homebuyers will likely buy or bring their own. In short, there’s typically no return on the original buyer’s investment in terms of future home value.