A
new
study
reveals
home
owners
want
their
kitchen,
not
the
home
office
or
the
game
room,
to
be
the
digital
nerve
center
of
the
home,
as
well
as a
social
hub.The
finding
was
discovered
after
the
Internet
Home
Alliance
commissioned
research
and
consulting
firm
Zanthus
to
determine
how
home
owners
wanted
to
customize
their
kitchens.
The
pollster
put
a
host
of
questions
to
602
home
owners
responsible
for
making
household
purchasing
decisions
about
kitchen
appliances
and
consumer
electronics
and
the
answers
surprised
the
alliance.
"While
we
expected
to
learn
that
the
kitchen
continues
to
serve
as
the
hub
of
the
home,
we
were
surprised
to
find
that
bigger
kitchens
aren't
necessarily
a
priority
for
most
U.S.
homeowners,"
said
Tim
Woods,
vice
president
of
the
alliance.
"For
example,
we
thought
that
a
desk
or
workstation
would
be a
popular
addition
but,
in
fact,
most
homeowners
told
us
that
a
computer
on a
counter
worked
just
as
well.
Eighty-two
percent
of
our
respondents
told
us
that
they
had
no
interest
in
creating
a
separate
space
to
do
work
assignments
in
the
kitchen,
though
they
did
suggest
that
a
more
innovative
kitchen
design
that
freed
up
counter
space
would
be
useful,"
he
said.
The
alliance
is a
consortium
of
Continental
Automated
Buildings
Association
members
(including
Hewlett
Packard,
Intel,
Microsoft
and
the
National
Association
of
Home
Builders)
who
comprise
a
network
of
companies
engaged
in
advancing
the
connected
home
space.
It
will
release
the
full
study
during
the
2007
Kitchen/Bath
Industry
Show
&
Conference
(KBIS)
in
Las
Vegas,
May
7-10,
where
the
alliance
will
display
an
"Ideal
Digital
Kitchen"
model
created
based
on
the
survey
results.
Preliminary
findings
reveal
the
ideal
digital
kitchen
includes:
A
digital
calendar.
The
primary
kitchen
user,
typically
is
also
the
primary
schedule
keeper
and
preferred
a
digital
calendar
over
22
other
concepts.
The
calendar
should
be
on a
large
screen
used
to
add
appointments
and
post
notes
all
household
members
can
access
in
the
kitchen
or
remotely
via
the
Internet.
A
recipe
projection
system.
Lose
those
food-stained
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recipe
cards
and
books.
Eighty
percent
of
those
surveyed
want
some
sort
of
wireless,
voice-activated
recipe
projection
system
that
would
display
recipes
onto
a
kitchen
surface.
An
energy
monitor
and
control.
Home
owners
want
to
monitor
energy
consumption
by
room
and
appliance
to
chart
peak
energy
usage
times,
to
diagnose
areas
of
wasted
energy,
and
to
calculate
energy
costs.
A
home
control
station.
Perhaps
the
appointment
screen
could
also
double
as a
monitor
for
the
HVAC
and
security
systems.
Home
owners
requested
a
screen
where
they
can
view
the
temperature
inside
and
outside
of
their
home,
adjust
the
thermostat
on a
touch
pad
and
view
live
video
of
both
the
front
and
back
of
their
house.
A
universal
charging
station.
What
better
place
than
the
social
kitchen
to
juice
up
cell
phones,
personal
digital
assistants,
iPods
and
the
like.
One-third
of
households
reported
that
they
currently
keep
their
cell
phones
on
the
kitchen
counter
and
one-half
said
they
keep
their
phone
chargers
there
as
well.
Wireless
Internet
access.
Twenty-nine
percent
of
all
homeowners
and
43
percent
of
those
remodeling
their
homes
want
the
Internet
served
up
in
the
kitchen
for
Web
surfing
and
email
but
not
for
offline
applications.
The
survey
also
revealed
what
could
be a
changing
trend
in
how
the
kitchen
is
used.
The
kitchen
is a
control
center,
more
than
an
entertainment
center.
The
vast
majority
of
home
owners,
85
percent,
said
they
don’t
see
themselves
watching
videos
or
movies
in
the
kitchen.
"That's
likely
because
those
are
activities
that
need
time
and
attention,
two
things
in
short
supply
when
making
dinner,"
the
alliance
reported.
Likewise,
video
games
have
no
place
in
the
kitchen
for
93
percent
of
those
polled.
Most
say
just
stick
to a
television
and
wireless
broadband.
Most
parents,
59
percent,
would
rather
kids
not
do
home
work
in
the
kitchen.
However,
48
percent
said
their
kids
do
crack
the
books
while
the
household
chef
is
cracking
eggs.
Likewise,
69
percent
would
prefer
their
kids
not
do
arts
and
crafts
in
the
kitchen,
while
43
percent
allow
their
kids
to
get
creative
on
paper
in
the
kitchen.
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