6 Kitchen Items Not To Splurge On, According To Designers

When it comes to kitchen splurges, it turns out there are many items that even interior designers say you can live without. Below, Southern designers weigh in on six popular, expensive kitchen choices that they simply don’t find to be worth the cost.

A Second Island

Kitchens with two islands are all the rage in many homes these days, but Heather Garrett finds that sticking with just one island is more than suitable.

“Unless you’re a big entertainer or someone with a large family, the second island adds more cabinetry and hard surfaces to a room already craving softness,” says the founder of Heather Garrett Design in Durham, North Carolina.

Instead, think of other, more practical ways that you can utilize extra space.

“We’ve been taking that real estate back in exchange for a pair of comfy chairs to sit in for coffee and rearranged plan for the kitchen dining table,” she says. “I’m always voting for more of a ‘living kitchen!'”

An Integrated Coffee System

Sometimes, sticking with a simple coffee machine is just fine.

“As a major coffee enthusiast, I can say with confidence that you don’t need to splurge on an integrated coffee system to enjoy a perfect cup,” says Laura Umansky, the founder of Laura U Design Collective in Houston, Texas. “There are so many wonderful countertop options available that deliver excellent results without sacrificing valuable appliance space.”

Upper/Wall Cabinetry

Go low when it comes to your kitchen storage, notes Dara Beitler, the founder of Dara Beitler Interiors in Potomac, Maryland.

“I prefer designing and installing cabinetry at the base or eye level to house every day items like dishes, utensils, children’s items, pots and pans, and cookware,” she says. “Deep drawers tend to store more than doors so I like to use them for the above kitchen items.”

Special Ice Makers

Unless you feel like you really can’t live without small, crunchy pieces of ice, you can skip this speciality appliance, Mary Kathryn Wells comments.

“In general, for so many of these of-the-moment, highly customized elements, I think it’s really worth pausing and considering whether your household even wants or would use those items, or whether they’re just a novelty you want for the sake of being able to say you have it,” says the founder of Mary Kathryn Wells Interior Design in Nashville, Tennessee.

A High-End Oven Range

Wells admits that while she has lusted after a La Cornue range, it just isn’t practical in her household.

“I use my range mostly for heating frozen food,” she says, noting that a splurge of this nature therefore didn’t make sense. “Color and pattern bring me enormous joy, so it makes sense for me to splurge on a fun wallpaper or backsplash in a kitchen.”

A Touchless Faucet

Liz Hackett, the founder of Liz Hackett Interiors in Asheville, North Carolina, feels that these faucets cause more harm than good.

“I have found that they can be confusing for homeowners and especially their guests that don’t know how to use them and end up turning the handle anyway,” she says. “Also, it is something else that can break and takes a simple concept and makes it overly complicated for homeowners.”