The amount of money spent today on granite countertops may someday soon be equaled by the amount spent on consumer electronics in the kitchen. I am not talking about electric ovens and microwaves. I am talking about cool digital features, such as under-counter flat-panel TVs, universal charging stations, wireless Internet access points, energy usage monitoring and control systems, recipe storage/protection systems, digital calendars and more.

That's my prediction based upon the recently released results of the Digital Kitchen Study from the Internet Home Alliance. The study interviewed homeowners nationally about their appliances and consumer electronics in the kitchen. It confirmed that the kitchen is not just for cooking and eating. Homeowners said the typical tasks conducted in the kitchen include talking on the phone, leaving messages and reminders for other family members, entertaining friends, paying bills, planning schedules and events, watching TV and doing homework.

One interesting result from the study is that consumers apparently do not want a workstation in the kitchen. Indeed, 82 percent said it was a waste. In other words, stop constructing that awkward little nook/desk into one part of the kitchen with a small TV, an RJ11 phone jack, an electrical outlet and maybe an RJ45 Cat 5 Ethernet jack. Another interesting tidbit: 85 percent of homeowners do not want to watch DVDs in the kitchen, only television.

A high-tech kitchen does not necessarily mean you need to spend mega-bucks to place Internet refrigerators in the new homes you build. (Does anybody know anyone who actually owns one of those?) It also does not mean you need to install a bar-code scanner next to the fridge and pantry so the homeowner can inventory their food supplies.

What do the kitchens of the future look like? According to the study they will include:

• Digital Calendars: Datebooks on large screens, with Internet access, that allow users to add appointments and post notes.
• Recipe Projection Systems: Wireless systems, complete with voice recognition, that empower tomorrow's cooks to reference recipes online. The recipe would then be projected onto a large surface in the kitchen from a small cabinet-mounted device.
• Energy Usage Monitoring and Control Systems: Systems that offer digital readouts of household energy usage by room and by appliance, with the ability to diagnose areas of energy waste and calculate costs.
• Home Control Stations: Touchscreens or keypads that allow for the management of HVAC and security.
• Universal Charging Stations: Areas that will simultaneously charge three cell phones or PDAs, regardless of brand or model.
• Wireless Internet Access: The study says 29 percent of all homeowners want to surf the Web while in the kitchen. Just 5 percent wanted a hardwired connection.

This study hits home with me. We have a gadget digital weather station display behind the sink and a cell charger. About five years ago for Christmas, I bought my wife a 17-inch under-counter flat panel LCD for the kitchen. Half a decade later, it is still the best holiday present I have ever picked out. And it is certainly the most-used gift. (Whew! I finally got one right.)

Looking for a differentiator in this down market? Go high-tech in your kitchens right now! Tell me about how you are bringing technology into your kitchens.