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Stephen Drucker, editor of House Beautiful, said down times can suppress desire only so long.
"It's not unusual for Americans to take a sudden break from buying when the economy first does a somersault," he said. "But as a culture, we're not used to delaying gratification. We want what we want when we want it, and we usually find a way to get it sooner rather than later."
Here is a sampling of products that were on display last week. While they were targeted at builders, they generally can be purchased at local retail outlets, from a distributor or through the maker's Web site.
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At the TurboChef display, big crowds gathered under bright lights to see the single 30-inch orange retro-style oven. (It comes in more than 200 colors.) It didn't hurt that renowned chefs served up treats such as rack of lamb, Maine scallops and chocolate souffle, all cooked in the TurboChef ovens.
A double-decker TurboChef wall oven went on the market in the fall. The single oven will be available in April.
Steve Beshara, chief branding officer, said the demand for the "super-premium product" in luxury homes is still strong.
"We all lead busy lives, and we all like to cook great food and have great wine and live the good life," Beshara said. "One of the challenges of cooking gourmet food at home is the time it takes. The oven gives the home cook the freedom to be the cook she wants to be at home."
The TurboChef, which cooks up to 15 times as fast as conventional ovens, mixes high-speed heated air that circulates at up to 60 miles per hour with precise microwave blasts. Unlike a regular microwave oven, it can brown, sear and caramelize.
It has an iPod-inspired computerized control panel with nearly 500 cooking profiles, including pizza, toast, roast and fish, to set the ideal cooking time.
The TurboChef 30-inch single wall oven sells for $5,995, the double for $7,895. They come in seven standard colors; more than 200 custom colors are available for an additional $795.
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