ok, I have a lab background, so am biased, but you would be surprised how useful common laboratory equipment could be in the home. I worked with one person who always dreamt of having a
Separating_funnell for preparing gravy. The likes of Heston Blumenthal and the molecular gastronomy movement have gone that little bit further and use vacuum pumps, hotplate stirrers and liquid nitrogen. For anyone with a scientific background, potting plants in beakers and flasks might not sound all that weird. It allows you to bring the practical side of your work home; something that we can't usually do. I think it lends a nice olde-worlde apothecary look.
An aside: we also use this stuff called parafilm, which is a stretchy plastic which is used to form seals (it feels a bit waxy when in place) - for a few years now I've kept a little at home for when I travel - keeps toiletries sealed while in transit.