Buying kitchen furniture - the comprehensive guide from the DGM

The kitchen has been the centre of social life for centuries. It is where the family gathers, where friendships are cultivated and where the healthy nutrition of loved ones is ensured. To ensure that you really feel at home in your kitchen, there are a number of things to consider during the planning stage. After all, there are many details that strongly influence the spatial effect and comfort of your new kitchen.

The kitchen is now one of the rooms that requires the most individual solutions. Depending on the floor plan, various kitchen shapes come into question. It all starts with choosing the right kitchen furniture.

Why is planning so important for kitchen furniture?

Kitchen furniture differs greatly from other furniture in its structure and functional details. The various cabinets must be coordinated so that all kitchen utensils are quickly at hand, the walking distances are short and the work surfaces are as spacious as possible. Only with a practical room layout and sensible organisation of the storage spaces does cooking become a real pleasure.

To make the most of the space, it is important to use kitchen cabinets of different widths and heights. In addition, there are individual cabinet shapes for every area of the kitchen. Depending on the size of the room and its layout, it ultimately makes sense to combine wall units, corner units, tall units and simple kitchen units in such a way that free space is used optimally without the room looking too cluttered.

Kitchen manufacturer

List of members of kitchen manufacturers

Let us advise you on kitchen planning

Which kitchen furniture best suits your space and fits harmoniously into your interior? Would you prefer drawers or shelves? Do you prefer your electrical appliances to be integrated into the furniture or placed separately? Do you prefer high cupboards, low cupboards or a combination of both? Do you prefer lacquered fronts or do you love solid fronts in natural wood? When putting together your perfect kitchen, you can mix and match to create a unique kitchen for your unique needs. Find out what details you should look out for when buying kitchen furniture.

Be sure to get advice from a professional. The best place is one of the many kitchen studios or the kitchen department of a furniture store. There, they will work with you to plan the right kitchen for your needs. As a rule, kitchen planning is done using a CAD programme where you can see in 3D how your new kitchen will look in your home.

What do you have to look out for when buying kitchen furniture?

When you buy kitchen furniture, it is not only the visual design that plays an important role. When choosing cabinets, worktops and counters, it is also important to use only materials that are safe for your health. After all, you come into contact with the surfaces when processing food, so they should not contain any harmful substances.

In addition, awareness of ecological sustainability has also grown in recent years. For example, many customers attach importance to environmentally friendly and sustainable production that makes considerate use of natural resources. On the one hand, this includes the use of sustainably grown natural materials, but on the other hand, it also includes production that emits as few pollutants as possible.

Once the harmlessness of the materials has been clarified, the next step is to determine the shape of the kitchen, its width and its height. The height of the worktop depends on the person who will be working in the kitchen most often. After all, choosing the height of the worktop or kitchen countertop is not only a question of comfort, but also of back health. Anyone who has to constantly bend over when cooking or who has to constantly raise their arms to cut food, for example, will suffer from back problems in the long run. The following list, among others, can be used to determine the right height:

What kitchen worktops are there?

To enjoy your kitchen for a long time, the right choice of kitchen worktop is crucial. That's why you should choose your worktop according to your living or cooking habits and your demand for easy care. Here, too, you should seek comprehensive advice from specialist staff at your local kitchen retailer. You can find an overview of the most common materials for choosing kitchen worktops here:

• Concrete
• Natural stone
• Quartz stone
• Solid wood
• Corian
• Ceramic
• Stainless steel
• Glass
• Plastic

The next step is to choose the shape of the kitchen. Depending on the room layout, a simple kitchen unit, the planned fitted kitchen with wall and base units, the single or pantry kitchen or the spacious kitchen/living room are optimal. Common shapes include single or double kitchen units, L-shapes, U-shapes or solutions with kitchen islands. In any case, it is important that there are no unused open spaces and that the greatest possible freedom of movement is guaranteed.

Last but not least, once the shape and height of the kitchen have been decided, only the style needs to be individually adapted.

What should I look out for in kitchen electrical appliances?

Refrigerator, dishwasher, extractor bonnet, oven and hob are the classic electrical appliances in a kitchen. There is a large selection of brand-name manufacturers in specialist kitchen stores. Almost all models offer innovative functions that make life easier. Depending on your needs and cooking habits, other electrical appliances such as microwave ovens or steam cookers can complement the product range. It is always worth comparing manufacturers and models. In addition to the appearance and the price, please pay particular attention to the functions, the noise level of the appliances during operation and the energy efficiency. You may also find test results to help you make your choice. This way you can save money and enjoy the latest technology.

Get advice from experts at your local kitchen store. They stock the most important brand-name manufacturers and know the advantages and disadvantages of the electrical appliances.

What types or styles of kitchen are there?

Basically, a distinction is made between the following styles:

• Country kitchens
• Solid wood kitchens
• Design kitchens
• Fitted kitchens
• Kitchen units
• Single or pantry kitchens

However, these categories are not rigidly fixed and are also available in various mixed forms.

The country house kitchen

The traditional country house kitchen is characterised by rustic design, natural materials and a rural ambience. Usually, light tones are combined with wood and solid, narrow cabinets between 30 and 50 centimetres are used. Therefore, the country kitchen is often mixed with elements of the solid wood kitchens, which also rely on a lot of wood and a solid construction, as the name already suggests. A cosy, homely atmosphere is always at the forefront of both kitchen styles.

A typical feature of country kitchens is that the doors of the refrigerator or dishwasher are "hidden" behind the kitchen cabinets, i.e. not visible. The kitchen worktops in country kitchens are usually made of solid wood or natural stone and are more solid than in other kitchens.

The design kitchen

The style of design kitchens is simple and timelessly elegant. Modern design kitchens usually do without decorative elements and ornamentation. Spacious areas for working are important. Instead of warm colours and wood, a cool, plain, modern colour tone is usually chosen, with high-gloss or lacquered fronts as required. Smooth surfaces, sometimes even without handles, open spaces with few cupboards and a clear structure characterise this form of kitchen, which fits perfectly into modernly furnished flats. A design kitchen always unfolds its full visual effect in a large room that offers enough free space for individual kitchen elements to come into their own.

The fitted kitchen

Fitted kitchens are usually individual, tailor-made solutions that adapt to the given room shape and make optimum use of the space with upper and lower cabinets. They therefore consist of many different elements and can take the form of a corner kitchen, U-shaped or L-shaped kitchen. This again shows how the boundaries between the different kitchen styles become blurred. Fitted kitchens are also available in modern design or country style, depending on the cabinets and fronts chosen. A fitted kitchen ideally needs two free walls for optimal placement of the kitchen cabinets.

The kitchenette

The kitchen unit is an element that can also be found in the other styles. It consists of several cabinets placed next to each other and thus forms a core element of the fitted kitchen, for example. The lines can be combined in a simple design, on two opposite walls, in an L-shape or in a U-shape. For example, many single kitchens are designed as simple kitchen units, as space is usually limited in single flats. The colours and materials of the kitchen fronts are freely selectable and can be chosen according to taste.

The galley kitchen

Pantry kitchens are suitable for particularly space-saving solutions. These consist of either one large multi-purpose cupboard or two or three combined cupboards. There is room for the hob, electrical appliances, fridge and storage space in the smallest of spaces and they offer all the necessary functions even for the smallest of rooms.

Ideally, you should visit a kitchen studio to find out which kitchen furniture suits you best. Get detailed and comprehensive advice there and take enough time to make your decision.