ᐅ Kitchen Photos Thread – Show Us Your Kitchens!

Chris2511 schrieb:

In the end, it’s you who decides what you want or need, not the kitchen showroom..

Of course, I’m the one who decides! I was just considered a total oddball, so I was simply curious.
In my current kitchen, I first had a steam oven; after it broke, I had a combined oven with microwave, pyrolysis cleaning, and steam boost; and now I want both because each has its advantages.
What you actually need is a different matter 😉 …

ypg schrieb:

Do many people really do that? I think the thread just gives that impression – after all, it’s a kitchen thread :p

If you look at this forum, you’ll often see that people say you need to budget 15,000 to 20,000 euros (about $16,500 to $22,000) for a kitchen, so it does create that impression. But I’ve often wondered myself why such huge amounts are spent on kitchens and why expectations are so high. In our case, it’s because we don’t really enjoy cooking and therefore don’t spend much time in the kitchen.

Well, you also have to consider where the price actually comes from. We also spent around €15,000-20,000. The cost is roughly divided into thirds for furniture, appliances, and countertop. Each of these categories has its own cost drivers.

Furniture
Mainly determined by size and front materials. A 10m (33 feet) lacquered surface costs more than 5m (16 feet) with foil covering.

Appliances
The number of appliances increases (steam oven, second oven), and prices for ventilation systems (downdraft, Berbel, Gutmann) have been driven up by the island kitchen trend. There’s a huge price difference between brands like Amica and Gaggenau. If you go for the “classic” four appliances in the mid-range (Bosch/Siemens/Neff), spending around €2,500 on appliances is easily achievable.

Countertop
Laminate countertops are considered standard and can sometimes be found for under €100 per meter (3 feet). Natural stone or composite, which used to dominate, is already about three times as expensive. Ceramic and Dekton are in the high triple digits per meter range.

I find the main cost drivers are easy to identify. For example, if you can do without the oversized, flush-mounted ceramic downdraft cooktop, you can quickly get under €10,000.
But as is often the case, forums, building blogs, and social media show that these are all must-haves.

@guckuck2

Good post.
In our home, the kitchen is used a lot; it’s a workspace. Efficiency comes from good planning and layout, not from the price.
We probably spend an extra third just on aesthetics because we can and want to. None of it is necessary to achieve the desired functionality.
But a certain level of aesthetics definitely contributes to a better feeling in a room where so much time is spent.
And between us: even as a student, I cooked complex meals on just two burners and got the results I wanted. In that sense, you spend a lot of money for more comfortable work, not for better outcomes.

In my opinion, the kitchen and bathrooms rightly have a higher priority since they are usually kept for decades, unlike non-fixed furniture. Quite simple.

Unfortunately, the times when people kept their furniture and kitchens for 25 years are almost gone. I hope it will return to that. Often, the products do not last that long. The advantage of constant upgrading is that I was able to buy almost all kitchen appliances (range hood, refrigerator, faucet, oven) secondhand.