12 Setup Mistakes in the Kitchen

The kitchen is the focal point of the apartment for many people. However, to enjoy your stay in the kitchen, a practical and attractive interior is very important. Here are 12 setup mistakes you should avoid.

Stay in the kitchen: cooking and more

The kitchen serves to prepare food and to store food. In the past, this room was reserved exclusively for the housewife or, for wealthier people, the service staff. It was almost unimaginable to spend time with the family or even with guests in the kitchen. This has changed meanwhile. In many apartments, the kitchen is a popular meeting place for the whole family. Here, the residents can cook together, have coffee or simply chat for a while.

This change of meaning is also noticeable in the new trends for kitchen equipment. The manufacturers are offering more and more home kitchens, which promote a social get-together. The following survey shows that staying in the kitchen is very important to many people. In particular, people between 30 and 49 years often see the kitchen as the center of the apartment.

Survey: Importance of the kitchen (by age group)
	total	up to 29 years	30 to 39 years	40 to 49 years	50 to 59 years	over 60 years
Pure cooking and work place	42%	50%	27%	42%	42%	54%
Center of the apartment	32%	19%	36%	41%	26%	35%
Guests have lost nothing in the kitchen	9%	6%	1 %	6%	14%	24%

 

In many apartments, the kitchen is a popular meeting place for the whole family. Here, residents can cook together, have coffee or simply chat for a while.

Numerous building completions make new ideas for the kitchen equipment necessary

In Germany there has been a real building boom for some years. The number of completed apartments has risen sharply. This is shown in the following table:

Completed apartments in Germany
2013	214 817
2014	245 325
2015	247 722
2016	277 691
2017	284 816

 

The high number of new apartments means that the owners have to think about the furnishing of the kitchen. As long as the building is still under construction, the conditions are optimal to implement your own ideas and to avoid setup errors. There are also numerous renovations. These also offer the opportunity to choose an appealing kitchen style and to make this room practical and beautiful.

Another indication of the importance of the kitchen is the amount of money the residents spend on the furnishings.

Trend is towards ever higher quality kitchens

Another indication of the importance of the kitchen is the amount of money the residents spend on the furnishings. When the kitchen served only as a space for preparing meals, many homeowners tried to save as much as possible when setting up.

Since it has become a popular recreation room, the expenses incurred by the residents for the establishment also increase. The following table clearly shows that the trend is towards ever higher quality kitchens.

Average expenditure for kitchen equipment (in Euro)
2010	5533
2011	5651
2012	5799
2013	5851
2014	6281

 

If you prepare the dishes for two or even with the whole family, bottlenecks in the kitchen are very disturbing.

Setup mistakes in the kitchen: 12 things to avoid

So that you feel good in the kitchen, not only a high-quality interior is necessary. In addition, a thoughtful concept is very important. Many homeowners do not take the necessary care when planning this room. This leads to setup errors that severely limit comfort in use. These are often difficult to correct later. To avoid these problems, we have put together 12 typical setup errors for you.

Bottlenecks in the kitchen

During kitchen work, you have to keep moving – for example, to provide the necessary kitchen utensils or ingredients. If you prepare the dishes for two or even with the whole family, bottlenecks in the kitchen are very disturbing. As a result, it is always necessary to wait until you can pass the appropriate area. Already in the planning of the room you should therefore better choose a square rather than too narrow a floor plan. Also with the furniture it is important to make sure that they do not cause bottlenecks.

Therefore, you should install enough power outlets in all areas of the room during house construction and renovation work.

Too few sockets

More and more appliances are being used in the kitchen. These need a power outlet. Therefore, you should install enough power outlets in all areas of the room during house construction and renovation work. Otherwise you are dependent on distribution sockets, which interfere with the kitchen work and also look unsightly.

Too little light

Cooking in bad light is not much fun. Therefore, it is particularly important in this room to pay attention to good lighting. You should also consider this when you are building or renovating the room if possible. The subsequent attachment of lights is possible, but usually a bit more complicated.

Too low appliances and worktops

If the stove or countertop is very low, you’ll have to bend down hard while you work in the kitchen. This can lead to back problems. As the average body size increases steadily and as more and more men – whose body size is on average much larger than women – in the kitchen are active, the traditional dimensions are less and less appropriate. Especially tall people should therefore pay attention to increased work areas when setting up.

If you enjoy cooking together with other people, then you will need matching countertops.

A small work surface

After completing the construction, it’s time to take care of the furniture. You should think of the work surfaces in the first place. If you enjoy cooking together with other people, then you will need matching worktops. Therefore, you should always first make sure that they provide a sufficiently large area. It should also be accessible from multiple sites to facilitate collaboration.

Dark furniture in a small kitchen

If you choose a style of cooking, you can basically choose your own taste. An alternative is the country house style, which radiates a special coziness. But you can also choose modern furniture with clear shapes. In any case, you should avoid one thing: to use dark furniture in a small kitchen. The dark color causes the room to look smaller. If the kitchen is already very small anyway, dark colors will make you feel very cramped here.

Too little storage space in the kitchen

When setting up your kitchen, also remember that you need a lot of storage space here. You need to keep in the kitchen cabinets not only pots, pans, kitchen utensils and all other utensils, but also spices and some food. Often the service also finds its place in the kitchen. Therefore, always choose kitchen furniture with a generous amount of space. If you can not stow all the necessary items in the kitchen, this greatly reduces the comfort of use.

An extractor hood is very important to eliminate steam and odors

Too many open shelves

If you look at a fitted kitchen in a store, models with numerous open shelves look very appealing. If you decide on these pieces of furniture, however, the trouble is often preprogrammed. In the furnishing houses here attractive deco items find their place, the neatly attached make a good impression. However, if you store kitchen utensils, food supplies and other daily necessities here, the visual impression is quite different. In addition, the objects are dusty after some time. For these reasons, it is recommended to choose models with very few open shelves.

Disturbing cooker hood

An extractor hood is very important to eliminate steam and odors. In many kitchens, however, there are models that do not fit the rest of the interior design style at all. Therefore, when choosing this unit, make sure it matches well with your kitchen furniture. In addition, it is recommended to pay attention to a low noise.

A minimalist style of cooking is fashionable these days. However, there is a risk that the kitchen will be sterile and uncomfortable.

No seating

When you spend time in the kitchen with friends or with your family, you spend a good deal of time standing up. While you are doing the kitchen work, that is expedient. If your guests are meanwhile unemployed, however, it will be uncomfortable for them after a short time. Therefore, you should make sure during the establishment that there are some seating available.

Unattractive kitchen utensils

Especially around the sink are often some utensils that make no appealing visual impression: The detergent, the sponge and the dishwashing brush. If you stow them in the closet each time after washing dishes, it will take a lot of work. If you still value a pleasing appearance, you can use detergent dispensers, sponge holders and similar aids that provide a neat overall picture.

Too sterile

A minimalist style of cooking is fashionable these days. However, this entails the danger that the kitchen is sterile and uncomfortable. Therefore, in this room a suitable decoration is important – for example, with flowers, bowls or fruit baskets.