Some inspiration to set up your perfect kitchen

Building up your perfect kitchen is a big challenge, especially if you cope with the restrictions of the small spaces assigned to this part of the room in most of the old style Berlin apartments. Most probably people here were not used to have big families and do not cook at home that much, therefore no need to waste a big room for that.

Which means that, from the beginning, when it comes to setting up your kitchen, you need to take into consideration your needs, including your habits as a cook. For instance, if you have a family of 5, and you cook all the meals, you definitely need a big space and a lot of appliances for your kitchen. Somehow, I discovered that if you are smart enough, you can easily adapt to what you have too. Me, I started to cook when I already had the current home where the kitchen is quite narrow, but I did a better space management. When I have to cook a lot, especially for the holidays, I am using the big table from the living room and it served perfectly my purposes.

If you are kosher conscious family, you might need some additional restrictions, as you need a sink and a counter separate for meat and milk.

I am personally a minimalist, but I still need some special requirements: a fridge, a heater, a good light - very useful especially when I have to cook during the short days of autumn and long winters, a special space for the three sorts of garbage - plastic, paper and usual, a counter with the toaster, coffee machine, an area where I have my basic utensils, a big space for my cleaning tools and substances, some space for my cooking books. a counter for my basic ingredients and dried foods - at least three separate types of pasta. I also need a special space for my many spices and another one for the pans and other cooking vessels. 

As I am still in the middle of the home redesign I still have a lot of things to set up in the kitchen, the floor covering is not yet decided, but for cleaning reasons, I prefer the vinyl, preferably a black - dark colour. Other possible options are wood or tiles. I will never ever have a carpet in the kitchen. Another element I need for my kitchen is a big window - at least one - as after a lot of cooking, you always need fresh air in the house. Especially if you are during the festival of Hanukkah, when you have to cook with a lot of oil. If you have a smoke detector in the kitchen - as I do - be aware that it might start sounding worry after the 3rd batch of latkes.

A lot of aestethic considerations are also important for creating a kitchen where you feel good and you can cook safely: the colour of the walls and how does it matches the furniture - for instance, light colours are creating the impression of a bigger space; the electricity settings that should always checked properly with a professional; creating a special counter for flowers and various fresh pots of basilicum or parsley among many others; a clock on the wall to count the time. I also added some nice photos on the wall, and some inspirational quotes, to make me feel good and entertain me intellectually during my kitchen chores. 

A table with chairs for the kitchen is a luxury, but it can create a family ambiance during the week, and a nice family space for sharing the daily plans and the achievements of the day.

If you have little children you should take seriously into consideration various safety standards, including by avoiding to set up in accessible places items that might be harmful. 

Generally speaking, setting up a kitchen is a serious, long-term and expensive adventure. But it can be a life-long investment and should be seriously considered, including by hiring the right specialists for the electric details, interior design and safety issues. 

Photos made at the Poggen Pohl store at Stilwerk, Berlin, Germany 

Interior design inspiration in Osnabrück: NeuLanD

My travels often bring me near interesting stores where I can easily find inspiration for my next interior design ideas. One such happy encounter was at the beginning of the summer in Osnabrück, where I've discovered the happy-go-lucky NeuLanD store in the central Neu Markt area. 

The colours are inviting the passer-by to have a look and discover a different world of colours. The window might be not very stylish decorated by it has some interesting pieces of glass that will call your interest, at least if you are from my tribe of people in love with pastel colours.

On the other side of the threshold, the mosaique of colours and diversity of objects is inviting. As in the case of the window, do not expect some special set-up of the shop either, but once in a while I can ignore such a failure, for the sake of beautiful colours (again).

I've spent a couple of good minutes around, taking pictures and looking at the items, but no one didn't bother to ask me anything, which might be a problem when you are really looking for something special. But probably in such cases you just have to scream your needs and for sure someone will show up.

The prices are for everyone, from 2.5 Euro until close to 500 Euro, for the pieces of furniture. 

The bowls and cups of different sizes are always an elegant and stylish addition to your naked wooden shelves. 

There is also garden furniture, from the metal category, that can be embellished by pillows and simple uni table covers.

The items in the shop suit every room, from the kitchen to the bathroom. Not that much though for the children room, but just because you can buy for your little one, one of these chaotically colourful towels. Wish I was prepared for some shopping this trip! 

As a hobby artist myself, I've learn from this shop how important is to use the right colour for creating special effects without too much of a financial investment. Those fish may look very boring and unattractive in their first appearance, probably some colourless-metal, but the myterious turquoise changed completely the mood and the appearance.

If you are from the more sophisticated group of people that want to keep everything immaculately white, NeuLanD has some items for you too: those glasses that suit very well your Friday evening mood maching wine.

Interior design inspiration: Lambert shop Hamburg

Situated in the elegant Hansa Viertel, close to the Gansemarkt, Lambert shop is an interesting destination for those looking for some high-class furniture, home accessories and table ware. Covering many stores and style variations, it is mostly inspired by the Asian heavy furniture, but equally displays objects of modern inspiration. 

The most displayed items are those of Asian origin, adapted to the European tastes into lively and unusual colours such as green or red. The main target is the owner of a big spacious house, even mansion. However, minimalist pieces of furniture, that suit smaller space that encourages a vertical development and embellishment.

The furniture is not only elegant, but shockingly innovative, as it is the case with two-legged table on the right side. It can be used to adorn the lobby, or as a simple yet interesting decoration in the living room. The dark colours are also an all time favourite, as it could match every interior and wall painting.

Up to a different level of the store, comfy leather Recamiers and various candle decorations are displayed. While visiting the shop, I felt that you cannot always match completely one full room with the pieces of furniture available, but it is also possible to find out more online, as the shop has a virtual shop too. 

Although the shop benefits of an impressive amount of space, the overall design of the shop did not impress me too much. Disparate and not stylistically matched pieces of furniture are brought are sharing the same space only because it seems they are too many for allowing the free access in the rooms. 

Some corners though can offer the full package of inspiration for matching at least half of the room. The Chinese style of closet is my favourite as it is very simple and with a generous space behind the doors. 

The customer service is very friendly and ready to help in case you are lost among so many temptations. I favour always very simple furniture arrangements, avoiding crowded corners - not only because there might be children that can be hit by or annoyed because lacking the proper space to move or play. 

When comparing Western and Eastern style of living, I noticed that in the latter case, we might need more space for books, as big plates and vases are usually used for carrying food or flowers, not for decorations on the shelves. 

The prices are middle to high-end, with the value of a modest chair going to 249 EUR. and a 100x240 wooden table to about 4,000 EUR. I suppose that if they would invest a little bit more in the style of the shop, there will be even more customers interested to buy, inspired by the good taste and smart suggestions for room arrangements.