5 Storage Ideas to Steal from Berlin Kitchens

Since our Berlin Bound issue, we’ve been trolling for good-looking kitchens in Berlin with storage ideas to steal; here are our findings.

1. Think modular.

In Europe, it’s not uncommon to rent a flat with no kitchen; tenants often buy their own modular components and take them with them when they move.

Above: German kitchen brand Naber offers a furniture system designed by Bureau Kilian Schindler based on five modules: work surfaces with integrated range, sink, butcher block, storage rack, and technology tower. Ideal for apartment dwellers who can take the system with them when they move.

Above: A modular kitchen by Noodles, Noodles, and Noodles comprises components you can pack up and take with you.

See a range of soup-to-nuts modular options in Good Kuchen: 9 German Kitchen Systems and Bella Cucina: 8 Modular Italian Kitchen Systems.

2. Keep cooking utensils within reach.

Above: German company Rosle pioneered the concept of the Open Kitchen by offering adaptable stainless steel modules that allow you to keep utensils in easy reach. Photograph of Erik Spiekermann’s Berlin kitchen via FvF.

3. Use wooden crates as storage.

Above: Spotted in several Berlin kitchens: wooden crates as storage. For something similar, consider the American-Made Poplar Wood Crates from Kaufmann Mercantile; available in three sizes (prices start at $29).

Above: A modular kitchen by Noodles, Noodles, and Noodles Corp.

4. Consider built-ins for seating.

Above: Built-in seating and modular elements make sense for Berlin apartment living; shown above, a custom kitchen by Rainer Spehl.

5. Think outside the box.

Above: Dirk Biotto created the ChopChop kitchen for ease of use by the elderly and physically impaired.

Above: Designed by Moritz Putzier as a graduation project, the Cooking Table won a German Design as Best Newcomer 2015.

Above: The Essential Raw Element kitchen by craftsman/carpenter Peter Klint features customizable smoked oak trays and grates that slide in and out to create customizable open shelving.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on May 8, 2015, as part of our Berlin Bound issue.