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Nolte staff member reveals her dream kitchen
Hi, my name is Juliane, I am 34 years old and I live with my family near Osnabrück. I have been working in Online Marketing at Nolte Küchen since the beginning of 2018. My connection to Nolte Küchen goes beyond my professional activities - Nolte Küchen is also a part of our home. It is not just our kitchen that is made by Nolte Küchen; I also planned the furniture in the utility room and bathroom with cabinets from Nolte Küchen. Find out more in the following interview.
Could you please tell us more about your role at Nolte Küchen?
I have been working in online marketing at Nolte Küchen since the beginning of 2018. When I first started, I was, to a certain extent, the digital "all-rounder" - my tasks included looking after the website, the kitchen planner, the social media activities, the online ads and so on. In the meantime, I am mainly responsible for the new area of email marketing as well as the development and increase of cooperation partners.What aspects of your work in online marketing at Nolte Küchen do you particularly enjoy?
Online marketing requires creativity and innovation to be successful in a highly competitive environment. Thus, I can realise creative campaigns on the one hand and implement technically complex projects on the other. The tasks are very wide and the constant digital change ensures that it never gets boring. The latter is exciting and challenging at the same time. Especially in the kitchen industry, a lot has changed in digital terms in the past few years.You moved into your house in 2021. Which aspects of building a house were particularly exciting for you?
Overall, the feeling of creating one's own home was super exciting during the house-building process. It started with the foundations. When they were laid, we drove to the house almost every day to admire the progress. The most exciting phase was the interior finishing, because everything took shape and form. Everything that had been decided and chosen before was now becoming reality.What role did the kitchen design play in the planning of your house and how did it fit into the overall concept?
The kitchen design played a central role in our house planning. For example, we first planned the kitchen and then adapted the rooms to the kitchen planning. Moreover, our rooms such as the kitchen, dining area, living room, hallway, staircase and entrance to the house have a completely open design. It was therefore particularly important for us that the kitchen fits in well with the overall design, as it is a very central place on our ground floor.
You have a very modern and linear kitchen. Did you plan your kitchen for the new house yourself? How did your professional experience at Nolte Küchen influence you?
I planned the kitchen with a colleague from our planning department. Since I had already worked for Nolte Küchen for 3 years, I had precise ideas about what the kitchen should look like. I think that was really super helpful. Therefore, we were able to finish the otherwise complex kitchen planning almost in the twinkling of an eye. Even though you learn something new every day in the kitchen industry, because there are so many details to learn about the kitchen, I already had a good knowledge that I could apply to my own planning. I also found a lot of inspiration at our trade fairs, exhibition kitchens and in photographic material, which helped me a lot in my planning. For me, the straight design of the kitchen was particularly important, to create a harmonious overall look.
The absence of wall cabinets gives the kitchen a unique look. What is your personal experience with this design decision?
I would always go for it again! I didn't want any wall cabinets because I wanted the kitchen to integrate perfectly into the living space and not look like a classic kitchen at first glance. The absence of wall units gives the kitchen a very homely character. The 50 mm low plinth also contributes to this. The cabinets seem to "float" and the plinth is barely visible.The decision to integrate the oven sideways in the open-plan kitchen/living room so that no electrical appliances are visible at first view sounds interesting. What was the inspiration behind this design choice?
I think I first saw the side-integrated oven at a trade fair where Nolte Küchen was exhibiting, and I was immediately enthusiastic about it. Here, too, the openness of our kitchen played a big role for me. Thanks to the lateral integration, the kitchen is visually more like a living room unit, which gives it a calmer overall appearance.
The idea of a raised dishwasher is clever and practical. What advantages does this decision have for you in terms of everyday kitchen life?
The raised dishwasher is a real plus from an ergonomic point of view. Since I'm very tall (1.80 m), I no longer have to bend down all the time to put the dishes away. That's really comfortable. In terms of ergonomics, we also opted for the extra-high "Matrix 900" carcase from Nolte Küchen. By choosing a low plinth (50 mm) and a thin worktop (25 mm), we were able to create a higher work surface.
It looks like your kitchen offers a lot of working space.
Yes, exactly. The long kitchen line and the kitchen island actually give us plenty of working space. We even increased this by opting for an extra-deep worktop of 75 cm. The working space was very important to us, so that we don't get in each other's way when cooking and also have enough space to meet with friends.
What inspired you to include an island in your kitchen design? Do you think the kitchen island has changed the way people interact in the kitchen, for example when cooking or during social gatherings?
Our Nolte Küchen kitchen has become the centre of our home. It is not only a place to cook, but also a meeting and gathering place. Thanks to the open design with the kitchen island, you can also interact with family or visitors while cooking and be part of the action.
The lighting in your kitchen looks great. What role does the lighting play in your kitchen?
Since we do not have any wall cabinets, we could not use under-cabinet luminaires, for example. However, to ensure that our working surface is sufficiently illuminated, we decided to use wall lamps. These are both functional, because they provide light for working, and very nice to look at. They lighten up the overall picture a little. In the kitchen island, we opted for illuminated handle tracks. We use the wall lighting and the lighting in the island as ambient lighting in the evening when we sit in the living room.
Next to your kitchen is your utility room. Have you also used furniture from Nolte Küchen in this room?
That's right, we thought it would be perfect to use Nolte in the utility room as well. Since the rooms are right next to each other, we were able to create a homogeneous look. The cupboards in the utility room also have white fronts with concrete-look worktops. Only here, unlike in the kitchen, we opted for a version with a handle. I love the laundry-sorting cupboard in the utility room. The laundry is already sorted here before I turn on the washing machine and I can see when it's time to wash again.
Are there any other rooms that you have furnished with Nolte Küchen furniture?
Yes, indeed, the vanity units in our two bathrooms are also from Nolte. We are convinced of the quality and design of the kitchens, so we chose Nolte here too. In terms of design, we also opted for a handleless version in white. Compared to the kitchen, however, the vanity top is in wood decor.