Houses come with kitchens, right? Why is this even a question, you might ask?
As someone who has lived in Germany for over 7 years in both a rental home and a new home purchased from a major builder I can say the following:
Newly built homes in Germany generally don’t come with an installed kitchen and must be purchased separately from one of the many kitchen installers in the country. A resale or rental home or apartment may have a complete kitchen or the previous resident may choose to remove it and take it with them.
When you buy a new home in Germany, you literally buy it with an empty kitchen space with nothing in it except the agreed upon electrical outlets as well as hot and cold water taps and a drainage pipe.
Let’s take a closer look at why German houses may or may not have a complete fitted kitchen, how you go about designing and buying a kitchen, and other aspects of kitchen purchasing that I learned the hard way.
NOTE: The German word for kitchen and kitchens is Küche and Küchen respectively so you’ll come across those words frequently.
Newly built German houses do not come with a kitchen already built
Unlike in North America where you get a turnkey home, a newly built German home does not have a kitchen built in as part of the purchase agreement and price. Thus, you have to design and build a kitchen with one of the many (hundreds) of kitchen builders in Germany.
Germans tend to like designing their own kitchen so the culture here is to do just that. As a result, an entire industry exists with kitchen installation companies throughout the country who may be national or local who can install the first kitchen in a new home or a replacement kitchen in an existing property.
New home builders simply don’t bother building kitchens or even contracting them out. They just don’t even get involved in the process.
Important to note: There are kitchen manufacturers who actually design the cabinets, countertops, etc. Then there are the kitchen installation companies who you actually contract with to design and install your kitchen.
Major German kitchen manufacturers includes companies like Nolte, Poggenpohl, Eggersmann, Bulthaup and SieMatic to name a few.
Major German kitchen installers include Reddy, Marquardt, Meda, PLANA as well as major German furniture retailers who also offer kitchen sales and installation including Segmüller and XXXL.
Major appliance brands that are normally stocked by these kitchen installers tend to be the major German brands including Siemens, Miele, NEFF, Thermador, Liebherr, and Bosch among others.
You can also find many small local kitchen installers in your home area too.
The reason German houses often don’t come with a fitted kitchen installed
It’s a cultural thing. In a nutshell, Germans consider the kitchen to be a personal space that they like to design themselves. This is as opposed to having the kitchen designed and built by a builder. By keeping the kitchen completely empty, the owner or renter of the home can design their kitchen from scratch the way they like it.
At least, that’s the way it’s spoken about.
In reality, you can easily find many stories of kitchen horror stories as the kitchen installers in the country have mixed reviews generally speaking as we’ll see below.
It’s also not uncommon to move into a house and have to wait for your kitchen to be installed to the point where you may have to survive without one for up to 2 months which is the highest length of time I’ve heard of, from a neighbor who experienced this.
I’ve also spoken with people who were able to arrange for the kitchen to be installed the day after possession so that may happen too.
Resale German properties may or may not come with a kitchen already installed
While it’s common to buy a home or apartment in Germany that includes the kitchen, don’t be surprised if you find some properties – particularly rental ones – where the owner/tenant plans on taking the kitchen with them.
They will literally leave you with an empty kitchen space and remove the cabinets, countertops and appliances.
My wife and I visited one rental unit when we first moved to Germany where the tenants who were moving out offered to sell us the kitchen – since they owned it, but not the house – for 1,500 Euro.
Conversely, the house we ended up renting had a full kitchen already installed as did other houses we looked at to rent.
When we moved out of the house after buying one of our own, I met a few of the new prospective tenants and several asked to confirm that the kitchen was included in the rental.
Don’t be surprised when you discover that the appliances – particularly the fridge, dishwasher, cooktop and oven – are smaller than what you’re used to. While you can easily find larger “American-style” fridges, the other appliances generally come in smaller EU sizes.
How much do German kitchens cost to buy and install?
I’ve heard real stories of kitchens being built for 10,000 Euro ($11,600) all the way up to 120,000 Euro ($139,000) and many prices points in between.
For a reasonably sized kitchen including cabinets, countertops and appliances fully installed you’ll be looking at 15,000 – 25,000 Euro ($17,000 – $29,000) and up depending on specifics and how high end you go with the materials and brands you choose.
You can easily go much higher than this range however once you start adding in more cabinets, choose more expensive appliances and so on.
NOTE: In my experience, prices tend to be very negotiable and in our personal case, we started at a quote of 30,000 Euro and got it down to 21,000 Euro.
You will typically be asked for a budget up front but don’t be surprised if it gets blown out of the water in the first quote. We told one installer we were speaking with we had a budget of 20,000 Euro and their first quote was twice that amount.
How the German kitchen planning and purchasing process works
You can easily find many German kitchen companies who will design and then deliver and install the kitchen. Depending on who you choose, the exact process can be different.
Larger companies tend to source all the materials and the rely on their chosen delivery company to bring the kitchen parts to your home and then contract with their preferred installers to actually fit the kitchen in place as per the design and install it.
But before you get to that stage, you actually have to plan the kitchen. This typically involves either meeting face to face or online and walking through a process using computer software where they build your kitchen with all your desired features and materials. Cabinets are chosen. Countertops are picked. Colors are confirmed. Appliances are selected.
Once you have confirmed your kitchen, they’ll put a proposal together with pricing and you can play around with all the aspects you designed until you’re happy.
Once you have signed on the dotted line, you’re probably looking at a lead time of up to 12 weeks to actually get the kitchen installed.
About 8-10 weeks before delivery, the installation company will either personally measure or use a subcontractor to visit your home and actually take measurements to ensure they are as per manufacturer specs. Each area of the kitchen will be measured and compared to builder specs so that they design the kitchen to the proper size.
Then you wait.
Once your delivery and installation time arrives, it can typically take 1-3 days to actually install the kitchen so that it’s completed and usable, depending on the size and complexity.
Pay for a German kitchen in stages not all at once
Regardless of what the contract says, before you agree to it, tell your chosen kitchen installer you want to pay a percentage upon successful installation of the kitchen. There are too many horror stories of kitchen installations gone wrong so holding back some of the money until the kitchen is completed is your way of protecting yourself.
Our kitchen was divided into three payments, two of which were specifically specified in cash. Yes, cash is still a popular form of payment in Germany.
The three payments were:
Payment to the kitchen installation company – This is the company that designs the kitchen and sources the materials. They manage the whole process and arrange for delivery and installation too. They wanted full payment 8 business days before delivery or full payment in cash upon delivery of the kitchen parts to our home as part of their standard contract.
Delivery – A delivery company physically delivered the kitchen materials to our home one day before installation. Their delivery fee was only payable in cash. Cash is still very common in Germany. One of the guys who delivered our kitchen told me he once had to collect 53,000 Euro in 50 Euro bills for a kitchen delivery, paid entirely in cash. In this case, his company collected not only the delivery fee but the total cost of the kitchen on behalf of the kitchen installation company too.
Installation – The day after delivery, two installers came and actually fitted and installed the kitchen over 2 days. They were then paid in cash at the end of the installation process.
When it comes to actually paying for the kitchen, while you might be asked to pay for the whole price of the kitchen 8 business days prior to delivery, tell the installation company you will instead pay a percentage up front such as 50% and the remainder upon successful installation. Otherwise you’ll often have trouble getting them to come back and fix problems once they have your money.
Reputation of German kitchen manufacturers and installers
The reputation of the German kitchen design and installation business is a mixed bag. For every online review from a happy customer, you can find at least one that isn’t so happy.
Common complaints that tend to pop up among various kitchen companies include:
- Poor communication and follow up to questions and queries to the point where calls and emails are completely ignored by the company.
- Misinformation and in some cases outright lying and misrepresentation about prior communication, installation dates and things of that nature.
- Lack of warning in advance that appliances or other materials are going to be late.
- Wrongly measured kitchens that result in parts not fitting properly.
- Missing parts that take weeks or longer to be installed.
- Lack of follow up after installation and after full payment has been made to fix problems.
- A sudden increase in a price after you’ve already agreed to terms.
In my experience the company we used was hit and miss in terms of communication. Sometimes our sales rep responded to my questions. Sometimes she didn’t. The most engaged she was during the entire process was before we signed the contract on the dotted line when she was very responsive. That changed once the contract was signed and not for the better.
Then the day before delivery, she suddenly discovered a “mistake” and added 149 Euro to the installation cost.
Tips for planning and buying a German kitchen
Plan in advance and for delays – Despite what you might read online, kitchen installation delays are common especially after COVID. While some delays are due to COVID and associated supply chain issues, some companies are just poorly run and have a tendency to be late.
Don’t pay in full up front – When you give the company all their money up front, they have no incentive to finish the job or make fixes when required. Common reviews are found online where customers complain about not receiving kitchens in full but have already paid and then spend significant time trying to get the company to fix the problem.
Shop around – Doing the design phase of kitchen installation is very time-consuming but if you contact 2 or more companies and go through the process, you can at least compare prices, business practices and options.
Consider a smaller local installer – Going with a smaller installer who operates locally in your area means less bureaucracy and possibly more personalized service than with the bigger companies who tend to hide behind their phone and can be hard to pin down when you need service.
Final thoughts
Since we’re discussing what newly built Germany houses do and don’t come with, it’s worth mentioning a few other aspects of German home purchasing that will cost you money up front to ensure you know in advance. You don’t want to buy a house in Germany and then run out of money to do various things that you may have assumed were included in the cost of the house, but weren’t.
These costs add up quickly and although the following costs aren’t as big as a kitchen, they cost money all the same.
Closets aren’t included – In concrete-built homes as is standard in Germany, homes generally include 0 closets. Not a single one is included. Instead you purchase them from a retailer like IKEA, XXXL, or Segmüller and assemble them in each room you need one. A bedroom closet typically costs about 200 Euro and up depending on the quality and size.
Grass costs extra – You may have to pay extra for sod and stones to be included in the house price. In this case you can alternatively hire someone else to do the sodding or do it yourself. We paid 6,000 Euro for a garden package that included soil, sod and stone work. One of our neighbors declined the garden package and was given the house on delivery with a front and back yard that needed about 3′ of soil to level it with their neighbors before sodding.
Mailboxes cost extra – Your home may not even come with a mailbox and you might have to add it yourself.
Fencing – As with North American homes, you’ll have to pay for fencing around your home and yard yourself. Depending on where you live, you might find yourself heavily restricted as to what design and height of fence you can have and it will often have to match what your neighbor(s) is planning or has already completed.
Lights – While a new house will be delivered with light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, it’s up to you to actually buy and install your own light fixtures. And if you buy or rent a home, don’t be surprised when you arrive and all light fixtures are gone and you literally have wires hanging from the ceiling. People generally take fixtures with them since they installed them upon getting the home. This is normal in Germany, too.
