Then I want to join in too:
At the beginning of our planning, I absolutely wanted an SBS fridge/freezer, but it somehow never really fit in properly. In hindsight, I’m glad about that, because I don’t really like those blocks anymore. Much more fits into the 1.80m high fridge and freezer.
We also don’t have the initially desired pantry (as is often wished for here). Instead, we have a storage cabinet, which is absolutely sufficient for us. Overall, the kitchen has so much storage space for us that, besides everything relevant for the kitchen, we can also store all supplies including drinks and a large waste separation system (waste/organic waste/paper/tetra packs/plastic films/aluminum foils/can scrap/plastic containers). This is especially practical because we only have to go to the recycling center about every 4 weeks and only quickly empty our containers there, instead of sorting everything on-site first. The base cabinet with the waste system has already proven itself.
A Contur kitchen (Schüller) was installed by a small, renowned kitchen store from the area. The extractor hood is a Berbel Formline as recirculation. I am absolutely thrilled and surprised at how well recirculation can work. I see absolutely no need anymore to install an exhaust hood in connection with the controlled living space ventilation. The fat is almost completely filtered out, so nothing can settle on the furniture anymore.
Overall, we are very happy with the kitchen, and there is almost nothing I would do differently at short notice:
I would only choose a different cooktop. We have a Siemens EX801LYC1E with VarioInduction. I hoped this would allow maximum flexibility. In practice, it doesn’t work quite as well. You basically always have to place a pot/pan in such a way that it really stands properly on a zone. If this is not the case, the zone will not switch on, which regularly results in only half of the pot heating. This is especially annoying when searing in larger pans, and then only half of the pan is hot. :/ I also find the operation of the Siemens ovens partially extremely unfortunate. With guided cooking, in one program the preheating time is included in the specified time, in the next it is not. If you set the timer and press start, you start the timer but not the heating, which you have to switch on separately by pressing start again. Complete nonsense and has made me curse more than once. Especially annoying when you have actually adjusted the time exactly so that everything is finished at the same time.
I was quite impressed by Siemens, so I didn’t look long for alternatives there. I would approach that differently now.