5 minutes
Feldkirch, Austria
There are lots of clever ways to make the most out of a small kitchen. A 4-square-metre kitchen can be a real storage space wonder, accommodating absolutely everything you need for living and cooking.
When planning a kitchen, it’s not only important to take regular activities and workflow into account. Clever cabinet solutions and optimised storage concepts maximise efficiency and give your kitchen a clean look. Presenter Eric Schroth experiences how effortless things can be (even in a kitchen on set).
There’s no filming going on in Blum’s 22-square-metre apartment but Eric has a lot planned for the day: he’s going to conjure up a delicious meal for his lovely mum in the 4-square-metre kitchen.
The likeable young man from Cologne has taken a good look around the micro apartment and already discovered lots of ingenious storage solutions. “I’ve seen that Blum has maximised the storage space. They haven’t wasted an inch with these narrow cabinets.” Everything is within easy reach in such a tiny flat so it takes Eric just seconds to clean up the mess.
Eric has everything in view thanks to very wide drawers and an inner dividing system.
The SPACE TOWER cabinet and shoe shelf ensure that shoes are easily accessible.
Eric’s shirts are immediately to hand thanks to the pull-out clothes rail.
Eric wants to put the kitchen through its paces and has decided to cook prawn pasta with an avocado and feta salsa.
No matter how small a kitchen is, it’s essential to zone it according to activity. Right from the start when designing a kitchen it’s important that you think about where you want to keep food, where you want to prepare meals and to ensure that kitchen utensils are within easy reach. Good planning makes your kitchen easier to use, gives you instant access to everything you need and improves workflow.
While the pasta is cooking, Eric peels and chops up the avocado and garlic cloves and cuts the feta cheese into chunks. The SERVO-DRIVE electrical opening support system makes it easy to slide food waste into the bin directly under the sink. Here again, all he has to do is nudge the under-sink unit with his hip and the pull-out opens as if by magic.
He purees the ingredients with a hand blender until smooth and then seasons the salsa with lemon juice, salt and pepper. He pops it in the fridge, that’s it. The fridge is directly opposite the worktop so it takes just seconds to refrigerate.
When his mum arrives all Eric has to do is fry the prawns in olive oil, add the pasta and avocado and feta salsa, combine it all and decorate with saffron threads – done!
“It all runs like clockwork if everything’s within easy reach – no matter how large or small the kitchen is.”
Eric was so quick that he’s now got plenty of time to lay a festive table. The secret storage built into the table is ideal for place mats. He whips the cutlery out of the drawers (which are nice and tidy thanks to an inner dividing system). And the SPACE STEP plinth solution by Blum makes it easy for the 30-year-old to reach the wine glasses in the overhead cupboard.
Cutlery and cooking utensils are nice and tidy
The plinth solution makes Eric 15 cm taller
Wine glasses are immediately to hand thanks to the AVENTOS HK top lift system.
Not long after, Eric’s mother Elisabeth joins him in the 22-square-metre apartment. “I couldn’t go home for Mother’s Day. That’s why I invited mum to come here and have cooked her a nice meal. It’s a tradition. This year we’ve simply relocated the dinner to Vorarlberg,” says the presenter.
“When Eric invited me to come to Austria I thought he’d take me to a nice restaurant. I hadn’t reckoned with a meal on a film set,” says Elisabeth Schroth and adds: “You don’t notice how small it is, it seems a lot bigger. I like how you only need to give things a nudge and they open. They’ve really put every inch of space to good use, it’s perfect.”
Some really brilliant thinking has gone into this apartment. I’ve never seen so many clever solutions in such a small space.
Eric is equally enthusiastic: “I’ve done some crazy things in my time, but cooking in a 4-square-metre kitchen on set is something else. Everything went really smoothly thanks to the clever layout and clever solutions,” concludes the entertainer. By the way, Eric’s mum loved the shrimp pasta with avocado and feta salsa topped with saffron threads. If you want to try out the recipe yourself, you can download it here. Enjoy!
