White and wood kitchen with LED-trimmed island and bar stools

Planning · Features

Kitchen features, planned in from the start

The kitchen features you use every day — light where you work, drawers that hold everything, appliances behind matching fronts — work best when they are planned with the cabinets, not added afterwards. Here is how we approach them with Nolte.

Design your kitchen Visit the showroom

Nolte Küchen design

01Why plan features early

Kitchen features belong in the first drawing

The difference between a kitchen that looks good and one that works beautifully is usually invisible: the drawer that holds every pot without stacking, the LED line that lights the worktop without glare, the tall unit that hides a coffee machine and still leaves room for the cups. These kitchen features depend on cabinet widths, depths and wiring, which is why we plan them in the first drawing rather than at the end.

Nolte builds this into its kitchen system. Lighting can be integrated into handle profiles, under wall units, inside glass cabinets, drawers and plinths; drawers come in front heights that combine into different patterns; corner, larder and waste-sorting units sit on the same grid as everything else. We help you choose what you will actually use — and leave out what you won’t.

02Four families

What you can plan into a Nolte kitchen

Each family has its own in-depth page below. Ask our Glendale team which options are currently available for US orders.

LED lighting
Under-cabinet task light, illuminated handle profiles, glass-cabinet and shelf lighting, drawer and plinth light — warm white or tunable.
Storage & organizers
Deep pan drawers, interior drawers, pull-out larders, swing-out Le Mans corner units and waste-sorting sink units.
Hardware & gadgets
PremiumLINE full-extension drawers, cushioned hinges, push-to-open, worktop sockets with wireless charging and retractable outlets.
Integrated appliances
Housings for panel-ready dishwashers and refrigerators, oven and coffee columns, and room for an appliance garage planned with wall or tall units.

Cream lacquer island with warm LED trim and glass-front tall cabinets — Nolte Küchen design

03Light & ambience

Light that works, then light that glows

We plan lighting in two layers. Task light comes first: even, glare-free LED under the wall units, where knives and hands are. Then atmosphere: glass cabinets lit from inside, a soft line at the plinth, a glowing handle channel like the island trim shown here. Nolte’s Emotion lighting switches zones between warm white 3000 K and cool white 6000 K.

For most Los Angeles homes we recommend warm light for the evening; it flatters oak, walnut and natural stone. More on zones, brightness and wiring on our LED lighting page.

L-shaped handleless kitchen with cashmere upper fronts, oak base units and stone backsplash — Nolte Küchen design

04Storage

Every item gets a place

Good storage begins with an inventory. We ask what you cook, what you keep on the counter and what you want hidden, then plan drawer heights and interiors to match — shallow drawers for cutlery and spices, deep ones for pots and plates, a pull-out larder for dry goods that you can reach from both sides.

Waste sorting under the sink, a plinth drawer for trays and a corner unit that swings its shelves out to you all add capacity without adding cabinets. The details are on storage and organizers.

05Appliances & hardware

Hidden appliances, quiet hardware

A kitchen looks calmer when the dishwasher and refrigerator disappear behind the same fronts as the cabinets. Panel-ready appliances make that possible, but the housing has to be planned around each appliance’s installation drawing — US and European sizes differ. Read how we handle it on integrated appliances.

Hardware is what you touch a thousand times a year: drawer runners, hinges, handles or the lack of them. Nolte’s hinges have integrated cushioning as standard, drawers run on full-extension PremiumLINE runners, and handleless fronts open with a recessed profile or a light push. See hardware and gadgets for the full list, including worktop charging and pop-up sockets.

06Planning

How we choose your features

01
Inventory
Tell us how you cook and what you store; bring photos of your current kitchen.
02
Prioritize
We separate must-haves from nice-to-haves so the budget goes where you will feel it.
03
Plan the wiring
Lighting, sockets and appliances are placed early so your electrician has clear drawings.
04
Try it in the showroom
See fronts, organizers and lighting samples in Glendale, and working displays where available, before you decide.

In this section

Kitchen features

FAQ

Questions, answered

Still deciding? Call +1 (213) 776-0000 or send us your plan.

Ask a designer

Which kitchen features are worth the money?

The ones you use every day: full-extension drawers instead of base-cabinet doors, good under-cabinet task lighting, a pull-out larder and integrated waste sorting. We help you prioritize during your consultation.

Can I add lighting to my kitchen cabinets later?

Some lighting can be added later, but integrated lighting — handle profiles, drawer and plinth light — needs wiring and cabinet preparation, so it is best planned from the start.

Which features have to be decided before the kitchen is ordered?

Anything that needs wiring, plumbing or a special cabinet: integrated lighting, worktop sockets, appliance housings, waste sorting and corner units. Inserts and accessories can follow later.

Can I see these features before I order?

Yes. Visit the Glendale showroom to see samples and, where on display, working drawers and lighting, or explore options first in the 3D configurator.