There are few words that sit together quite as comfortably as "German" and "quality". Whether it's roads, cars or kitchens, there's something about the "Made in Germany" stamp that instils confidence in even the most cautious of consumers.
Which is why the new Kaiser showroom in Dubai is such a welcome proposition. Newly opened on Umm Suqeim Road, which is fast-evolving into a go-to destination for all things interiors related, the two-storey showroom offers a range of German-made kitchens and furniture – but at more affordable prices than you may be used to.
Kaiser is a concept by the Dubai-headquartered Innerspace, which is also responsible for bringing high-end Häcker kitchens and furniture by Hülsta and Rolf Benz to the UAE. After almost a decade in the business, the company identified a sizeable gap in the market.
“The market is so polarised here,” says Innerspace managing partner Samir Ranavaya. “You have the really high-end kitchens, where you pay a premium price, or the low-end stuff, which is really cheap, but there didn’t seem to be anyone covering that middle ground. Customers wanted amazing design, great quality and professionalism, but at a reasonable price.”
In response, Kaiser promises high-quality, German-made kitchen and furniture solutions at more affordable prices – which means you can come here and bag yourself a brand new, beautifully made kitchen for as little as Dh30,000.
The ground floor of the new showroom showcases the broad spectrum of options on offer – from sleek, ultra-modern, handleless kitchens, to more traditional, country-style options, as well as ideas for smaller areas such as pantries and laundry rooms.
The kitchen is an area of the home that UAE residents are increasingly willing to invest in, the founders of Innerspace have found. This is in keeping with global trends, where the kitchen is becoming the hub of the modern home – a social space that is used throughout the day, not merely for meal preparation.
“The kitchen is really a living space in the truest sense of the word. You start your day there; and you finish your day there,” says Ranavaya.
This is particularly pertinent given that so many properties in the UAE have open-plan layouts – the kitchen is no longer a scarcely used space hidden from sight, but an integral part of a home’s living areas. And with more and more people in the UAE owning their own properties, and certain communities reaching an age where they are crying out for a revamp, the time was ripe for a concept such as Kaiser.
“We find, even where we live in Arabian Ranches, that properties like that, which are coming up to eight or 10 years old, really need renovating now. Even if people aren’t sure about the economy and want to stay put, they are still thinking about renovating. You also find more and more people are owning their own properties. A lot of our clients are families and have been here for years, so they really want to invest in their homes,” says Innerspace managing partner Steven Pardoe.
While the showroom aims to cater to a wide range of tastes, there are a few key trends that the company is responding to. For example, texture is becoming important in the kitchen space, whether it’s via stone, wood or gloss finishes, or a mix of the above.
“There are a lot of textures that look like wood, but are very durable; they aren’t the expensive veneers that people have become used to, but more like a laminate and are very hard-wearing. Even with high-gloss and lacquer kitchens, there are a lot of different textures available, whether it’s matte, glossy or something in-between,” Pardoe explains.
In terms of colour, white is a perennial favourite, although customers in the UAE are open to a touch of experimentation, Pardoe says. “People are brave here – and their kitchens are bigger than they probably would be in Europe, so they are more willing to experiment.”
The first floor of the showroom is dedicated to furniture, offering sofas, television units, dining tables, lighting, rugs and smaller accessories such as cushions, as well as a charming range of children’s furniture, all by the German brands Now! by Hülsta and Freistil by Rolf Benz. These are solid, reliable staples, with clean, streamlined designs – the kind of things that will act as the linchpins of your interior for years to come. In addition, many of the pieces are modular, offering an added degree of flexibility.
“We started with Häcker kitchens and followed with Hülsta furniture and Rolf Benz furniture a few years later, which are brands with a very similar philosophy, offering a certain quality and a certain style,” Pardoe explains.
So when it came to the new Kaiser showroom, it was a natural step to include the mid-range offerings by these two German furniture brands. “There are a lot of synergies between the German brands that we carry and it also offers convenience to our customers,” says Ranavaya. “We offer free design services, so you can speak to one designer about your entire house. You don’t have to hop from one furniture studio to another for your rug and then your lighting and then your furniture and then your kitchen.”
For more information, visit www.kaiserme.com.
sdenman@thenational.ae
