Style & Design
Stories of Schmidt Group design
Design is born of an era, a need, a changing way of life. Every creation designed since 1946 reflects a changing society, its aspirations, its constraints, its desire to live better.
Petites histoires du design is the story of the objects that have accompanied French and then European homes, setting trends and leaving their mark on styles. It’s also the story of who we have become, generation after generation.
1946
Lilli
Here is the first name in a long series of buffets.
Lilli is the first in a long series of sideboards all bearing names. Heidi, Carmen, Herta, Marta, Sonja, Senta, Astrid, Brigitte… These practical, modern sideboards, made of oak and then laminate, were in use in French homes until the 1980s.
Before furniture, Schmidt was building detached houses in Saarland.
1959
Prestige 150
The Schmidt teams created the Prestige 150, which was to become an icon of the French kitchen. Its light bar, integrated mirror and thermometer were details that left their mark on a whole generation of kitchens. The Prestige 150 embodies the functional design of the Thirty Glorious and the dream of modern equipment in French homes.
1965
Formica
Yellow, blue, green: sideboards are adopting Formica, the modern, practical laminate now found in kitchens. Easy to care for and hard-wearing, Formica is the embodiment of the kitchen furnishing dreams of French households. Free-standing or wall-mounted, from suburban houses to flats, everyone has a Formica sideboard. It was the advent of standardisation.
1975
The fully equipped kitchen
Gone are the days of the buffet. Long live the fitted kitchen. High and low units that, when assembled, make up a complete kitchen, often in the shape of an L.
Solid oak dominated, followed by laminate. This was the beginning of the made-to-measure kitchen, conceived as a real design project rather than just a piece of furniture.
To mark the launch of this product innovation, Schmidt Groupe published its first catalogue, a full-colour 8-page spread.
1990
The open kitchen
The kitchen opens onto the living room. As the cost of living andm2 rises, the open kitchen is a response to the need to optimise space in houses and flats.
This open-plan room becomes the heart of the home. A convivial place for cooking, sharing and entertaining.
Two styles coexisted in the 90s and 2000s: contemporary lacquered and shiny on the one hand, and Provençal “Rechampi” on the other.
1998
Kitchen kits
Schmidt positioned itself in a new market: kit kitchens for supermarkets and the entry-level Cuisinellà range. EMK (l’Européenne de Meubles en Kit) offered fifty-seven modules delivered in a week to furniture retailers. It was an innovative range that differed from assembled kitchens, and targeted a broader customer base on a tighter budget. The adventure came to an end in 2015, with Schmidt refocusing on its core business, made-to-measure and exclusive shop networks.
2001
The colour
For decades, kitchen cabinets were white. Only the fronts added colour. Schmidt is breaking this code and offering coloured carcases: grey, anthracite, taupe, wood… Now every kitchen can play with infinite combinations of fronts and interior structures. Opening a cupboard becomes an aesthetic experience. This innovation marks a new stage in customisation: made-to-measure no longer stops at the doors, it takes over the inside of the cabinet.
2005
The first storage units
Schmidt is moving out of the kitchen and into the home. The first dressers, fittings and cupboards: made-to-measure solutions for every room, every need. This diversification marked a strategic turning point. Schmidt no longer confined itself to equipping kitchens: the group set its sights on furnishing the whole home with the same high standards of quality and customisation.
2008
In&Out
This kitchen opens the inside to the outside, the house to the garden. With its airy legs and metal structures, In&Out combines strong aesthetics with meticulous ergonomics. A year later, Schmidt received the Janus de l’Industrie, the official French design label awarded since 1953, for this range, an award that recognises Schmidt’s ability to constantly innovate with ever more modern and stylish concepts.
2008
Collection Tentations
A contemporary, factory-assembled kitchen available from as little as €4,000: with the Tentations collection, Cuisinella proves that simple, trendy design is not just for big budgets. 180 pieces of furniture, high-performance worktops and contemporary decors – proof that it’s possible to design well without designing less well.
2018
Cuisinella reinvents uses
Extending the worktop when you need it, storing vegetables and fruit outside the fridge, saving space with retractable trays for smaller flats : Cuisinella is launching solutions that are as functional as they are unexpected, designed to meet real everyday needs. Design is a combination of the functional and the practical, born of the observation of uses.
2022
Digital printing
This is a first for the French kitchen market. We’re launching digitally printed fronts and credenzas, which allow our customers to print any decor on our furniture, adding a bold touch to a kitchen, bathroom or dressing room.
And for this launch, we are working with Christian Lacroix, who is bringing his ‘couture’ touch to the Schmidt brand. Since then, we’ve been working regularly with artists to give our products even more personality.
2024
Spoon & Room and the perfect island
Spoon & Room embodies Schmidt’s response to the health crisis: agile, discreet furniture optimised for small spaces. The perfect island, available in two sizes, fits into any room. Whether as a kitchen worktop, teleworking desk or dining area, this piece of furniture adapts to new lifestyles and the constraints of urban flats. The brand will come to an end in 2026, but the spirit of innovation will live on.
2025
The central island
Initially reserved for top-of-the-range kitchens, the central island is becoming more democratic. Nomadic on castors in the Cuisinella range, a signature feature in the Schmidt range, the island has become multifunctional: a work surface, a convivial space, a teleworking area, a children’s desk. Storage becomes an integral part of the kitchen.
2026
Sub-slopes to the millimetre
In attics and under staircases, Schmidt and Cuisinella are tackling the spaces where you can gain square metres of storage space with made-to-measure layouts designed to the millimetre, transforming every architectural constraint into a functional and aesthetically pleasing living space.
