If you have started researching German kitchens, you have probably come across two names sitting close together: Schüller and next125. They are manufactured by the same company, at the same site in Herrieden, Bavaria. They share the same materials, the same production lines, and the same uncompromising quality standards. So why are there two of them? And which one should you be looking at?
That is exactly the question we get asked most often at La Fabrico since we became a Devon stockist of both collections. The honest answer is that they are genuinely different kitchens, designed for genuinely different kinds of buyer. This post will tell you everything you need to know about both, and help you work out which is the right conversation to have first.
The manufacturer
Start here: what is Schüller?
Schüller is one of Germany’s leading kitchen manufacturers, and has been for over fifty years. It began as a small family business in Herrieden, a town in the heart of Franconia in Bavaria, and it is still there today. Still family-owned. Still making every kitchen at a single German location. In a market full of brands that outsource production across several countries, that continuity is genuinely rare, and it is the foundation of everything that makes a Schüller kitchen worth buying.
From that one site, Schüller produces approximately 170,000 kitchens a year, employs over 2,300 people, and turns over close to 759 million euros. These are not the numbers of a niche manufacturer. Schüller is a major industrial operation running to the precision tolerances that German engineering is globally admired for.
Every kitchen leaves Herrieden having been cut and assembled on modern CNC production lines to tolerances measured in fractions of a millimetre, checked at every stage of production, and finished by skilled craftspeople before it is shipped. This is what Made in Germany means here. Not a marketing claim. A description of where, by whom, and to what standard every component in your kitchen is made.
Made in Germany is not a marketing line here. It is a statement of where every component is designed, engineered, and built.
Collection one
Schüller: the kitchen built for real life
The Schüller collection is the flagship range. It is designed to be genuinely versatile, capable of producing a classic Shaker-style kitchen for a Devon farmhouse and a sleek handleless design for a contemporary city flat with equal conviction, while maintaining the same German quality standard throughout.
What the range offers
The Schüller front collection is extensive. You can choose handleless and J-pull fronts for a modern, streamlined result. Framed and panelled fronts for a classic or shaker-inspired kitchen. Matt lacquer finishes in a broad palette from warm earthy neutrals through to bold statement colours. Wood veneer and wood-effect fronts for warmth and texture. Gloss finishes for something lighter and more contemporary.
Behind whichever front you choose, the carcase is the same: German-engineered, precisely made, and finished to the same exacting standard as every other Schüller kitchen that leaves Herrieden. This is the detail that matters most, and it is the detail most buyers never think to ask about.
Worktops run from practical laminate in stone, wood, and solid colour effects through to compact laminate (exceptionally scratch and impact resistant) and real stone, granite and quartz, for those who want the genuine material.
Storage and organisation
Schüller’s storage system is one of the most thought-through aspects of the range. Internal drawer organisers, pull-out larder units, corner storage solutions, and a full range of interior accessories all available as part of the planning process. The principle is straightforward: every centimetre of the kitchen should work as efficiently as possible, and nothing should require you to move something else to get to what you actually want.
Who the Schüller collection is for
The Schüller range suits homeowners who want genuine German quality, significant design flexibility, and a kitchen that will perform beautifully for fifteen or twenty years, without the price premium of the most exclusive brands. It is the right choice if you are renovating a family kitchen, if you want style options that span the full range of contemporary aesthetics, or if you simply want the best quality you can get at a sensible price. It is not a budget kitchen. But it is a kitchen that represents outstanding value for what it delivers.
We display the Schüller range in our Exeter showroom with a full selection of front and worktop samples. You can see how the different finishes look together in a real kitchen setting, not just on a swatch card. Bring your existing cabinet door or a worktop sample and we will help you find the right combination.
Collection two
next125: the kitchen for those who think about design
next125 is the premium collection from the same Schüller manufacturer, and it is built on a fundamentally different philosophy. Where the Schüller range prioritises versatility, next125 prioritises rigour. It is a kitchen for people who have strong opinions about proportion, material, and form, and who want a kitchen that reflects those opinions precisely.
The name tells you everything
next125 takes its name from its defining engineering principle: the 125mm modular grid system. The kitchen’s name is both a measurement and a philosophy. Inspired by the Bauhaus concept of modularity, the idea that functional objects should be built from standardised, combinable units, every element of a next125 kitchen is designed to sit within this precise architectural framework.
A single grid unit of 125mm corresponds exactly to the height of one drawer. From this single starting point, next125 has developed three carcase heights: 75cm, 81.25cm, and 87.5cm, all exact multiples of the 125mm grid, that can be mixed within the same kitchen to create ergonomically optimised, architecturally precise layouts that simply cannot be achieved within a conventional cabinet height system.
The result is a kitchen where everything is considered. Every proportion is deliberate. Every element relates to every other element. There is no approximation anywhere, and it shows.
The materials
next125 is where authentic, premium materials come into their own. The front collection includes precision matt, silk, and gloss lacquers in a curated palette; crystal-clear and back-painted glass fronts that offer a play of light and reflection no other material can match; real wood veneer in oak, walnut, and other selected species, not printed simulations, actual timber; and ceramic and other special surface materials for those who want something genuinely distinctive.
Every material in the next125 collection was chosen because it is the best possible expression of the design intent. Not because it is cost-effective to produce. Not because it is easy to install. Because it is right.
LumiQ: lighting as a design element
next125’s LumiQ integrated lighting system is worth mentioning specifically. Most kitchen lighting is an afterthought, spotlights added to the underside of wall units once the kitchen is already planned. LumiQ is the opposite: it integrates LED lighting into the architecture of the kitchen itself, as a considered design element rather than a practical addition. The result is a kitchen that looks as beautiful in the evening as it does in daylight, with light that is precise, adjustable, and genuinely beautiful.
Who next125 is for
next125 is for those who approach their home with genuine design intent. It is a considered investment in a kitchen that will look as resolved and timeless in 2040 as it does today. It is the right choice if design is a primary concern rather than an afterthought, if you want materials that are authentic rather than simulated, and if you are prepared to invest at a premium level and expect the result to justify that investment without question.
A next125 kitchen does not shout its quality. It reveals it gradually: in the weight of a drawer, the precision of a glass front, the way light moves across a wood veneer surface at different times of day.
Side by side
Schüller vs next125: a direct comparison
Both kitchens are made in Germany to the same exceptional manufacturing standard. Here is where they differ:
| Schüller | next125 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | Families, renovators — anyone who wants lasting German quality with design flexibility | Design-led buyers who want Bauhaus-inspired precision and premium authentic materials |
| Design language | Versatile: classic to contemporary, Shaker to handleless | Minimalist, architectural, timeless — based on a precise 125mm grid |
| Fronts | Matt lacquer, gloss, wood veneer, wood-effect, framed, handleless | Fine glass, real wood veneer, premium matt lacquer, ceramic, special materials |
| Worktops | Laminate, compact laminate, granite, quartz | Premium worktops tailored to next125’s design language |
| Standout feature | Remarkable flexibility within a consistent German quality standard | 125mm modular grid system, LumiQ integrated lighting, Bauhaus heritage |
| Positioning | Premium quality, accessible range | Design-led premium |
Making the decision
How to choose between them
The most honest answer is: start with the kind of kitchen you want to live in, not with the product names. Here is a quick way to work out where to begin:
Start with Schüller if
- You want a kitchen that works brilliantly for real daily life
- You want German manufacturing quality without the most exclusive brand price premium
- You value flexibility: lots of style and finish options
- You are planning a family kitchen where practicality and durability matter as much as design
- You want outstanding value for genuinely exceptional quality
Start with next125 if
- Design is a primary concern — you have strong views on proportion, material, and form
- You are drawn to Bauhaus principles: nothing unnecessary, everything resolved
- You want authentic materials — real wood, real glass, precision lacquer
- You want a kitchen that looks timeless in fifteen years, not dated
- You are ready to invest at a premium level
If you are still unsure, that is exactly the conversation we are here to have. Both collections are in our Exeter showroom. Come and spend an hour with our team. We will show you both in person, talk you through what matters for your specific kitchen, and help you arrive at a decision you are genuinely confident in.
Why La Fabrico
The only place in Devon to see both
La Fabrico in Exeter is a Devon stockist of both the Schüller and next125 collections. We are not just a tile showroom that has added kitchens to the range: we have invested in the expertise, the display space, and the design team to offer both collections properly, with full design consultations, proper planning sessions, and the ability to show you how either kitchen sits alongside the tiles, flooring, and bathroom products we stock across the rest of the showroom.
We chose Schüller and next125 for the same reason we chose Grespania Coverlam, Refin, and BAGNODESIGN for our tile and bathroom ranges: because they are the best in their category, because they are worth recommending without reservation, and because the manufacturer behind them is one we trust completely. Everything in our showroom earned its place.
If you are planning a kitchen, we would love to talk to you.
Book a kitchen design consultation in Exeter
Visit Devon’s largest tile and bathroom showroom to see the Schüller and next125 collections in person. Our kitchen design team is ready to help you plan a kitchen you will love for decades. No pressure. No obligation.
lafabrico.com | 01392 848487 | Marsh Barton, Exeter EX2 8QX
