Compact household appliances for the 35 m² flat.

The first flat of your own is a milestone, and usually also a square-metre challenge. 35 m² sounds like a solid single apartment, but as soon as bed, desk, sofa and a tiny kitchenette are squeezed in, every extra centimetre becomes precious. The good news: the market for compact household appliances has exploded. Today you can get dishwashers that fit on the worktop, tumble dryers the size of a microwave and robot vacuums flat enough to disappear under the sofa.

The most common space problems in 35 m² flats

• The mini kitchenette without connections: in many first flats you find a 1.80 to 2.40 metre pantry kitchen with two hobs and a fridge under the worktop, and that's it. No dishwasher connections, no oven.
• The windowless bathroom: interior bathrooms without proper ventilation are common in older single flats. Result: damp air, risk of mould.
• The basement drying room nobody uses any more: usually overfilled, poorly heated, unhygienic.
• Storage that fits nowhere: a basement storage cage of 2 m² has to be enough for seasonal clothing, tools, suitcases.
• An entrance area without a doorbell system with a screen: drilling for a permanently installed camera is rarely allowed in rented flats.

Kitchen: full equipment on 2 metres of worktop

Mini dishwasher: the game-changer appliance par excellence

Countertop dishwashers 45 cm wide or mini models only 42 cm wide are the most important single-person purchase since the microwave. They need no fixed water connection but are filled through an integrated tank. Power consumption on modern appliances is between 0.3 and 0.5 kWh per wash cycle, and water consumption only five litres. By hand you easily wash away 15 to 30 litres per round. Recommended: Bomann TSG 5701 (tank), MEDION MD37763 (tank + mains water), Klarstein Amazonia 6 (mains water, 6 place settings). Which appliances are currently particularly economical and quiet is in the mini dishwasher comparison.

Mini oven: when the kitchen has no built-in cooker

Many small flats and pantry kitchens have no full-size oven at all. A mini oven with 20 to 38 litres replaces it almost completely for singles: pizza, bakes, bread rolls, even chicken on a spit. Models with two hobs on top (e.g. Rommelsbacher, Severin) are even a complete cooker replacement in half a metre of floor space and save noticeably on electricity compared with the large oven, because only the small cooking chamber is heated. The most compact and most economical appliances are in the mini oven comparison.

Sparkling water maker: against the lugging

Anyone who regularly buys sparkling water lugs 30 to 50 kilos of crates up to the fourth floor every month. With a sparkling water maker that disappears completely. Models without electricity (SodaStream Terra, Aarke Carbonator 3, Mysoda Woody) need only half an A4 sheet of floor space. More in the sparkling water maker comparison.

Bathroom and laundry: drying without a drying room

The biggest unsolved problem in almost every single flat: where on earth do I dry my laundry? A drying rack in the living space means 24 to 36 hours of raised humidity, and with it a risk of mould, especially in poorly insulated older buildings.

• Vented dryers are cheap to buy (from €139 for the Klarstein Jet Set), but need a hose to the outside.
• Condenser dryers are the simplest solution, but use 3.5 to 4 kWh per drying cycle.
• Heat pump dryers are the most efficient variant. At 1.2 to 1.8 kWh per drying cycle (e.g. Bauknecht T Pure) they come out hundreds of euros below the condenser model over a year.

Which appliances are especially quiet and which suit stacked setups is shown in the mini tumble dryer comparison.

Living room: vacuuming while you are at work

Single flats look small but are surprisingly laborious to keep clean, because crumbs, dust and hair concentrate on just a few square metres. A robot vacuum is by far the most sensible purchase. Three things matter:

• Height under 8 cm: so the appliance can drive under the sofa, bed and chests of drawers. Eufy RoboVac 11S (7.2 cm) and Yeedi Vac 2 Pro (7.7 cm) are the champions.
• Navigation: for 35 m² gyroscope navigation is enough; LiDAR is a luxury.
• Slim shape: robots under 33 cm in diameter get between chair legs better. The Lefant M210 Pro is only 28 cm.

A current comparison of the models is in the robot vacuum comparison. For sofa crevices, window sills, pet hair and the car, though, the robot stands no chance; here a cordless handheld battery vacuum completes the setup perfectly: unpacked, vacuumed, back in the charging station, without a cable or hunting for a socket.

Indoor climate: dehumidifier against mould

Anyone living in an older building with single glazing knows the problem: in winter the window panes steam up, and black deposits form in the corners of rooms. An electric dehumidifier with 10 to 20 litres of extraction per day keeps room humidity at 50 to 60 per cent, the range in which mould spores cannot germinate.

Especially after showering, when drying laundry or in the bedroom (we give off around 0.5 litres of water into the air per night) this is worth its weight in gold. Much cheaper than mould remediation that the landlord passes on. For small flats, compact 12 to 20 litre compressor units or quiet Peltier minis for the bedroom are enough; the suitable models are in the dehumidifier comparison against mould.

The second indoor climate topic besides humidity is air quality: in 35 m², pollen, house dust and cooking smells spread faster than in large flats, simply because the air volume is lacking. A compact HEPA air purifier in the bedroom solves that. A sleep mode under 25 dB and a display that can be switched off are important. Which appliances can do this quietly is shown in the air purifier comparison for the bedroom (from 19 dB).

And in summer: a small flat under the roof heats up quickly. The first thing that helps is a quiet fan. A DC tower fan under 25 dB hardly disturbs at night and costs only a few cents of electricity (see comparison of quiet fans for the bedroom). If that is no longer enough on hot days, a portable air conditioner is the only option for a rented flat that really cools, as a monoblock with an exhaust hose through the tilted window, with no installation at all. Which appliances suit which room size is explained in the comparison of portable air conditioners for the rented flat.

Smart home: radiator thermostats as the cheapest energy lever

Tenants can rarely insulate or replace the heating. But smart radiator thermostats can be screwed onto the radiator valve without tools. With time profiles (16 °C during the day, 21 °C in the afternoon, 18 °C at night) you can realistically save 8 to 15 per cent of heating energy. For a 35 m² flat with annual heating costs of €600 to €900, that is a saving of €50 to €130 per year.

Well-known brands: tado°, AVM FRITZ!DECT 302 (if you have a FRITZ!Box), Bosch Smart Home (Matter-capable). What to look out for is covered in the radiator thermostat comparison.

Door: battery doorbell camera without drilling

One of the most common frustrations in single flats: the bell rings, you are sitting on the fourth floor, and your parcel is downstairs. Battery doorbell cameras solve the problem in ten minutes: attach the bracket with an adhesive pad, pair the bell via the app, done. No drilling, no 230-volt connection.

Key criteria: resolution (at least 1080p, better 2K), field of view (at least 150°), storage option (local via microSD is more privacy-friendly than a cloud subscription). Reolink Battery Doorbell and Eufy E340 are currently the best without a subscription requirement. Current models are in the doorbell camera comparison.

Zoning and furniture hacks

Compact appliances make the flat functional, but not automatically homely. At least as important is the spatial layout: separate the sleeping area from the living area, create a clear workspace. For furniture, lighting planning and room layout we refer you to our partner site kleine-wohnung-guide.de.

The power budget of a 35 m² flat

A typical single household in Germany uses between 1,300 and 2,000 kWh a year, which corresponds to an annual bill of roughly €400 to €650 (as of 2026, approx. 35 cents per kWh). Realistic distribution with the appliances mentioned above: around 1,260 kWh, so roughly €400 to €410 a year. The investment in modern compact appliances pays for itself within two to four years.

Suitability for rented flats

• Allowed without permission: all appliances that are simply plugged into a socket: tank mini dishwashers, ovens, tumble dryers without a fixed connection, robot vacuums, dehumidifiers, sparkling water makers. Replacing radiator thermostats is also allowed.
• Allowed with adhesive mounting: battery doorbell cameras, battery motion detectors. Remove adhesive pads without residue before moving out.
• Permission required: drilling for permanent installations, wall openings for exhaust hoses, dishwashers with a fixed water connection.
• Careful with heavy current: if your mini oven draws more than 3,000 watts or an air fryer plus kettle plus oven run at the same time, the fuse trips quickly.

Frequently asked questions about equipping small flats with appliances

What does a complete first set of appliances for a 35 m² flat cost?

With compact branded appliances (mini dishwasher, mini oven, sparkling water maker, mini heat pump dryer, robot vacuum, dehumidifier and two smart thermostats) a complete first set in the mid-range comes to roughly €1,300 to €1,500. If you buy step by step, it is best to start with the mini dishwasher and robot vacuum, because they save the most time.

Which household appliances do you really need first in a small flat?

Priority 1 is the time-savers with daily use: a mini dishwasher and a flat robot vacuum. Priority 2 is preserving the value of the flat: a mini heat pump dryer and a dehumidifier against mould. Comfort and safety items such as radiator thermostats come last.

How do I cool a small attic flat in summer?

On moderately hot days a quiet fan is enough, and it costs only cents per day. If the attic gets really hot, only a portable air conditioner really cools: as a monoblock with an exhaust hose through the tilted window, with no installation at all and therefore also allowed in a rented flat.

What helps against mould in a small flat?

Regular short bursts of ventilation plus an electric dehumidifier that keeps room humidity at 50 to 60 per cent. This is decisive especially after showering and when drying laundry in the living space, because where air volume is lacking, humidity quickly rises into the range where mould is a risk.

Which appliances are allowed in a rented flat without alterations?

All appliances recommended here need no structural intervention: tank dishwashers and sparkling water makers need no fixed connection, smart thermostats are simply screwed onto the valve, the doorbell camera runs on a battery without drilling, and a portable air conditioner routes its exhaust air out through the window. None of it requires the landlord's consent.

Verdict: the perfect 35 m² setup for under €1,500

A complete first set with the compact appliances named here (mini dishwasher, mini oven, air fryer, kettle, sparkling water maker, mini heat pump dryer, robot vacuum, dehumidifier, two smart thermostats and a battery doorbell camera) comes to about €1,300 to €1,500 in the mid-range.

If you buy step by step, it makes sense to begin with the mini dishwasher and robot vacuum (greatest time saving), followed by the heat pump dryer and dehumidifier (preserving the value of the flat), and to finish with smart home items such as radiator thermostats and doorbell camera (comfort and safety).