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Paralives Field GuideParalives Field Guide

Kitchen ideas

Paralives kitchen ideas: a kitchen that actually cooks

A step-by-step Paralives kitchen build — cupboard formats and handles, counter sinks, appliances that still work when you tuck them back, and the little fixes that make it look built-in.

Start the walkthroughHow rooms work
A finished Paralives kitchen with green cupboards, a range hood over the cooker and a Para about to cook, built with the cupboard formats and fixes from this guide
The finished kitchen from this walkthrough — working cooker, tucked-back appliances and tile that stops at the counters.

The short version

Paralives kitchens are built from one cupboard piece with many faces. The tricks that separate a plain kitchen from a good one: start from the corner piece, swap formats from the three-dots menu, sink it behind a fake drawer, push appliances back with Alt, and end the backsplash tile where the counters end.

  • Every cupboard is one piece — the three-dots menu swaps doubles, drawers and corner formats, and alternate versions change the handles
  • Hold Alt to break the snap: shelves sit between cupboards, sinks slide off their slot and appliances move back from the counter edge
  • The microwave still works tucked against the wall; the toaster and coffee machine are decoration in Early Access
  • The induction cooker sits too high out of the box — press * on the numpad and pull it down with the gizmo
  • Draw one separator under the counter and the backsplash tile stops exactly where the counters stop

Counters & cupboards

Start from the corner, then run the cupboards

Everything in a Paralives kitchen grows out of one cupboard piece. The game treats a dragged-out run as several cupboards sharing one surface — which works, but it is why so many player kitchens look like wall-to-wall storage. Real kitchens mix drawers, doors and corners.

  1. 1

    Anchor the corner first

    Open Build mode and pick a kitchen cupboard, but don't drag out a full run yet. In the catalogue, choose the corner format — the piece built for the corner of the room — and place it where the two counters will meet. It gives you a fixed anchor to build the rest of the kitchen around, and the corner is the hardest spot to fix later.

    The corner cupboard piece selected from the Paralives kitchen catalogue in an empty room, placed first as the anchor of the kitchen run
    The corner format placed first — everything else builds out from it.Watch at 1:55
  2. 2

    Swap formats from the three-dots menu

    Click a placed cupboard and look for the three dots — it barely looks like a button, which is why so many players miss it. That menu holds the alternate versions: double cupboard, single cupboard, a drawer over a cupboard, two large drawers, four small drawers, plus the corner and appliance-under pieces. The swatch panel changes handles separately, with six styles that work across the set.

    The Paralives alternate versions menu open on a kitchen cupboard, showing double, single, drawer and corner cupboard formats
    The three-dots menu — the difference between a flat wall of cupboards and a real kitchen.Watch at 3:20
  3. 3

    Run the row, and hold Alt when it won't behave

    With the formats you want, build the run outward from the corner: drawer-over-cupboard beside the sink spot, plain doubles elsewhere. Where two pieces refuse to sit the way you want, hold Alt to place them without snapping. A slight gap at the end of a run looks more realistic than stretching cupboards to fill it.

    A run of Paralives kitchen cupboards being placed with the No Snap option visible in the context menu
    Mixed formats along one run — and the No Snap toggle for the stubborn spots.Watch at 4:32
  4. 4

    Carry the same treatment to the tops

    Upper cupboards come from the same catalogue entries — place them one by one rather than dragging a row, so you can vary widths and keep them clear of the window. The alternate-versions and handle options work here too, so the tops can match the base run without being identical to it.

    Paralives upper kitchen cabinets placed on the wall with their catalogue entry and price shown
    Uppers placed individually keep the wall from looking striped.Watch at 5:50
  5. 5

    Fill the gaps with matching shelves

    Where the upper run leaves a gap, an open shelf fills it beautifully. Take a shelf from the catalogue, then open the colour picker, copy the hex code from the cupboard wood and paste it onto the shelf so they match exactly. If the shelf fights the snap grid, hold Alt and overlap it into place.

    An open wooden shelf colour-matched to the cupboards, slotted between two Paralives upper kitchen cabinets
    A shelf that matches because the hex code was copied, not eyeballed.Watch at 6:50

Sink & appliances

The sink goes behind a fake drawer, the appliances go to the back

Sinks and small appliances are where Paralives kitchens usually give themselves away. The game snaps everything to the front interaction boxes of the counter — real kitchens don't work like that, and neither should yours.

  1. 6

    Pick a counter sink, not a bathroom one

    The sink catalogue mixes two very different things: counter sinks designed to sit inside a kitchen run, and standalone bathroom basins. Filter to kitchen and choose a deep rectangular model — raised basin shapes collect the kind of grime a kitchen sink actually gets, and the round farmhouse styles read old-fashioned.

    A deep rectangular counter sink highlighted cyan while being placed into a Paralives kitchen cupboard run
    A counter sink that sits flush inside the run.Watch at 8:40
  2. 7

    Sink it behind the fake drawer

    Real kitchens hide the sink basin behind a false drawer front, and you can copy that: place two drawer-over-cupboard units facing each other and slot the sink between them. The sink will want to snap to one of its interaction slots — hold Alt to slide it toward the middle. A thin seam where the two counters meet is a known Early Access quirk; sit the sink a touch further back and it mostly disappears.

    A Paralives kitchen sink slid off its snap slot with Alt, centred between two drawer cupboards like a fake-drawer sink front
    Centred between the drawers like a real fitted kitchen.Watch at 9:40
  3. 8

    Push the small appliances back with Alt

    The game snaps the toaster, microwave and coffee machine to the front interaction boxes — front and centre where nobody keeps a microwave. Place each one, then hold Alt and slide it back toward the wall and off to one side. This is exactly the kind of fiddly repositioning other games need cheats for; here it is base-game.

    A microwave and toaster pushed to the back corner of a Paralives counter with Alt instead of snapping to the front interaction boxes
    Tucked to the back corner where a microwave actually lives.Watch at 10:00
  4. 9

    Test what still works

    Tucked-back doesn't mean broken: the microwave cooks perfectly from the back of the counter. The toaster and coffee machine are the catch — in Early Access they are decorative, and the toast interaction makes eggy bread in a frying pan instead. Place them for the look, but don't plan breakfast around them.

    A Para cooking at a Paralives kitchen counter in live mode while the microwave sits tucked back against the wall
    Live-mode check: the Para cooks, the tucked microwave works.Watch at 12:10

Light & clutter

Big windows, simple blinds, purposeful clutter

Once the working part of the kitchen is placed, the design decisions are about light and clutter — and both reward restraint.

  1. 10

    Big window, simple blind

    Kitchens want the biggest window the wall allows — the cupboards are built to fit the space, so let the window set it. For coverings, keep fabric light: a simple roller or Venetian blind reads right, while full-length curtains are a grease trap. Pull the blind halfway and the kitchen keeps its natural light.

    A large kitchen window in Paralives dressed with a simple half-drawn blind between two runs of green cupboards
    Half-drawn blind — light without the glare.Watch at 13:10
  2. 11

    Clutter in pockets, not scattered

    Paralives' clutter catalogue is the best part of building a kitchen, and the only rule is to keep it purposeful: coffee and tea things beside the coffee machine, spices in one group, a dish rack by the sink, paper towels within reach of it. Clusters that tell one story each — not objects scattered along every counter.

    A Paralives kitchen corner styled with purposeful clutter: a coffee machine, mug tree, spice jars and a dish rack grouped by task
    Coffee corner, spice pocket, dish rack by the sink.Watch at 14:30

The cooker

Three cookers, one of them floats

Early Access ships exactly three cookers: a cheap budget model, a gas range and an induction hob. Two place perfectly. One needs a small fix.

  1. 12

    Set the cooker into the run

    Place the cooker at the end of the counter run and nudge it with Alt until the gap is a hair's width — or place it first and pull the neighbouring cupboard up to meet it. Cookers sit between counters rather than inside them, and that thin realistic gap is the look you want.

    A teal gas cooker slotted at the end of a Paralives counter run with a thin gap, viewed from above
    The gas range set flush into the run.Watch at 16:00
  2. 13

    Fix the floating induction hob

    The induction cooker has a quirk: it sits visibly higher than the counters. Place it where it belongs, press * on the number pad to summon the advanced transform gizmo, grab the height square and pull the hob down level with the counter, then nudge it back so it meets the wall. It still cooks perfectly at the corrected height. Press * again to dismiss the gizmo.

    The advanced transform gizmo rings on a Paralives induction cooker being pulled down level with the neighbouring counter
    Gizmo on, hob pulled down to counter height.Watch at 17:50
  3. 14

    Hang the hood above

    Range hoods refuse to snap where the cooker is — place yours with Alt and Shift, roughly two foot above the hob. Take two slim cupboards, set them either side, duplicate and flip one so the doors mirror, then tickle them thinner with Alt until the hood sits centred. The gizmo can pull the hood forward to line up with the cooker's front edge.

    A range hood centred over a Paralives cooker between two slim mirrored cupboards adjusted with Alt
    Hood centred between two slim mirrored cupboards.Watch at 20:50

Finishing touches

Stop the tile at the counters, then test the triangle

The last two moves are the ones that make the kitchen feel designed rather than placed: a backsplash that ends exactly where the counters end, and a quick check of the fridge–sink–oven triangle.

  1. 15

    Stop the backsplash where the counters stop

    Tile the two walls behind the counters — then stop the tile exactly where they end. Draw one separator (the dotted line with the arrow) under the counter, along the floor, with the grid off: it splits the wall into zones you can paint separately, and the visible seam hides beneath the counters. Paint the tile up to the line and plain paint beyond it.

    A Paralives separator line drawn under the kitchen counters splitting the wall so the tile backsplash stops exactly at the cupboards
    Tile ends at the counter line because a separator hides under it.Watch at 22:50
  2. 16

    Check the working triangle

    Step back into live mode and look at the three points your Para actually uses: fridge, sink and cooker. Real kitchen designers aim for a triangle between them, and it works in Paralives too — the Para walks those three stations constantly. If the fridge, sink and oven sit in a triangle rather than a queue, the kitchen works as well as it looks.

    A finished Paralives kitchen from above showing the fridge, sink and cooker placed in a working triangle with a Para about to cook
    Fridge, sink, cooker — three points of a triangle.Watch at 26:55

Paralives kitchen FAQ

Can you make a kitchen island in Paralives?
Not with a dedicated piece — Early Access has no island counter. Builders fake it by placing a short counter run free-standing with Alt (no snap) and pairing it with stools; some cupboard pieces also have a breakfast-bar alternate version in the three-dots menu. Note that bar stools are decorative in Early Access — Paras can't sit on them yet.
Why won't my Para use the toaster or coffee machine?
In Early Access the toaster and coffee machine are decorative — selecting the toast interaction produces eggy bread cooked in a frying pan on the cooker instead. The microwave, fridge, oven and sink are fully functional, and the microwave keeps working even when you tuck it to the back of the counter with Alt.
How do I stop the backsplash tile where the counters end?
Draw a separator: the dotted line with the arrow, drawn on the floor under the counter with the grid off. It splits the wall into separately paintable zones, and because the separator sits under the counter run, the visible seam is hidden. Then paint tile on the cooking side and plain paint on the other.
Why does my induction cooker float above the counter?
It ships slightly too tall — a known Early Access quirk rather than intent. Place it, press * on the number pad to open the advanced transform gizmo, drag the height square down until the hob is level with the counter, nudge it back to the wall, then press * to close the gizmo. It cooks normally at the corrected height.
How do you change cupboard handles and formats?
Click a placed cupboard and open the three-dots menu — it changes the format: double, single, drawer-over-cupboard, two large drawers, four small drawers, corner and appliance-under pieces. Handles live in the swatch panel's alternate versions, with six styles that recolour independently of the cupboard body.
What are the three cookers in Paralives?
Early Access ships a cheap budget cooker, a gas range and an induction hob — no more, no fewer. The gas range is the community favourite and sits flush in a counter run; the induction model needs the gizmo height fix described above. There is no wall oven or separate hob in the game yet.

Go deeper

How rooms actually work

The separator trick above is the same tool that splits open plans into painted zones — the full mechanics live here.

Advanced transform tool

The * gizmo that fixes the floating induction hob can resize, raise and freely place any object.

Build a starter home

No kitchen yet? The eleven-step starter home walkthrough gets a shell up first.

All 94 recipes

A kitchen that cooks deserves a cook — every dish in the game, grouped by course.

Related guides

Decorate the whole house

Room-by-room interior design: built-ins, focal walls and a glass roof from windows.

A cottagecore transformation

Custom tiles from posters, a greenhouse from windows and furniture the catalogue doesn't sell.

15 build-mode tips

Cloning, colour codes, resizing and the shortcuts this guide leans on.

Things to do in Paralives

Where building fits in the wider game — challenges, collections, town events.