Household appliance closure element with touch interface

A method of operating a household appliance, the method comprising:

• controllably displaying a human-machine interface (HMI) having a first portion associated with an exterior of a housing and wherein the controllably displaying comprises controllably displaying the first portion having non-touch sensitive display elements and wherein the human-machine interface further comprises a second portion associated with a closure element, the second portion having an electrically conductive layer having a touch-sensitive area, wherein the electrically conductive layer is arranged to be in register with corresponding non-touch sensitive display elements when the closure element is in a closed position, and wherein the electrically conductive layer is not in register with corresponding non-touch sensitive display elements when the closure element is in a opened position;
• receiving a user input on the touch-sensitive area indicative of a selection of the non-touch sensitive display elements;
• providing the user input from the touch-sensitive area to a controller;
• and
• implementing a treating cycle based on the provided user input.