SHAKER-STYLE KITCHEN
A white, impractical and anonymous kitchen was replaced with a blue, carpenter-made shaker-style kitchen where details such as a recycled window and an open shelf unit lend the space a personal touch. See the total transformation of the kitchen.
WHAT USED TO BE an integrated cabinet, now features a cosy seating area. However, it still provides storage by way of drawers under the bench and a small cabinet under the ceiling. The magazine holder and the full-grain leather cushion are from Køkkenskaberne. THE BLUE SHAKER-STYLE KITCHEN is also from Køkkenskaberne. Personality and contrasts are integral to the design. Take, for example, the black Mantis wall lamps that beautifully offset the shiny, white Delft tiles from Fired Earth, eight of which have hand-painted bird and flower motifs. The extra wide hob and oven are from Gaggenau, the lava stone tabletop is from File Under Pop and the ceramics are from Ferm Living and Stilleben. The finds are from travels. METTE KIRSTINE BRINCH is a home stylist and is behind the interior design company Unikke Rum. She has used her professional experience to create her own kitchen which she shares with her husband, Rune Brinch Kristensen, and their children Alfred and Julius, aged 10 and 13, and Gilbert the Basset Hound.
There was no doubt that the kitchen had to go when home stylist, Mette Kirstine Brinch and her husband, Rune Brinch Kristensen, bought their new house. The estate agent assumed that the buyers would remove the wall separating the kitchen and the dining room. However, since the couple had just lived somewhere with an open-plan kitchen, they wanted to preserve the multi-spaced house. Just with some more space and light. They solved the issue by removing a half-wall by the entrance, by putting in larger windows and by inserting an old window from Genbyg in the old service hatch. This allowed light from the hall across to reach the dark end of the space. However, several unpleasant surprises made the renovation more extensive than anticipated.
– There were dead rats everywhere under the lowered ceiling, which was a nightmare to get cleaned up. Also, the plumbing proved way more complex than expected, resulting in several holes scattered around the first floor. So there was cause for celebration when the kitchen company was finally able to install the kitchen, explains Mette Kirstine.
– I had a particular shade of blue in mind and needed as many as 12 paint samples before I found the right one, a dusty blue that doesn’t wreak too much havoc, says Mette Kirstine.
To integrate a passageway in the new kitchen, Mette Kirstine chose to build a large shelf around the door, which would also allow her to display ceramics, jugs and books.
– The thing we are most excited about is that we now have a spacious and functional kitchen designed to cater to our needs. It also exudes a profoundly cosy and comfortable atmosphere. And then looking at the blue shelf unit makes me happy every day, and I just love the detail with the arched window. Although the kitchen has modern appliances, I almost feel as if it could be the original kitchen from 1926, says Mette Kirstine.
SHE INTEGRATED AN UNEXPLOITED PASSAGEWAY with the kitchen by laying the same herringbone-patterned flooring from MW Gulvteknik and building a shelf unit in the same shade of blue as the kitchen. The various-sized open shelves serve as a large type case where Mette Kirstine can easily change the display of ceramics and books. SINCE THE RADIATOR figures prominently in the kitchen, the couple chose an old-fashioned radiator cover from Københavns Listefabrik, which now also serves as a small shelf. The pendant is from Nuura, and the blue bowl in the window is a flea-market find from Provence. RUNE CREATED THE INTEGRATED CABINET out of Ikea fronts and brass handles from the old kitchen. OAK LIES HIDDEN BENEATH THE PAINTED FRONTS, a testament to the excellent carpenter quality. The burnished brass handles are from Køkkenskaberne. THE OLD SERVICE HATCH now features a recycled window from Genbyg, its arched shape perfectly matching the door opening to the kitchen. The hatch allows light into the kitchen and hall on the other side, but Mette Kirstine also found it funny that it came from Ordrup Gymnasium, her old high school. The couple chose a Nero Marquina marble tabletop from Borderstone to give a modern and sophisticated accent to the blue shaker-style kitchen. The sink is from Blanco, the fixture is a Quooker, the art on the wall is a lithography bought at the Swedish Auctionet.