I’m a real homebody. My happiest moment is Friday late afternoon when I come home after a busy week at work and I have the whole weekend ahead of me. I slip into comfortable clothes, preferably these knitted pants with matching top from Babáa and a pair of slippers from Flabelus. I like to feel “dressed” but comfy, after all it’s a Friday night albeit at home. Erik and I usually come home at around the same time and the house is hopefully filled with our kids and their friends. Thankfully I am married to a man who loves to cook Friday dinner so I gladly leave that to him whilst I sit down in our kitchen nook with a book or some interior magazines. And, of course, a freshly shaken gin sour. I love this time! We listen to music, talk, eat snacks and hang out. We eat dinner later than usual and I am allergic to any kind of musts or stress on these occasions, I like to linger as this time of the week is so precious to me.
A few years ago we decided we needed to rethink our kitchen; the layout wasn’t working and it felt crowded. And since we spend so much time here, I wanted it to be very personal and reflect us as a family. I dreamt of a warm, inviting and timeless kitchen that wouldn’t feel dated in 10 years’ time. I didn’t want a specific style or use any materials that were” trending” at the moment. The tricky part was planning it. We have three openings, with one in the back leading down to our basement, and we couldn’t close any of the other two in order to create more working space. We’re a family of five with the kids’ friends often staying for dinner + a dog, so we had long list of things that needed to work. Our former kitchen was crammed with no space to really move around without constantly bumping into someone else. Or dance to Arcade Fire on a Friday night! But I needed help achieving this. I was looking for someone who I could collaborate with and who had an international “mindset” and vision. I did not want the typical Swedish kitchen.
By chance I found Rebecca of @inutidesign on Instagram and without any real references we began working together. I always follow my gut and I instantly felt that Rebecca understood my vision for our future kitchen. She’s the loveliest Australian designer living in Stockholm and by coincidence I also learned that she had just redone a family friend’s childhood home, a house I had spent so much time I as a child. That made it extra special. I love love love our kitchen and I really couldn’t recommend Rebecca enough. If anyone asked. Also massive shout out to Philip Duniec and the immensely talented craftsmen at Stockholms Möbelverkstad.
When it came to layout and materials, Rebecca came up with a number of suggestions based on my moodboard and references. I knew that I wanted a warm wooden kitchen, but I was a bit nervous it would feel too dark so we decided to keep the upper cabinets and the appliance area the same warm off-white as the walls in our living room. The inside of our cupboards is painted in a rusty red, Picture Gallery Red, from Farrow & Ball and we chose fluted glass to disguise the glasses but also because it’s just so incredibly pretty.
We went for a beautiful arch shape with open shelves for the appliance area on the opposite side. This is where we make our morning coffee and I love standing here. The marble has a warm beige tone, as opposed to the more common grey marble. Rebecca suggested a rounded profile instead of a straight edge and I am so happy we went for this. It adds to the timelessness of the kitchen. The knobs are from Armac Martin, they have the most gorgeous selection! The rangehood is the piece de resistance, I absolutely love it!
Another fun feature and creative use of space is the built in area for Dixies bowls. These used to be placed on a tray on the floor, but since this is also the passage down to the basement, it always felt a bit crowded. Rebecca came up with the idea to use some of the space we would otherwise have used for a bottom drawer and instead build a designated dog bowl area. Genius!
The sitting nook is a favorite spot in the house. I’m a big fan of soft furnishing in a kitchen, if you have the space. It just makes the whole space so much more inviting. Our kitchen sofa is really deep and comfortable, I’m just waiting for the morning when I find a teenager sleeping here after a good night out. The round window is an original feature from 1925 and was actually hidden behind the fridge. We knew we wanted to expose it again and I really like that it’s not centered on the wall, the asymmetry makes the area interesting.
And now to my favorite part, the textiles! Naturally I wanted to use my own fabrics in our kitchen. I love the playfulness of our Faye pattern and the rust and lilac colorway was the given choice in the kitchen. We used this fabric to upholster the seating nook and also used it for the scattered cushions, mixing piping and ruffles. I did however not want to use my own fabric for the blinds as I had fallen deep in love with the Schumacher print Pomegranate in the Chestnut colorway. The beautiful plates on the wall are from Fayoum Pottery and Malaika Linens.
As you may know by now, I am a huge fan of vintage Swedish rölakan rugs and I knew I wanted to have one in our kitchen so I was thrilled when I managed to source the loveliest green Rölakan rug. The combination of these three patterns and styles embody everything I love about pattern mixing!
As for furniture I needed to find a smaller kitchen table with slightly rounded corners, which would make it easier to squeeze in. I did not want something new and was on the hunt for an antique Swedish table, a so called “bockbord”. These are usually on the larger side and my measurements were very specific so it took some time to find it. And the trickiest part, the lighting fixture above the table. We didn’t want anything hanging from the ceiling so Rebecca came up with the idea to have a wall mounted pendant and we found the perfect vintage one on 1st Dibs. The shade was however plain and boring, so I asked a friend if she could make me a loose linen cover that I could easily place over the original shade. A simple constriction that made all the difference!
I highly recommend working with an interior designer on your kitchen if you have the budget. It really is a unique trait to be able to combine the mathematical and technical aspects of planning a kitchen with the creative and visual part. Not to mention constantly handling demanding, ambivalent and often over-enthusiastic clients such as myself.
Love
Cathy
Photography: Fanny Rådvik
Styling: Linda Ring
