When you design and produce kitchens for a living, you get to use your own quarters as a testing ground. Kine Ask Stenersen and Kristoffer Eng are the couple behind Ask og Eng, the Oslo, Norway-based workshop known for its artful Ikea hacks: they specialize in making bamboo fronts for Ikea kitchen cabinets.
The duo have also begun to create their own fully custom kitchens. After living with one of their very first Ikea upgrades, they recently decided to replace it with a bespoke design that showcases their newest bamboo finish. See Ikea Elevated for a look at their initial line, and join us for a tour of their kitchen.
Photography by Kine Ask Stenersen, courtesy of Ask og Eng.
![the couple and their two young sons live in drammen, norway, in a \1930\ 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-1a-733x886.jpg)
Drammen is a 40-minute commute to the Ask og Eng workshop and showroom in Oslo. Kine and Kristoffer both grew up in Drammen—he’s an architect and she studied environmental geography (and brings a green mindset to their collaborations). Five years ago, they moved here from Oslo to be close to family, and say that it’s thanks to Kristoffer’s engineer fatherm and his know-how and many tools (plus relatives ready to help with childcare), that they were able to get their company off the ground.
![\2\20;the kitchen is visible from the living room, so we wanted it to re 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-1b-733x977.jpg)
Their former kitchen, which they had “sawn, sanded, and oiled” in their garage, got disassembled and most of the parts have found new homes in other projects; many of the furnishings and appliances stayed put.
![step stools enable vilmer, 5, and artur, \1, to reach the counter of jura gray, 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-3-733x977.jpg)
![kristoffer assists in waffle batter production. 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-733x977.jpg)
![like all ask og eng kitchen designs, the drawers have cutout pulls and are fitt 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-5a-733x1097.jpg)
Some of the advantages of working in bamboo, the couple say, are that it’s a fast-growing grass that’s lightweight and strong. They get their raw material from certified plantations “to be sure it’s not only sustainable but produced responsibly.”
![a birch hook rack keeps crucial kitchen tools off the counter. discover mo 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-4a-733x977.jpg)
![all of ask og eng\2\17;s drawer and cabinet fronts are made of bamboo th 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-kitchen-733x977.jpg)
Of the overhead storage, Kine says, “The room is very sunny but we have a lot of dark periods here. To keep the space feeling open and bright, we decided against wall-hung cabinets and instead used our A7 Cross Shelf.”
![to protect the limestone, there\2\17;s a collection of cutting boards on 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-7b-733x977.jpg)
![kine and artur. the couple were able to reuse appliances such as the dishwasher 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-6b-733x977.jpg)
![neff wall ovens are incorporated into a pantry wall. the ask og eng a 7 cross s 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-10-733x977.jpg)
![there\2\17;s a breakfast table and &tradition\2\17;s rice pap 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-10b-733x977.jpg)
![gubi\2\17;s now classic semi pendant from \1968 hovers above the dining 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-11-733x977.jpg)
![the kitchen viewed from the living room. explore the rest of the house on 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ask-og-eng-custom-bamboo-kitchen-oslo-norway-12-733x977.jpg)
Here are some other standout kitchens that designers created for themselves:
- An Architect’s Own Custom Kitchen in London
- A Designer’s Ikea Hack in Provence, Before and After
- An Architect-Designer Couple’s Own Cottage Kitchen in Los Feliz
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