Two years ago, when Swantje Hinrichsen and her boyfriend decided to move in together, they found a 1928 brick house in her boyfriend’s hometown of Münster, Germany, where he works as a schoolteacher.
Photography by Swantje Hinrichsen.
Fortunately, Swantje’s beau happened to have installed a freestanding Ikea kitchen 10 years earlier in his previous place, so they took all of his kitchen parts with them, appliances included.
A view of the repurposed kitchen, composed of Ikea’s Värde solid birch cabinets with open and closed storage. The dining table’s enamelware pitcher is the Sockerärt Vase, one of our favorite Ikea staples (it comes in two sizes, starting at $9.99).
The largest of the Värde unit’s is inset with an induction cooktop and an AEG oven—all decade-old components that traveled with the couple to their new house.
Ikea’s Värde system, sadly, has been mostly discontinued, but shelf units, such as this one, can be sourced on eBay from sellers in Europe.
Oddball selfie’s are one of Swantje’s specialities. After admiring birch plywood pegboards online, including Kreisdesign’s Peg-it-all design, Swantje got out her tools and took the DIY route.
The pegboard is used for hanging handy stove-side tools, such as tongs and a skimmer.
The shelf is stocked with pieces by fellow creatives, including a pair of LAND Mug by Danish ceramic artist Duedahlm, a Terracotta Pitcher from Another Country, and a Normann Copenhagen Geo Vacuum Jug.
A second Ikea Värde cabinet is inset with the kitchen sink, and the system is connected by an Ikea butcher block counter.
A Shaker peg rail from Artilleriet in Gotenburg, Sweden holds a Redecker Dish Brush, House of Rym hand towel, and other sink accessories.
Swantje continually changes up the look of her kitchen by swapping in different dish towels.
An antique sideboard received a makeover with two coats of Oval Room Blue from Farrow & Ball.
The dining table, a local estate sale purchase with “many scars and scratches,” is open to the living area.
Mismatched chairs, from bentwood to Eames to a school relic, surround the table. The large armoire enables the couple to keep their kitchen pared down.