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Our Little Cabin Kitchen (with an IKEA hack!)


Guess what? Our little cabin kitchen (or should I say kitchenette) is finally finished! The cabinets have been in for a while, but the devil is in the detail, and all the hooks and doorknobs are now in place too! I'm looking forward to sharing all the details with you today!  

(See all the design plans for our 30 m2 / 322 f2 cabin on the Swedish West coast here). 

Inspiration

I love everything about the kitchen above by Nordiska Kök -  the grey-beige tone, clean look, the stone and the open wood shelves. I was also keen to bring in some dark grey stone to match the dramatic rocky shoreline in this part of Sweden. 

Floorplan

The designated kitchen area is small and centred around a mid-height window (174 cm wide). Even so we had several criteria: we needed a sink, fridge, small freezer, plenty of food storage and a recycling area. Notice that I haven't mentioned a stove or oven. 

We learned early on that installing a stove would mean it would become a property in its own right and would have electricity / water bill implications (gaaaah!) so we decided we'd use the stove in the main cottage for now. However, there are several options moving forward which include a gas barbecue, outdoor kitchen or even one of IKEA's pop up stoves. We'll see! 

Design

We explored many different kitchen brands, but to be honest, we simply couldn't believe how much even the tiniest of kitchens cost (have you found this too?) and since this is our second (little) home, they were all over our budget, so we had to get creative instead! 

When you're on a tight budget, I think IKEA kitchens are great. I'm a big fan of using them for the basics and then pepping them up by splurging on the details like the tap, handles and worktop. This is what we did in the main cottage kitchen several years ago, and I've been so happy with it! 

I also think the free IKEA kitchen planning service is great (no, this isn't sponsored by the Swedish giant, I promise!)  However, I was hoping to add a few personal touches, so I turned to my dear friend and interior designer Helen Sturesson for advice on how to incorporate hand-built shelves etc. And she sketched the above design. 

Ready to take a look at the results and find out more about the details? 

Results


We chose the Veddinge kitchen and then had it professionally spray painted by Swiss Metod / Lackera Köksluckor (my absolute go-to guys in Malmö) in Blek Sand (NCS S2005-Y20R). 


Worktop
I'd have loved a real stone worktop, but again our budget didn't quite reach for that now. I was really happy to find this laminate worktop at Hornbach. One day, maybe we'll swap it out for real stone, but I love this one for now! 

I think a high quality, beautiful tap is one of the most essential elements of a kitchen. It makes such a difference to the overall experience! We opted for the CRISTINA Rubinetterie CRIKT501 under window kitchen mixer in brushed old brass to match the bathroom taps. I love the finish!  

The sink is HAVSEN from Ikea

Handles


I was so happy to find these Cabinet Knob Helix - with a modern industrial vibe by Beslag Online (they have a load of beautiful knobs, hooks and furniture legs in their collection and sell throughout Europe).  The antique bronze matches the tap perfectly too! 

Shelves 


The open shelves were built by hand with oak slabs from Hornbach. I have to say, despite the faff, these are my favourite part of the kitchen - and so handy for cups and glasses and other items we use all the time. 

If we had installed a stove to the right, we wouldn't have been able to have these shelves there as we'd have needed to add a fan (I just wanted to point this out in case you're planning to do something similar). Maybe in the future, if we decide to get a stove, we'll have to do away with the upper right ones (sniff, sniff!). 

Lighting

An essential element - good lighting! In the above picture you can catch a glimpse of the subtle, Strömlinje LED light from IKEA which is connected to the wall switch and also has a remote control. The lighting is excellent, I have to say! 


We made one mistake. And that is that I should have used one panel instead of two on the front of the fridge (lower-centre). I got myself into a bit of a pickle with door handles - and may have used some photoshop trickery with this to show you how the end result will look with the knobs! However, in the long term I think I'll swap the two drawer fronts out to a single unit. What do you think? 

A few other things: 

We do have a kettle (hence all the teapots etc) - it's just not in shot!

The extendable table and chairs are from Danish brand Skovby (see my post about them here) and the ladder - which can be moved across to the kitchen, was built by a local carpenter. You can find all the information about the wood floor and panelling (by Norrlands Trä) in my post here

I hope you like our little kitchen as much as we do! 

If you have any questions, please give me a shout in the comments below and I'd be happy to help. 

Have a great weekend all, see you Monday! 

Niki

LATEST COMMENTS:

  1. I love the shelf element! So cool and definitely elevates the Ikea (which look lovely by the way).

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    1. Thank you, I'm so happy with the shelf element. It was quite tricky to plan and install, but worth the effort! :) / Niki

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  2. What a jewel, Nikki. I love the brass tap, the window (doesn't every sink yearn for a window?) the way you customized the cabinetry with the open shelves ... well, all of it!

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    1. Lovely you, thank you! I'm happy you like the tap - it's one of my favourite aspects too! Such a dream to use a high quality tap, it makes a huge difference to the overall experience /Niki

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  3. If you had not told us that the countertop is not stone, I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years. Looks great. I love the exposed wood shelves and that window in the middle is amazing. I thought at first it was a mirror but being able to open it is priceless. Great job as is the whole cabin. I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

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    1. The comment above is from Miruska. Sorry, I haven't noticed that I am posting as anonymous.

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    2. Thank you so much Miruska. I've always wanted a window in the kitchen - we don't have one at home, so I'm especially happy with this! Lovely you for your kind words. / Niki

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  4. Your kitchen is beautiful! Where did you find the small hand towel rack on the side of the cabinet? I could make great use of one of those. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you! I forgot to mention the rack - it's from Norrgavel (a Swedish store), I'm sure you can find something similar on Etsy. I was missing somewhere to hang a hand towel, dishcloths etc - although since adding it, I've noticed the kids are using it for all kinds of things - there was even a bikini on it yesterday! / Niki

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    2. Thank you Niki. Enjoy your beautiful cabin and family time by the sea!

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  5. I'm so happy for you, Niki! Your cabin is becoming a reality. Add me to the list of those who love the shelves with the cabinetry--that, and the paneling, warm up the space without it appearing too "busy". We did a reno of our kitchen a few years ago and a higher end laminate was what we could afford, and I love it. I suspect you will be equally happy with your countertop.

    It's so interesting to hear about the extra costs with adding a stove or an oven. I'm not sure what smaller appliances are popular where you are, but in the US, there are many options for cooking (instant pot, air fryer, crockpot, etc.) that could easily fill any cooking needs you have. I'm guessing that you don't go there to spend your time doing major cooking! ;)

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    1. Thank you so much Kris! I'm so pleased with the laminate top that will probably end up keeping it forever - there are some great ones around these days :)

      It's a little frustrating with the stove situation - thank you for sharing these ideas, so helpful and definitely worth exploring.

      / Niki

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  6. Hello. I love the whole cabin and the kitchen is sublime. We have a small kitchenette and initially I used the outdoor BBQ and my slow cooker no matter what the weather. We've since added a plug-in Ikea induction hotplate which was very inexpensive and packs into the drawers when not in use (which is most of the time).

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    1. Funny you should say that, as we have our eye on one of those too - I love that you say it can be stored away in a drawer. Worktop space is everything in a kitchenette so maybe this is just the solution for us too. What do you think of the stove, does it work well?

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    2. It's Niki by the way!

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  7. Oh, it's so charming! I love the addition of the open storage to the upper cabinets and I am absolutely in love with all the pottery - you have a great eye, Niki! I would have never guessed that the counter top is not real stone - it looks perfect to me.
    I am head over heels with the colander - those little feet - so cute!!!

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    1. Thank you so much Alena, lovely you! The colander was such a find - H&M Home believe it or not! :) / Niki

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  8. Where are the two little stools from? I like them. are they stackable? Could you e-mail me the details? susiefairweather@yahoo.com

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    1. The wood stools are from danish brand Skovby (who ship worldwide). They are sustainably made from leftover wood and you can stack them. Perfect! / Niki

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  9. So great!! Love the details in oak! Very clevetly dome. Malin

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    1. Thank you so much Malin :) / Niki

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  10. So beautifully done.

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  11. It's really lovely and you have done a wonderful job of bringing your aspirational kitchen to life in teeny tiny form. I absolutely agree with tarting up a solid Ikea kitchen and using laminate worktops - no worrying about the budget or stains. I was wondering - could you have installed a small induction hob without an oven, or is that too much power also? I'm sure you investigated all the options, but it might be worth using a tiny (two burner?) hob without a fan for light cooking. You can also buy built-in extractors that are not vented (they just have a charcoal filter to trap smells and grease), but again you would lose at least the lower part of the wall cabinet.

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