My Summer Cottage Kitchen Renovation: Choosing the Appliances!

In paid partnership with Bosch:
Thank you so much for all your positive feedback on the summer cottage kitchen renovation plans I shared with you last week. I'm starting to feel so excited now! There's just one thing left to do before we rip everything out: choose the appliances. We knew early on that we'd go for Bosch since we've had their white goods for years and they're a perfect fit with IKEA kitchens - but now I realise that's only the beginning. There are other decisions to make. Like, do I go integrated or visible? And which model? Guh! I paid a visit to Elgiganten here in Malmö a few weeks ago to take a look at the options and I've finally narrowed it down to this: 

FRIDGE FREEZER
To be seen or not to be seen - that's the question! At home our fridge is on display but at the cottage I'm thinking that it's since it's a small space, it would be nice to go for a cleaner finish by hiding it behind the cabinet doors (inspired by the image below). 

After a little deliberation I've gone for this streamlined model which is designed to be hidden behind cabinet fronts. Apart from the fact that it would more than cater for our summer wine and cheese (which is our No.1 priority, of course!) it also has a low energy consumption (A++), saving 25% compared to fridge/freezers with energy class A. Nice! It also features NoFrost technology, so we'll never need to defrost it (our kids seem to be incapable of closing a door so it usually looks like the arctic in our freezer) which leaves more time to enjoy... well, the wine and cheese! 

OVEN
We have a built-in oven at home (seen below - note: this is an older Bosch model which is no longer sold) and I love that they take up less space than a range cooker and you can fit more storage around them as a result. Vital in a teeny space! 

Since the oven will be on show, the design is important, and to me, this is the sleekest one in the range! Admittedly, I'm unlikely to appear on MasterChef anytime soon, but I do love to make a Sunday roast (you can take a girl out of England....) so, naturally I love that this comes with a built-in meat probe known as 'PerfectRoast'. All you need to do is insert the thermometer and enter the desired temperature. The oven will let you know when your food is ready and turn off the heat! No more overcooked roasts (can you hear my family breathe a sigh of relief?!). I'm also liking the self-cleaning function which turns all the dirt to ashes, so you never need to clean the oven by hand. Amen to that! 
HOB
Our current cottage stove has seen better days (understatement!) so anything will be an improvement. But since we only plan on updating our kitchen every 50 years (the last time it was 'done up' was in the 1970s) we might as well go state-of-the-art with an induction cooktop. Plus, induction hobs look so neat and. are really easy to clean - as exhibited in the beautiful Danish kitchen below! 

As soon as I saw this one, I felt super excited! Not only does it have a FlexInduction feature which, I learned, means you can use it like a conventional induction cooktop (4 rings) or combine them to make two large, continuous cooking zones - which is awesome for feeding larger crowds. It also has a 'FryingSensor Plus' which essentially means we can fry our food to perfection (cue no more over cooked and under cooked meatballs in the same serving = very happy kids!). It also has a string of other benefits which you can read about here.  

I love a visible fan as much as the next person but once again, we need the cabinet space (minimalists we are not). So instead, we're going for a hood that's practically invisible when not in use, and once pulled out it has the most amazing capacity to clear out the kitchen fast and it's super quiet (if I still manage to burn something with my new oven and hob - no one will ever need know!). What's not to love?!

DISHWASHER
There may or may not be a dishwasher lurking behind the beautiful cabinets in Anna Pirkola's Finnish kitchen, but that's just how I like it! So, for this appliance, I'm going all in 'invisible'. 

We were actually tempted to go for a 45cm dishwasher until a friend pointed out that we'd spend our entire time unloading and reloading it (especially as the kids seem to go through 25 glasses an hour in the summer - do you find the same?!). Which brings me to my next point. And no, unfortunately it doesn't put everything back into the cupboards for us, although that would be amazing! But it is super efficient. The VarioSpeed Plus option rinses three times faster. So, if we've got a back-log of glasses (likely), we can reduce the rinse time by up to 66% at the push of a button. Ha! You won't beat us kids! 
So, that's where I'm at. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my choices and please do share your own experiences, I'd love to hear any tips you might have. 

It really does feel like we can actually start tearing out the existing kitchen any day now - woohoooo! Let the fun begin! 

Niki

Photography credits: 1. Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home 2. Photography: Osman Tahir, Stylist and Home owner: Catrine Åberg / Cooee Design   3. Bosch Home 4. Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home 5. Bosch Home 6. Our Food Stories 7 & 8 Bosch Home 9. Anna Pirkola 10. Bosch Home

*This series is in paid collaboration with Bosch. However, all words and pictures are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too.

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My Summer Cottage Kitchen Renovation: Floorplan and Design


In paid partnership with Bosch
Quite a lot has happened in the last three weeks with the summer cottage kitchen renovation. I have spent the last couple of weeks measuring and sketching and now I think I may have arrived at a design direction - hurrah! Thank you so much for all your input - it's been invaluable! As you know, our little cottage is located in a small fishing village on the West coast of Sweden. The sea is a gentle grey-blue and I'm keen for the kitchen to reflect this. I'm therefore thinking about a soft, muted light grey or pale green palette blended with white and warm wood.

CABINETS
I've narrowed my search down to IKEA VEDDINGE cabinets (seen in the picture above) since I like the sleekness  - they feel less fussy for a small space and easy to clean 8as one of you pointed out on Facebook - thank you!).

As with any room that employs light colours and a clean look, I'm aware I'll need to add plenty of warm touches. I'm thinking accents of natural wood (hooks, chopping boards, stool etc), stone and tarnished brass.

MOODBOARD


FLOOPLAN
I took my scribbled measurements and pictures of our L shaped kitchen along to the IKEA kitchen design centre (you just book online and then rock up at the given time slot) - and lo and behold the designer happened to be an old friend I hung out with when I was on maternity leave (Jess) - who also happens to have great taste! Malmö's a small place and sometimes it totally pays off! This is the floor plan we arrived at:

CABINET POSITIONING
I would love to do away with the upper cabinets for a really fresh, up-to-date look - but the kitchen is way too small and we have way too much stuff (even after a Marie Kondo style declutter!). Sadly, I'm not sure a lot of open shelving is an option either since we are not at the cottage enough and the items would just collect dust - what do you think? I've left wall space to the right of the sink just in case!
All of the lower cabinets are drawers since they can be fully extended which makes them a more practical option than cupboards.

APPLIANCES
One of the beauties of selecting an IKEA kitchen is that Bosch appliances are a seamless fit (I am keen to use these in the cottage kitchen as we've always had them at home and I'm a firm believer in opting for reliable, good quality appliances that last). The oven and induction hob will be placed under an integrated fan (I love 'open' fans' but need to capitalise on storage). The dishwasher will be seamlessly hidden behind 'number 6' in the layout and the fridge-freezer will be built-in behind the cabinet door in position 11.


I hope you like these ideas. The plan is only preliminary so please do weigh in if you have any thoughts / advice - I'm all ears!
Even though there's a whole load of work ahead, this renovation is starting to feel real now and I'm getting SO excited. Weeeeee! 

Niki

Photography credit for main picture: Mikael Lundblad

*This series is in paid collaboration with Bosch. However, all words and pictures are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. 

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My Kitchen Renovation: 5 Kitchen Colours I love Right Now

In paid collaboration with Bosch 
Last week I mentioned that we're finally renovating our summer cottage kitchen - woohoo! I'm so excited. Not only is it well overdue (see the before pictures here) - it also means a lot of time drooling over swoon worthy kitchens on Pinterest. I've narrowed it down to five looks I love right now (not all practical, I must say, but a girl can dream, right?!). 

1. Blue / grey tones (above) This kitchen belongs to my friend Tina Lekeberg, who's a bit of a colour guru! I love the muted blue, green and grey tones she's used (the darker cabinets have been painted in NCS 6010-R90B and the lighter ones in Restful Le Havre). I'm also a big fan of the light grey marble worktop and backsplash (I've honestly lived with wood worktops for too long and I'm looking for something a little more practical this time round). I also like how the plants add an immediate sense of harmony! 

2. Sage green: This is definitely one of the big kitchen colours of 2019, and there's something so calming about it! Light green is certainly a strong contender for the cottage kitchen (I'll take a couple of samples up with me next time I go).  Are you a fan too? And just look at those little porcelain wall lights! They're from a local shop here in Malmö - and I've had my eye on them for so long.



3. In the pink: How fabulous is the colour of this Reform kitchen from?! As I said a girl can dream - but in reality, our cottage kitchen hasn't been decorated since the 1970s and probably won't get another facelift for fifty years - unfortunately this means I'm kind of going to have to reign it in a little in terms of colour and go for something a little more timeless, do you agree? Don't even get me started on the fabulous tiles!!



4. Two tone: Will you look at this Norwegian kitchen?! The interior architect has used a deeper blue-green on the lower cabinets and a lighter mint-green/blue on the upper cabinets. I also have my eye on the brass / gold touches (are you a silver or gold person?). Since the summer cottage is quite old, I might try to go ever so slightly more traditional with tarnished gold, we'll see!

5. Soft grey: Which leads me to the final kitchen. These soft grey cabinets and brass knobs in the home of Cille Grut were captured for my second book The Scandinavian Home (I'll never forget the day we spent photographing her beautiful house on the Danish coast). The light wood worktop adds a warm touch to the space so if I were to go down this route, I should definitely think about incorporating wood somewhere to prevent the look from appearing cold. What do you think?


IKEA LERHYTTAN cabinets are similar to the ones in the kitchen above. I think they could be perfect for a small kitchen as they are fairly understated and don't take up too much 'visual space'. Also, Bosch appliances fit seamlessly with these IKEA cabinets (I'm very keen to integrate the dishwasherovenfanfridge etc.) so this could be spot on! Hmmmm. Lots to think about! 

Next step: measuring-up and designing the layout. Oh, and testing those colour samples I mentioned. It suddenly feels like there's so much to do! 

I'm looking forward to updating you with my progress next week. In the meantime, please do weigh in below, I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

Niki

Picture credits: 1. Niki Brantmark / Tina Lekeberg 2. Photography Petra Bindell, Styling Emma Persson Lagerberg. 3. Reform 4. Photographer Nicklas Hart, Interior Architect Cecilie Claussen 
5. The Scandinavian Home published by CICO Books. Photography by James Gardiner © CICO Books 

*This series is in paid collaboration with Bosch. However, all words and pictures are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. 

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My Swedish Summer Cottage Kitchen Renovation (Before)


In paid collaboration with Bosch
I am so excited to introduce a new series today. If you've been following My Scandinavian Home for a while, you'll likely know my family and I have a very small summer cottage on the West coast of Sweden. I've never actually showed pictures of it before because it's in major need of renovation. I mean MAJOR! But all that is going to change! Over the next twelve weeks I'm going to be renovating the kitchen. I know in these pictures it looks surprisingly OK - but trust me, at a closer glance it's not! Firstly, it hasn't been touched since the 1970s - the wallpaper is peeling away in great swathes, the units are all frayed and sometimes the handles have a habit of falling off. Secondly, the current kitchen doesn't use maximum use of space (kind of important in an L-shaped room that measures 8 square metre / 86 square foot) - it could be waaaay more efficient. And finally, none of the appliances work properly (I can't tell you how annoying it is to leave a casserole on the stove for an hour, only to find the hob hasn't been working!) Oh and did I mention there is a family of mice lurking somewhere behind one of those cupboards? I think you get the idea!


The plan
My goal is to transform the space into a fresh, practical, well functioning, beautiful kitchen (big plans, huh?!) in time for the family to descend on the cottage at midsummer. It's also important to ensure the look fits with the rest of the cottage (the house was built in the1930s by my husband's Grandfather and holds lots of fond memories!).



The Partner
One of the reasons our summer cottage has been somewhat neglected over the years is that we're only there a few weeks a year and share it with other members of the family, so money is always invested elsewhere. Back in our kitchen in Malmö we've had Bosch appliances for over 12 years (oven, hob, fan, microwave, fridge freezer, dishwasher.... you name it) and we've always been so happy with them, it therefore felt like a natural step to partner with Bosch for this project and install Bosch appliances in our summer cottage kitchen too. Since we are keen to keep the costs down, it helps that Bosch appliances are a seamless fit with IKEA kitchens too!



Grand plans indeed. I'm feeling very excited and at the same time just a teeny bit daunted!

Over the next twelve weeks I'll be sharing my renovation here on the blog (as well as over on Instagram) including my inspiration, plans, the design, expected surprises (of which I'm sure there'll be plenty!) and of course, with any luck - the final reveal! Please do weigh in - I so welcome your tips, advice and opinion on decisions along the way! And if you're planning a kitchen renovation of your own, I hope you'll find the series helpful.

Time to hit the grindstone!

Niki

*This series is in paid collaboration with Bosch. However, all words and pictures are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. 

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