A dark-brown Scandinavian kitchen is cosy year-round
Tags: Kitchen, kitchen countertop, Silestone | 5 years ago | Written by: Cosentino
A relationship to nature is at the heart of Scandinavian design, with colours, materials and textures drawn from the natural landscape so that buildings and interiors have a symbiosis with their environment. The Scandinavian style is often realised in a white and natural palette to create light and bright interiors to counteract long and dark winter days, however, photographer Alice Johansson chose a dark-brown palette with Silestone® Calypso benchtops and splashback to create a homey and cosy ambience throughout all seasons of the year.
Alice and her family live in Donsö, a small island in the archipelago off the west coast of Sweden. They built a new house with design and materials in harmony with the surrounding nature, creating a classic kitchen with a clean and dark aesthetic and a warm ambience.
The kitchen is one of the most important areas and Alice wanted it to feel at one with the rest of the house, which is common in Australia and New Zealand, but less so overseas. “I loved the idea that the kitchen would be connected to a larger living room. It would serve as a party space, so the one who cooks could still be a part of the conversation with dinner guests,” says Alice.
Serving as the primary social space in the house, the kitchen has a large island in the centre of the room. Benchtops stretch along two walls with natural light and a view through the corner window. The large island and benchtops meant cupboards and drawers could be underneath the work surface, rather than overhead for a clean and pared-back look.
Alice originally wanted a black kitchen but felt it would look “too hard” and chose dark brown instead. The oak joinery produced by Vedum Kök has a visible grain, and Silestone® Calypso polished benchtop and splashback was produced by Dekker Nordic Sweden. Calypso from the Nebula Alpha range is a sober and sophisticated colour with intense depth and rich, warm tones to complement the brown oak. “They couldn’t have fit together better. It all feels like a unit and Calypso was a given when we decided what joinery we would have,” says Alice. It also matches the dark timber cladding the exterior of the house.
The handles on the drawers and cupboards are slimline metal tubes wrapped with brown leather, and walls are painted a soft beige and are predominantly bare except for a rangehood and timber shelving and hooks. “We like to mix light and dark colours and add details in wood and other natural materials to get a sense of softness,” says Alice. “It can be a big challenge to get a homey feeling in a completely new, modern house. But with the choice of colour on the walls, cabinets and benchtop, we created a nice and cosy feeling.”
Find out more about Silestone® on our website.
Image credit:
Photographer: Alice Johansson
