Kitchen of the Week: An Artful Kitchen Created from Reclaimed Ikea Parts, Extreme Budget Edition

Several 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. Built for a shipping company manager, the structure had high ceilings, French doors, and plenty of space for the two of them—but it lacked a kitchen.

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. Swantje, an illustrator and graphic designer, figured out what should go where—”the components miraculously fit in our new space”—and then added artful touches, such as a pegboard on the side of the fridge and a well-propped display shelf, that elevate the design from secondhand to inspired.

We discovered her kitchen a while back on Instagram (@swantjeundfrieda); many Likes later, she agreed to share it with us.

Photography by Swantje Hinrichsen.

Above: A view of the repurposed kitchen, composed of Ikea’s Värde solid birch cabinets with open and closed storage. In lieu of over-the-counter cabinets, the couple opted for one long shelf that they built themselves.

The dining table’s enamelware pitcher is the Sockerärt Vase, one of our favorite Ikea staples (it comes in two sizes, starting at $14.99).

repurposed ikea varde kitchen—created from used components and appliances—i 1 Above: The largest of the Värde units is inset with an induction cooktop and an AEG oven—all decade-old components that traveled with the couple to their new house. (Note the steel rails that form the cabinet’s shelves.) French doors flood the 28-square-meter (301-square-foot) space with natural light—and enable them to do without a range hood.

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.

german graphic designer and illustrator swantje hinrichsen in her artful ikea k 2 Above: Oddball selfies are one of Swantje’s specialities. “I don’t like to have to much stuff around in my kitchen,” she tells us. “My head often is so full of fantasy and ideas and things that I like my environment clean and tidy.” She adds that dishes, glassware, and items she doesn’t want on view are stored in cabinets.

She introduced the pegboard to hide a gap behind the fridge because it wasn’t deep enough to meet the wall. After admiring birch plywood pegboards online, including Kreisdesign’s Peg-it-all design, Swantje got out her tools and took the DIY route. For our own version—and step-by-step instructions—see DIY: A Stylish, Modern Wooden Pegboard.

a diy wooden pegboard in the kitchen of illustrator/graphic designer swantje hi 3 Above: The pegboard is used for hanging handy stove-side tools, such as tongs and a skimmer. The teardrop-shaped cutting board, Forge Creative’s [product id=”969769″]Droplet Board[/product], is ideal for suspending on a peg.The couple built their over-the-counter shelf using hardware store bentwood brackets; find something similar from Etsy seller WoodEnergyUA.

swantje hinrichsen ikea kitchen with diy over the counter display shelf. 4 Above: The shelf is stocked with pieces by fellow creatives, including a pair of LAND Mugs by Danish ceramic artist Mette Duedahlm, a [product id=”616061″]Terracotta Pitcher[/product] from Another Country, and a Normann Copenhagen Geo Vacuum Jug. Above: A second Ikea Värde cabinet is inset with the kitchen sink, and the system is connected by an Ikea butcher block counter. The cart is Norman Copenhagen’s versatile [product id=”969814″]Block Table[/product] of steel and ash; $345 from A+R.

shaker peg rail used for hanging accessories in the kitchen of swantje hinrichs 6 Above: A Shaker peg rail from Artilleriet in Gotenburg, Sweden holds a Redecker Dish Brush, House of Rym hand towel, and other sink accessories. The round wire hanger is the Tangent Hanger from Stilleben (sadly no longer available).

Learn about peg rails and find sources in our Object Lessons post, and if you’re yet to be a convert, read Christine’s Remodeling 101: How Shaker Peg Rails Saved My Sanity.

pixoss xl accordion wall light by dutch designer studio m.oss, in the kitchen o 7 Above: Swantje continually changes up the look of her kitchen by swapping in different dish towels. The wooden accordion wall light is the Pixoss XL by Dutch designer Studio M.oss.
repurposed ikea varde kitchen—created from used components and appliances—i 8 Above: An antique sideboard received a makeover with two coats of [product id=”610189″]Oval Room Blue[/product] from Farrow & Ball. The pine floor is original.
swantje hinrichen's antique dining room sideboard, painted farrow & ball oval r 9 Above: The dining table, a local estate sale purchase with “many scars and scratches,” is open to the living area.
swantje hinrichsen vintage dining table with mismatched chairs and lappalainen 10 Above: 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. Recognize the Brass Dots Mobile? It’s by Swantje’s friends at Lappalainen, whose work we featured a while back: See Object of Desire.