“Home idea with IKEA”: old house with a modern kitchen

Is it possible to furnish a non-standard space with standard furniture and adapt the grandparents' house to modern youth? Interior designer Birutė is convinced that it is.

Meet the heroes!
Our heroes for this week are Austė who used to live abroad, but came back to Lithuania, and her cousin Gytis. They recently decided to move into their old grandparent's house. “It is a pity to see the house getting aged, when there are so many memories and so much soul left by our grandparents that we would like to keep,” wrote Austė in her application for the project. We sent out our interior designer Birutė to help the young cousins, and she was more than happy to give the new life to the old house and its kitchen.

Before the renovation
The old kitchen wasn't as functional as it could be. The room lacked free surfaces for food preparation and even an oven, while the drawers and cabinets were too small to fit all the products, utensils and dinnerware. Most of the furniture were already worn out and the dining table was far too small for the new hosts who love having guests.

Plenty of space and a bit of challenge
The kitchen of Austė and Gytis occupies a large area of 20 square meters. However, it features several columns and a staircase, as well as uneven walls that are quite challenging. Over and above, Austė and Gytis want this room to fit not only a functional kitchen, but also a dining room or a living area, where they could spend time together, play board games and invite friends. Not to mention the storage, of course.

“The traditional interior style is determined by the old house itself. I looked for storage, dining and kitchen furniture that match up the authentic aura of this space. The walls are decorated with carvings and paintings inherited from Austė and Gytis' grandparents, while the cushion covers, napkins and a table mat were sewn from old linen bedspreads.”

Old meets new at the table
A large NORDVIKEN table that can become even bigger to accommodate friends is the main accent in the new kitchen. To make the white dining table look a bit more playful, Birutė left the old chairs of the hosts and combined them with several new ones. When choosing furniture, do not be afraid of the variety of materials, colours and shapes. You can really make them fit together.

Invisible kitchen
To leave all the attention to the dining table, Birutė decided to go with the ENHET kitchen furniture that blends in with the walls. They seem light and almost invisible due to the legs, open shelving and the white colour of the fronts. The interior of the kitchen cabinets is also carefully planned. The cabinet above the hob is intended for food preparation utensils and spices, while boxes, dividers and inserts help to organise and easily reach all smaller kitchen items.

No space limits
In a spacious house like this one, all attention can go to design and comfort instead of thinking whether the new furniture will fit by size. This is why Austė and Gytis now have a wide and comfy HOLMSUND sofa-bed that offers more seating and can even be used for overnight stays, if needed.

To make the common kitchen and dining area even more spacious, Birutė decided to hide the storage furniture under the staircase. By combining PLATSA frames of different heights and sizes, she designed a modular wardrobe that makes use of every inch under the sloping staircase. The new wardrobe will hide everything the hosts don’t want to show to their guests and will remain unnoticed itself.