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 (@swantjehinrichsen); many Likes later, she agreed to share it with us.
Photography by Swantje Hinrichsen.
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).
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.
