Large Swedish Kitchen with Wooden Cabinets & Tiled Walls

Kitchen designs are so much fun, don't you think! Today I wanted to share my mom's kitchen which I think is so well done. My mother lives with her great guy on the Swedish island Gotland (remember her gorgeous sunroom?)

[In Sweden there is a formal and widely used word for the concept of "partner you live with" - sambo which loosly translates into "live with." A sambo can be a guy or a girl, however it indicates a serious relationship. There is also the term särbo which means a commited partner that's living apart. There are no good equivalent words in English! I associate the word boyfriend with teenagers. I don't really like the word partner. Man as in "her man" sounds stupid, doesn't it?]

Anyway, my mom's sweet sambo is very handy and great with hands-on projects, so I'm pretty sure he was actively involved when they remodeled this kitchen a few years ago.

On the walls they have large rectangular white tiles which are tiled in a straight-forward manner. I really like the corner stove and how you get a lot of light with one window on each side. The only thing I thought was slightly frustrating with this design, is how you have to make sure you close one drawer before you can open another on the same horizontal line, or else the drawers bump into each other in this corner (not like that's a big deal though!)

Again, I love the sunk-in window sills! Here we have sprouts going under the towel and that is thyme in the pot.

Knives on the wall, a KitchenAid mixer (it's funny, in Sweden you can only find the Artisan and not the Professional style KitchenAid), a few bottles of wine to be enjoyed later...

Fridge & freezer.

Opened. Notice how the drawers and the shelves are different from most American-style refrigerators. There is no space for a gallon of milk here. That's because Swedes buy milk by the liter (3.785 liters per gallon) so there really is no need for shelves that can accommodate gallon size jugs.

Microwave and oven (and a hint of the dining room to the right.)

Now look. Here is a stainless steel counter that surrounds the sink. It doesn't go all around the kitchen, and this is very common in Swedish kitchen.

On one side of the kitchen there is more of a relaxing corner with a wood burning stove, a wooden sofa and a chair. 

This wooden sofa which features a really classic Swedish design was made locally by a wooden furniture maker. I just love this style. White wooden sofa, lots of pillows and a two sheep skins on the seat. 

On the wall in this corner you also have shelves with some of the bigger platters and plates. Also check out the wallpaper: beige gingham. That's perfect in my mind.

And there you have it. Grey sheepskins (which are local from Gotland) on the bar stools, wooden cabinets. Modern style nickel hardware. An island with wheels that easily can be moved. Colorful window treatments. White-washed wooden floor and ceiling. Lots of light and areas to work at. A great place to cook and hang out in other words!