The wooden kitchen in Grand Designs
Just south of Stockholm, in the Nynäshamn archipelago, architect Xiao He and her husband Mats have built the holiday home “Nabben”, with inspiration from classic half-timbered houses and case study architecture. The home features a site-built kitchen from Nordiska Kök, designed to blend seamlessly with the house’s aesthetic. Xiao runs the Stockholm-based architectural firm Studio He, which designs private homes.
The beautifully designed home featured in Grand Designs Sweden.
Light solid oak kitchen in Shaker style from Nordiska Kök.
– I love to create personal spaces. You get to learn everything about the client's lifestyle, if there are several people who will be living together, you learn everyone's quirks and movements, down to the pets, and create a flow and a design accordingly, Xiao says.
When Xiao designed “Nabben”, she used the same approach and took her own family's lifestyle into account. One of the questions she asked herself was if they needed both an indoor and an outdoor kitchen. In the end she decided on just one kitchen and placed it close to the terrace — a light oak kitchen in Shaker style from Nordiska Kök.
Discover our Shaker kitchens.
Open spaces creates an airy atmosphere in the living room and kitchen area.
The solid oak doors are a mix in style of a classic Shaker kitchen and a minimalist Scandinavian design. See our Scandinavian design kitchens.
The choice of wooden cabinets is perhaps not surprising since it is a wooden house with many wooden elements. For example, Xiao has worked hard to let the structure, and it's beautiful beams, be part of the design. Something that is a bit unusual, however, is that she chose a raised Shaker kitchen rather than a kitchen with minimalist doors.
Architect Xiao project in Grand Designs Sweden.
Beautiful living room interior with a two way fireplace. Discover our top 6 kitchen decor ideas.
Light oak kitchen with a timeless limestone worktop and black knobs and handles. Read our guide on how to choose the right kitchen handles and knobs.
- I think sleek wooden cabinets are beautiful, but it was too plain. Because the house itself is so minimalistic, the kitchen needed to have more shape and personality. I was inspired by the way the house frames the windows and chose a paneled kitchen because it frames the cabinets in a similar way. It feels very luxurious to be in the kitchen and to open the cabinet doors and see the beautiful interior, which has white-stained oak as well.
Xiao the architect and owner of the house. Visit Studio He for more inspiration.
Lovely bedroom with a bespoke wardrobe section from Nordiska Kök.
Even the worktop has a luxurious finish, for which Xiao chose a beautiful natural stone.
- I think you can choose a "sensitive" worktop as long as the surface pattern has a lot of detail. It can look nicer with the patina that comes from stains than if you compromise and choose a more resilient worktop that is perhaps a less aesthetically pleasing choice.
From the kitchen island you can overlook the beautiful surroundings of the architect Grand Designs villa. Discover kitchen island inspiration and ideas.
Both the layout of the kitchen and the choice of materials make Nabben's kitchen timeless and social. It makes the large room more versatile and interesting, disrupts the flow in the right way and fits the family perfect. It is a kitchen that is suitable for both cooking and hanging out and works well regardless of the time of year or how many people are in the room.
Beautiful limestone worktop.
The house is built among the beautiful birch trees.
Bespoke wardrobes from us at Nordiska Kök with the tiled bathroom section, a beautiful little detail.
Photo: Kristofer Johnsson
Architecture: Studio He
