Contrasting old with new in a compact kitchen
Private home in Münster, Germany

Thanks to built-in cabinets from the 1930s, this Münster, Germany, apartment kitchen wasn’t in dire need of storage space. Instead, the tenants wanted to bring color, design, and additional function to the kitchen.

A kitchen works best when all the details are thoughtfully planned. The couple chose the BASIS collection and handles in a custom blue-gray color, as well as a burgundy linoleum countertop. This sits against the white tiles with blue grouts, and blue-yellow checkerboard floor, both part of the original apartment. The contrast of colors, as well as the old and new elements, give this apartment a sense of vitality. When first standing in the apartment, the tenants felt like they were in an old fashioned ice cream store; that is the atmosphere they wanted to carry over to the design.

The kitchen is small and therefore is mostly used as a functional, rather than social space. Still, it was important to the tenants that the design feel integrated with the older elements, that it be colorful, and that it be an inviting place to sit and enjoy a morning cup of coffee while looking at the window.