“Environmental thinking that permeates our whole lifestyle” – that’s the idea of EKOBYN in Björkhagen in Stockholm. Johanna and Mattias Ahnquist Aho moved there with their two children, dog and cat in September 2018.
In Björkhagen in Stockholm. Johanna and Mattias Ahnquist Aho moved there with their two children, dog and cat in September 2018.
– We were very happy when the opportunity to move to the eco-village came up, says Johanna.
It is a beautiful terraced house of 110 square metres which, despite being built in 1995, reminds you of a turn of the century house, with high ceilings and leaded windows.
The family decided to replace the old kitchen that felt small and worn out.
“IT HAS TO FIT IN STYLE-WISE”
– The new kitchen had to be in sync with the concept of sustainability here in the eco-village. And it had to fit in style-wise. When we read about in a design magazine, we knew that it was exactly what we wanted. They met all our demands for durability and appearance.
Light green linseed-oil paint
The L-shaped Shaker kitchen which is now part of the family home, has light green (the colour is called Winter Moss) kitchen cabinets, with wooden knobs in the same colour. For the walls they have chosen a warm dark grey color that contrasts with the lighter cabinets.
Apart from two wall cabinets, most of the storage is in the cabinets under the worktops which are of solid oak with a raised edge at the back.
The sink is located in front of one of the kitchen’s two windows which overlook a nature reserve. A relaxing place to do the dishes!
“…NO SYNTHETIC PAINTS ARE ALLOWED…”
– The most difficult part of the buying process was knowing which colour to choose, says Mattias. It felt a little uncertain via the computer screen but this was easily solved by having a colour sample sent home.
The fact that the cabinets are painted with linseed-oil paint was important and environmentally friendly paints have been used throughout the house: Right from the start, the housing association decided that no synthetic paints should be used, to enable the building to breathe naturally.
Designed the kitchen online
Johanna and Mattias started designing their own kitchen in the DESIGN PROGRAM and then received suggestions for improvements, both from Adam on Scandinavian Shaker kitchen and some neighbours who are architects.
“WE WERE EVEN ABLE TO ORDER CUSTOM BUILT WALL CUPBOARDS”
– It was valuable to get suggestions and advice from others about how to plan the kitchen, Mattias says. We had a good dialogue with Skandinaviska Shakerkök throughout the ordering process which felt really good. We were also able to order made-to-measure wall cabinets to fit our ceiling height.
– We love the feeling of having a solid wood kitchen where you also see the natural wood when you open the cabinet doors, Johanna fills in. The kitchen feels solid and genuine and it fits in perfectly with the rest of the house. It’s the place where we really enjoy spending time!