A Haberdasher’s Hideaway: Before and After
30th October 2020
Imagine finding a charming Swedish fishing village surrounded by the wilds of nature, long sandy beaches and hilly landscapes, stumbling across a cute cottage and transforming it into the coolest and cosiest Scandi home. It might sound like an impossible dream but this is what Laura and Nora of ‘Our Food Stories’ have become absolute experts at, breathing new life into amazing buildings in amazing locations and each time they’ve chosen to work with deVOL, how lucky are we!! You may have spotted our new Haberdasher’s Hideaway on the website last weekend but this very cool couple shared so many great photos with us, I couldn’t resist writing a little blog and giving you a look at how they managed to achieve the ultimate ‘lagom’ kitchen.
The Swedish term ‘lagom’ loosely translates to ‘everything in moderation’ and is often referred to as the Goldilocks term of not too little or too much but just right. What a perfect way to describe this place. It has a bit of stylish Scandi minimalism but also a really eclectic mix of materials, vintage furniture, modern appliances and handcrafted accessories, all brought together with our mid-century inspired Haberdasher’s cupboards. It’s got that ‘can’t quite put your finger on it’ style, it’s just right.
So where better to start than at the beginning, this was the ‘before’. The layout is actually pretty similar to what they ended up with and you can already see how good the bare bones of this old place are with its wobbly walls and exposed beams but it was too white and sterile and a bit tatty, it lacked the warmth and soul that we see in Laura and Nora’s delicious dishes and beautiful life together.
Our Haberdasher’s collection was fairly new when they came to us with this project, they’re based in Berlin and hadn’t seen anything other than the photos on our Instagram and website but they instantly knew it was the one. It’s such a huge compliment that people just trust us to make something beautifully crafted and long-lasting. Of course, we love showing people around our showrooms and always encourage anyone to visit if they can but we do so many overseas projects now, it’s quite common for the first glance at a deVOL cupboard to be when it arrives on your doorstep. It’s always fun and still blows our minds that our humble handmade cupboards are on every continent… well, apart from Antarctica but who knows maybe one day!!
Our designers have become experts at doing their famous design appointments remotely, working with you at every stage of the project to make sure everything is as easy and fun as possible, plus it’s super simple for us to pop some samples in the post to help make all the important decisions. A few things are different, we don’t have our team of brilliant fitters so this is something you’d have to organise yourself but most of our cupboards arrive already fully or partly constructed and our project managers are on hand to answer any questions you may have. We also can’t always supply worktops on these projects, and it’s often easier and cheaper to source them locally. Laura and Nora found this delightful peachy pink Estremoz marble with a little help from their friends but the glimmering copper is hand-aged in our Cotes Mill metal studio. These tarnished tops have become a bit of a speciality and a look that so many of our customers want, so we decided to make these beauties available for islands or peninsulas where there is no need to template the worktop, no matter where you are in the world.
Now let’s talk about that marble sink! Carved from fine Italian marble, this fluted design is a piece of art. Double bowled and in our favourite honed finish, so you don’t have to worry so much about acidic substances taking the shine off. Of course, it is marble so it will pick up little scratches and marks but that is why we love this material so much, it’s meant to last a lifetime and tell a story. Marble sounds very fancy but this kitchen is full of it and doesn’t feel like that at all. The old industrial style of the shelf brackets, the softness of the oiled oak and little rustic touches temper the luxury of the stone and you end up somewhere in the middle, a happy compromise… ‘lagom’ I guess.
There’s lots to love about our latest collection of furniture, but one of my favourite things is the glass drawers. It’s such a unique look and one that really does remind me of visiting the old fabric shops with lift up cubby holes and the excitement and wonderment I felt as a kid looking up at all of those little compartments, who knew storage could be so enthralling but I just remember thinking woah!! I love the style but hope you can see that they’re actually really practical too, they’re quite roomy and don’t need to be meticulously styled to look good – stacks of plates, bowls and utensils, mason jars filled with oats and seeds and spices, it’s all good. You might have spotted the wall cupboard too. We can make these pieces with closed wooden sides but for something even more special, the side panels can be glazed. They reflect light from every angle and just ooze sophistication and mid-century style.
The pull out linen drawers are also very reminiscent of these old shops but work so well in a kitchen, whether its tea towels or tables cloths or your favourite bowls, it’s the perfect place for your go-to essentials that you always need to have to hand. It’s easy to get carried away with what something looks like and forget about the practicalities but I think it’s a real compliment that people who cook for a living, like Laura and Nora, choose deVOL again and again. A kitchen shouldn’t be made just to look pretty on Instagram or in glossy magazines, of course that is a great bonus, but all my memories of kitchens are of Sunday baking sessions, the smell of my dad’s lamb stew and faffing about trying to finish a ‘little later than planned’ Christmas dinner whilst my Grandad snoozes at the table in his paper hat. It’s all about the cooking… and the eating!!
That’s what is so great about this kitchen. I can so easily imagine being in this room, popping some wood on the roaring fire and setting down to a cosy evening of food and wine and lots of laughs. It sounds like a dream, especially if Laura and Nora are the ones doing the cooking!
Thank you again to Laura and Nora for letting us share their home and photographs with you all. If you’re into food and dreamy photography, make sure you follow their Instagram account @_foodstories_ and for all those who love design @_designtales_ is our daily fix of interiors inspiration.
