WHEN THE KITCHEN SEEMS TO FLOAT ON THIN AIR

THANKS TO A PLETHORA OF IDEAS, WEALTH OF INTERIOR DESIGN EXPERTISE AND BORA COOKTOP SYSTEM, A REFINED KITCHEN WAS CREATED IN A PERIOD APARTMENT IN STOCKHOLM THAT FEELS LIKE A LIGHT AND AIRY LIVING ROOM.

Standard solutions are clearly not part of the Swedish interior designer Sarah Lagerström’s repertoire. Together with her employees and a network of architects, designers and fitters, she always develops unique and luxurious living environments in her interior design studio Stay Design. And this was no different when it came to this kitchen, which Stay Design realised in a period apartment in Stockholm’s Vasastan district. A kitchen? It is true that you would not instantly recognise it as such, but that is intentional, as the interior designer emphasises: “We focussed on making the space feel extremely airy yet also rustic. We wanted to convey a sense of floating.” 

The interior design trick: by using narrow bases that are set back and therefore barely visible, the solid walnut cupboards in the kitchen island seem to float on thin air. Extremely narrow, light-coloured worktops as well lots of shimmering brass on the unit body, sink and taps further accentuate the effect and add a touch of luxury to the environment. The weightless character is also supported by the feature that ultimately actually makes the ensemble a kitchen: the BORA Basic surface induction cooktop with integrated cooktop extractor unobtrusively blends into the minimalist design.

Sarah Lagerström recommended the clean BORA design to her client as it was the perfect fit for the kitchen concept while also offering the necessary design freedom. The interior designer and building owner also felt that it was important to retain the original parquet flooring, and that this should still be able to draw the eye as the star feature of the room. A ceiling extractor hood would have looked alien and distracted from the flooring – another reason to use the BORA Basic. Elegantly integrated into the cooktop, the downdraft extractor enables the wooden flooring to take full effect and the designer kitchen to act as a stage.

However, Sarah Lagerström explains that BORA was not just the most attractive solution from a visual perspective, but also from a technical one: “I recommended BORA as this is a multi-family house and we had to use a recirculating extractor.” The BORA cooktop extractor works very effectively in recirculation mode and is also pleasantly quiet, so you can chat at a normal volume both at the cooking island itself and at the dining table next to it – a further little detail in the meticulously designed kitchen.