Remodeled Kitchen Gets Cheerful Scandinavian-Inspired Color
A designer opens up a 1921 kitchen for a Minneapolis family and makes it easy to clean and durable
These homeowners knew exactly the joyful feeling they wanted to evoke in their 1921 Tudor-style home in Minneapolis, but they needed a designer to help them put it all together. Enter Emily Pueringer, who helped them infuse their home with Scandinavian-inspired cheerfulness and color. Beyond aesthetics, they needed their kitchen to be open, easy to clean and durable enough to stand up to their young children and pets. The scope of the kitchen project also included a mudroom and a butler’s pantry.
As a starting point for the kitchen’s color scheme, the homeowner drew Pueringer’s attention to her KitchenAid stand mixer because she loved its cheerful yellow hue. The designer pulled out her box of colors so her client could find the right mixer-inspired hue for the kitchen island’s base.
This is Stanley, one of the family’s beloved pets. “He’s a super cool cat and he tried to get into every photo,” Pueringer says with a laugh.
While the homeowners love very precise, clean lines, the designer suggested rounded edges for the island for contrast. “I wanted to play with some curved elements,” she says. These curves play off the room’s arched openings and the light fixtures.
While the homeowners love very precise, clean lines, the designer suggested rounded edges for the island for contrast. “I wanted to play with some curved elements,” she says. These curves play off the room’s arched openings and the light fixtures.
The husband made the wood counter stools, which have thoughtfully simple Scandinavian style. The seats are upholstered in a durable pleather that can stand up to spills. On the ceiling, Pueringer recommended Schoolhouse Electric’s monopoint lights as a cute alternative to recessed lights. The homeowners chose the mix of pendant lights that hang throughout the kitchen.
6 Tricky Questions to Ask When Planning Your New Kitchen
6 Tricky Questions to Ask When Planning Your New Kitchen
The large pantry cabinet behind the island on the left has rollout drawers. Pueringer outfitted the inside of the cabinet’s large doors with shelves with railings to hold additional items.
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With the yellow for the island set, the next most impactful selection was a bold tile for the range backsplash. “We explored so many tiles to find one that was just the right fit,” Pueringer says. “What’s great about this Fireclay tile is that while it’s handmade, it’s also very polished and sophisticated.” From there, the homeowner and the designer plucked a sage-gray tile for the counter backsplash, then stacked it in a vertical grid for a Scandinavian modern look.
The textured finish on the custom vent hood is Portola’s Roman Clay. “This is a cool product that looks like Venetian plaster,” Pueringer says. “It’s paint with a special application technique that’s a lot more economical than plaster.”
All the inset slab-front cabinetry, including the panel-front fridge and a panel-front dishwasher, is plain-sawn white oak. The wood, finished with a light stain, infuses the kitchen with warmth and coziness. White bronze hardware complements the cabinetry, and the faucets are polished nickel. “It’s nice to mix and match metals a bit,” Pueringer says.
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A countertop garage hides the appliances, with the exception of the beloved stand mixer, which occupies a place of pride. Open shelving on either side of the sink provides display space for cookbooks and favorite artful objects.
The countertops are honed quartzite, a natural stone that looks like marble but is more durable. They provide light contrast to the warm wood cabinetry, a common feature in Scandinavian modern design.
The countertops are honed quartzite, a natural stone that looks like marble but is more durable. They provide light contrast to the warm wood cabinetry, a common feature in Scandinavian modern design.
“The storage was very thought out,” Pueringer says. “There are custom organizers within all the cabinets.” The countertop cabinet on the left side of the room conceals a coffee station.
The home lacked a properly outfitted mudroom to catch everything as it came into the house, be it snow, mud, mail, backpacks, scarves, hats, gloves, sports equipment, boots, keys or coats. This spot off the kitchen opens to a three-season porch that leads to the backyard. The garage is located off the backyard, so the mudroom entry is the one the family uses. The mudroom cabinetry in here matches the kitchen cabinetry, but it has coordinating wood hardware.
The utilitarian space presented a great opportunity to add some refinement with wallpaper. “Exploring wallpapers was a big journey,” Puerigner says, “but my client zeroed right in on one that fits the room so well.”
Wallpaper: Mitchell Black
The utilitarian space presented a great opportunity to add some refinement with wallpaper. “Exploring wallpapers was a big journey,” Puerigner says, “but my client zeroed right in on one that fits the room so well.”
Wallpaper: Mitchell Black
One side of the mudroom has a bench, cubbies, shelves, lockers and hooks for corralling all the bags, boots and other winter outerwear. The floor is durable Cotto tile from ARTO Brick, which is fiber-reinforced concrete that looks like terra cotta.
A family drop zone — complete with a desk for working, keeping organized and charging devices — is on the other side of the mudroom. Open shelves provide spaces for books and photographs, and one of the cabinets is outfitted to conceal the printer.
The wood cabinet pulls and the colorful pendant lights bring the Scandinavian vibe into the mudroom. The brilliant blue trim and ceiling paint revs up the color scheme in a playful and unexpected way.
The wood cabinet pulls and the colorful pendant lights bring the Scandinavian vibe into the mudroom. The brilliant blue trim and ceiling paint revs up the color scheme in a playful and unexpected way.
The project also included transforming a closet into a butler’s pantry. There’s a beverage fridge, additional countertop space and extra storage for kitchen items like china, glassware and cookware.
The butler’s pantry was another opportunity to go bold with color and pattern. The wife zeroed in on just the right saturated blue for the cabinets, then she and Pueringer put together a custom tile pattern for the floor. The countertops are black granite.
The homeowners and Pueringer were delighted with the end result of their collaboration. The designer says she gleaned new knowledge about color and about artists in her clients’ collection, whose work she wasn’t familiar with. “This is the most I’ve ever used primary colors,” Pueringer says. “This project really drew me out of my comfort zone.”
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The homeowners and Pueringer were delighted with the end result of their collaboration. The designer says she gleaned new knowledge about color and about artists in her clients’ collection, whose work she wasn’t familiar with. “This is the most I’ve ever used primary colors,” Pueringer says. “This project really drew me out of my comfort zone.”
See more of this home
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos for ideas
Find a general contractor
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four
Location: Minneapolis
Size: 245 square feet (23 square meters)
Designer: Emily Pueringer Design Studio
The project was a true collaboration between Pueringer and the wife, and the designer found she learned a lot from her client’s keen eye for color, pattern and artwork. The designer brought over her Color-aid box, which has 314 different color swatches, and laid them out so she and her client could home in on exact shades. “My client would examine three shades of a color that would look almost exactly the same to most people. Then she’d strongly reject two of them and light up when she found the one,” Pueringer says. “She understood color like no one I’ve ever met.”
Pueringer enlarged the opening to the kitchen and gave it a graceful arch, which brought softness to the room. “Everyone in this family likes to cook and bake and they love to host,” Pueringer says. “Everything needed to be comfortable, user-friendly and functional.” The island is a key part of the layout, forming part of the work triangle formed by the sink, the range and the fridge. A bar sink comes in handy when they use it as a prepping station. In addition, there’s ample clearance between the island and the perimeter appliances and cabinetry.
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