Dutch interior design practice DAB Studio has transformed the kitchen of a family home in Zwaag, the Netherlands, by covering the floors and ceiling in one type of wood and the walls and cabinets in another.
DAB Studio aimed to create a “calm yet soulful” interior with an earthy colour palette made up of tan and neutral shades.
The floors and ceiling were covered in hand-scraped oak with a smoked and black-oiled finish, laid in a pattern of side-by-side plank pairs.
Afromosia wood, a tropical hardwood native to west Africa, was applied to the walls and cabinets. The wood was quarter sawn to create a decorative grain pattern and add a sense of playfulness to the interior.
DAB Studio co-founders, Lotte and Dennis Bruns, designed the interior to be a space that would balance “feminine and masculine elements” and reflect both of the owners’ design tastes.
According to the duo, the repeating wood choices for the different surfaces give the space a sense of completeness.
“Per the client’s request, we wanted to merge the feminine and masculine vision of their new home, balancing each other out in one curated space,” the co-founders told Dezeen.
“This allowed us to create unique areas in line with our client’s habits and interests while imbuing the space with a sense of spaciousness and lightness.”
“In order to merge all elements of the design, it felt important to prioritise the theme of consistency,” the duo added.
“For that particular reason, the wood of the floor is repeated on the ceiling, and the wood used for cabinetry is continued into the walls of the room.”
The centrepiece of the kitchen is the island, which features Afromosia wood cabinet doors and a waterfall countertop made from Arebescato Orobico marble.
Wood cabinets along one kitchen wall were also topped with a marble worktop, which extends down one side to frame the unit.
DAB Studio added a dining nook below a window, designed to be a space flooded with natural light where the family can gather.
Seating with rounded corners wraps the three walls of the nook. The seating base was covered in the same wood as the interior walls, while the seat and backrest are covered in plush upholstery.
At the centre of the nook, a rectangular table with two blocky legs made from Arebescato Orobico marble contrasts the rounded seating.
“The dining nook is where the family can spend time together, welcome new conversations, and create core memories,” said Lotte and Dennis Bruns.
“The asymmetrical built-in banquette seating feels inviting with its round edges, and adds a dynamic feel to the space.”
Decorative items and free-standing furniture were introduced to the interior to add more rounded elements, including a Wiggle Chair by Frank Gehry.
Elsewhere in the Netherlands, Francois Verhoeven Architects has created a bungalow clad in vertical timber slats and Julia van Beuningen added a plywood staircase to a barn conversion.
