Renovated Schoolhouse Now Dreamy Kitchen

April 21, 2024/Sharing

The Berlin bloggers behind Our Food Stories, Laura Muthesius and Nora Eisermann, have hit it out of the park again with this German schoolhouse kitchen. Back in May, Laura and Nora got their hands on an old property in the German countryside, and the whole place needed a total overhaul from head to toe. The first room to be tackled was the huge, old classroom where walls were torn down, doors were ripped out and windows were replaced to make this new kitchen of our dreams. Scroll down!

The bloggers wanted the kitchen to be placed in the old classroom, which over the years had been divided into two rooms, so they knocked down the wall and were left with enough space for a dining table. Simple, humble cupboards from deVOL’s Real Shaker Kitchen range are the building blocks of this room. “We are big fans of deVOL’s ceramic accessories, so we also installed their gorgeous pendant lights, and we do have a couple of their beautiful mugs, bowls and plates. As a perfect match, we also ordered four shelves in the same finish, that are placed on the wall above the cooker.”

“Since we got our first Bertazzoni cooker, we didn’t wanted to have anything else. We love the modern yet timeless design, and the little details, like the brass elements, are just beautiful!”

The L-shaped perimeter counters in natural Arabescato Corchia marble run around a central island and are covered in bespoke aged copper on the island. “As we loved the handmade tiles in our old kitchen so much, we decided to get them again and ordered these beautiful crackle metro tiles from deVOL.”

The cupboards are painted in deVOL’s Mushroom, a soft and warm neutral. “The wall color is called Ibiza by Bauwerk Colour and has that cool imperfectly perfect plaster-like finish.”

“This time we also decided to get a fridge from Bertazzoni, and it was just the best decision. As we do have a lot of food to store for productions, we really wanted to have enough space in the fridge. Having such a big fridge can also dominate the room, so we had the idea to get it build into a wall and shelf system, which worked out so well.”

Built-in shelves and tonal dishware seem to melt into the chalky finish of the wall. Each ceramic piece is unique and made at deVOL’s Cotes Mill studio in Leicestershire, U.K., by Claire Fowler.

The floors were covered with layers of concrete and wood. “We really hoped that the original floor had survived underneath all these layers, but unfortunately it was too destroyed to keep it. You just can’t go wrong with a classic like herringbone.”

“Another one of our favorite items in the kitchens is the large, arched, vintage door. A lot of original details, like doors and windows, were already replaced over the years, so we’ve been trying to find vintage doors, vintage door handles and vintage window handles. The door was a very lucky find, that Nora made one night online. It really adds a lot of charm and makes the room so special, and thanks to all the glass, you have another view into the garden.”

A mantel creates a beautiful moment (no fireplace required), while built-in niches serve as seamless display. deVOL’s Bum Stools are a comfy perch, and the freestanding pantry cupboard from the Haberdasher’s kitchen collection provides extra storage.

Rustic farmhouse furniture in a battered finish and comfy woven chair seats are a perfect match in the dining area of the kitchen.

The other big transformation are the windows. “When we saw the house for the first time we immediately recognized that the original windows were replaced with plastic windows. For us, the windows are like the soul of a house.”

“Both for inside and outside windows can completely change the look and character of a house. We discovered Sorpetaler Fensterbau, a German company that makes beautiful wooden windows. It’s so crazy how much these windows change the look and impression of the whole room, and we actually think they even look bigger than the ones before.”

“It almost seemed impossible to find the countertop we had in mind until we discovered the MCR. The one that we liked the best was only 2-cm thick, but we preferred to have 3-cm thick countertop, so they built it 1 cm thicker — you would never guess, that the countertop is made of several segments.”

“Our absolute dream piece in the kitchen is the deVOL marble sink. For the countertop, we’ve been trying to find the same marble as the sink – Arabescato Corchia. Especially since we have a lot of windows in the kitchen, we didn’t wanted to have a “shiny” surface.”

The brass bar is ideal for hanging necessities, no rooting through drawers for items like scissors. It also makes a great spot to hang and dry bundles of herbs.

Spices are decanted into Mason jars, which easily fit into deeper drawers in the island.

Sturdy inserts are a pretty alternative to flimsy plastic dividers.

Artisanal pottery is eggshell-like speckled glazes stacked on a shelf make a beautiful vignette.

Casual linen napkins in a range of beautiful spice shades look even better when unpressed.

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