Modern gray quartz stone Breeze Pearl in a dignified wooden house from the beginning of the last century
We visited Laura in her old stately wooden house, where she moved with her husband Henrik to enjoy, as they say, their second youth.
Visiting Laura: the house from the 1920s has a traditional kitchen, which also doesn’t lack modern comforts
Laura and Henrik have lived in the city all their lives and working on their careers. At the same time, they wanted to move to countryside near the city for a long time to enjoy their holidays, admire nature and bird song. Now this dream has come true and the house has already been repaired.
Your house is very special. How did you get here?
We have actually been city dwellers all our lives, couldn’t have done it any other way, because Henrik worked in the city center and our son Oscar went to school and in the evenings to hobby groups. I have a small catering business that required a lot of attention, but now I have given up reins and I trust my colleagues, who know what they’re doing.
My husband and I have always thought, that if we were to become parents, we’d wish to live at the country side in a house with our own garden, where the kids could come visit and to take a break from the city life and enjoy nature. When our son went to college and moved out to live the student life, we weren’t yet ready for that change because we thought he might want to come back home, but now he and his wife are expecting their first child. They bought their own home and are planning their wedding so Henrik and I decided that it’s time we fulfilled our dream of moving to the country side. We’ve worked so much during our lives that it’s time to wind down a bit.
The renovation of the building wasn’t exactly among the easiest, because a large amount of the buildings in the area that we preferred were in need of renovating, and even here there’s actually still a lot work to be done. Recently for example, we were just painting the adjacent building and expanded the garden.
Where did you get the inspiration for the kitchen planning?
The kitchen was actually the first room that we started to renovate and furbish. Firstly, it was in the worst condition, secondly – the kitchen is my kingdom and what would a country home be without a homely kitchen? Design wise our planning hasn’t been too complex – we didn’t want anything original, but a traditional, practical and simple solution.
Since the kitchen windows are large and the kitchen is well-lit, I also wanted light furniture. I like it when the windows’ square pattern repeats on the cupboard doors and forms a fantastic whole. The tabletop also got rounded off edges – in Oscars youth we couldn’t have thought of such a thing, but it was recommended that the choice be made with kids in mind so they don’t get hurt while playing around.
In my opinion it also softens the general feel and it looks nice there.
Many people recommended that a wooden house should have wood flooring everywhere, but I stayed true to my idea of tiling the kitchen floor. A tiled floor is so much easier to clean!
With copper cabinet knobs and faucet, we brought in a bit of spice, so everything wouldn’t be quite as black and white. Also we tried to emphasize the building’s history with a wide ceramic sink.
It was a bit more complex with the tabletop. At first, I was completely sure that I wanted a limestone tabletop – among the choices were Jura Grey, Dietfurt Grey and Thala Grey.
We considered this purchase for quite a while but ended up deciding to choose Breeze Pearl quartz. Grey has several tones ja Granitops material selection had quite a lot of them. Among quartz we could have gotten, for example Noble Concrete Grey delivered quite a bit faster since it was available in the factory. But we made an order and stayed true to Breeze Pearl, with its subtle pattern which seemed more interesting, and I don’t regret it at all.
Why Quartz, many wonder… Time has value and wouldn’t really want to spend it on cleaning. Artificial stone is – like tiled floors – quite hassle free. There’s plenty to do in the garden and house already and I would rather spend well-earned quality time with my husband and family, not waste it scrubbing!
All in all, was moving to the countryside a good idea or are there any regrets as well?
Regrets? Oh, not at all! Sure, an old house needs a proper renovation in the beginning and some routine maintenance, but in the end, the feeling that we’ve fulfilled our dream and all these beautiful moments in the country home are priceless.
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