Kitchen of the Week: An Artful Kitchen Created from Reclaimed Ikea Parts, Extreme Budget Edition

A DIY wooden pegboard in the kitchen of illustrator/graphic designer Swantje Hindrichsen created from used Ikea components.

Two years ago, when Swantje Hinrichsen and her boyfriend decided to move in together, they found a 1928 brick house in her boyfriend’s hometown of Münster, Germany, where he works as a schoolteacher. Built for a shipping company manager, the structure had high ceilings, French doors, and plenty of space for the two of them—but it lacked a kitchen.

Fortunately, Swantje’s beau happened to have installed a freestanding Ikea kitchen 10 years earlier in his previous place, so they took all of his kitchen parts with them, appliances included. Swantje, an illustrator and graphic designer, figured out what should go where—”the components miraculously fit in our new space”—and then added artful touches, such as a pegboard on the side of the fridge and a well-propped display shelf, that elevate the design from secondhand to inspired.

We discovered her kitchen a while back on Instagram (@swantjeundfrieda); many Likes later, she agreed to share it with us.

Photography by Swantje Hinrichsen.

Repurposed Ikea Varde kitchen—created from used components and appliances—in the home of illustrator/graphic designer Swantje Hinrichsen, Munster, Germany. — Above: A view of the repurposed kitchen, composed of Ikea’s Värde solid birch cabinets with open and closed storage. In lieu of over-the-counter cabinets, the couple opted for one long shelf that they built themselves.

The dining table’s enamelware pitcher is the Sockerärt Vase, one of our favorite Ikea staples (it comes in two sizes, starting at $9.99).

Ikea’s Värde system, sadly, has been mostly discontinued, but shelf units, such as this one, can be sourced on eBay from sellers in Europe.

German graphic designer and illustrator Swantje Hinrichsen in her artful Ikea kitchen, created from used components and appliances. — Above: Oddball selfie’s are one of Swantje’s specialities. “I don’t like to have to much stuff around in my kitchen,” she tells us. “My head often is so full of fantasy and ideas and things, that I like my environment clean and tidy.” She adds that dishes, glassware, and items she doesn’t want on view are stored in cabinets.

She introduced the pegboard to hide a gap behind the fridge because it wasn’t deep enough to meet the wall. After admiring birch plywood pegboards online, including Kreisdesign’s Peg-it-all design, Swantje got out her tools and took the DIY route.

The couple built their over-the-counter shelf using hardware store bentwood brackets; find something similar from Etsy seller Claymark Furniture, and also consider our friend @Myles.Henry.Tipley‘s source: wooden shelf brackets and rails from, Talic, which started off supplying storage for kayaks and is now branching out).

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Swantje Hinrichsen Ikea kitchen with DIY over-the-counter display shelf. — Above: The shelf is stocked with pieces by fellow creatives, including a pair of LAND Mug by Danish ceramic artist Duedahlm, a Terracotta Pitcher from Another Country, and a Normann Copenhagen Geo Vacuum Jug.

Repurposed Ikea Varde kitchen and Norm Copenhagen cart in the home of Swantje Hinrichsen, Munster, Germany. — Above: A second Ikea Värde cabinet is inset with the kitchen sink, and the system is connected by an Ikea butcher block counter. The cart is Norman Copenhagen’s versatile Block Table of steel and ash; $308 from A+R.

Shaker peg rail used for hanging accessories in the kitchen of Swantje Hinrichsen, Munster, Germany. — Above: A Shaker peg rail from Artilleriet in Gotenburg, Sweden holds a Redecker Dish Brush, House of Rym hand towel, and other sink accessories. The round wire hanger is the Tangent Hanger from Stilleben.

Learn about peg rails and find sources in our Object Lessons post, and if you’re yet to be a convert, read Christine’s Remodeling 101: How Shaker Peg Rails Saves My Sanity.