Visit the old Nordic house of a German creative couple

Bender: The noises! I love the creaking of our planks. And even in summer, the ground floor is nice and cool thanks to thick sandstone walls.

Stegemann: What I really like is the pronounced atmosphere that an old house offers. They are cozy alone without having to do something to let it happen.

Bender brought the Ochrefarbene Söderhamn sofa from Ikea when he moved into the house seven years ago, as well as the Persian carpet, who was an heirloom of his grandmother. Stegemann designed and built the mountain lamp on the wall itself.

Was a lot of renovation work carried out in the past?

Bender: About nine years ago, our landlord carried out a fundamental renovation. Last year, everything apart from the whistle and cabling was renewed in a larger renovation. We took the opportunity to install a new kitchen unit. It was a mega upgrade from the previous work when they had just installed hardware store OSB boards that were screwed together and had no closet doors and were all equipped with electrical devices in the attic.

That sounds crazy! What was important to you when designing the new kitchen?

Stegemann: First, that it was closed. We planned the new kitchen together with the boys from parallel work, a young company from the city of Bad Kreuznach. From the beginning we had a very clear idea from the start: Fenix ​​surfaces, no high cupboards, overhead lighting, a retracted stove and a wooden worktop that we hope for will soon accept a nice patina.

And the yellow cupboards?

Stegemann: We chose yellow because the adjacent kitchen door frame was gray. All gray and black tones were outside at the time, but I didn't want to know either. Apart from green, blue and red, the only other color that was available in the brand was available – but it harmonizes wonderfully with the wooden floor and the white walls.

Bender: And it fits well with the sofa in the living room, which came out with an ocher cover a decade ago and that is now a real collector's item!