Frama Studio Kitchen Douglas Fir Cabinets Berlin Our Food Stories Studio

A while back we visited Nora Eisermann and Laura Muthesius at their DIY Ikea country kitchen outside Berlin. Today we’re dropping in on them at their city studio, a 1,830-square-foot Berlin loft complete with a kitchen by Frama of Copenhagen.

Nora is a food stylist and Laura is a food photographer; when they’re not shooting for others, they together produce the exceptionally beautiful vegetarian/gluten-free blog Our Food Stories. The two are as interested in design as they are in what’s for dinner and specialize in combining the rustic and the industrial. At their hub of operations, they have plenty of room to experiment.

Photography by Laura Muthesius and styling by Nora Eisermann, courtesy of Our Food Stories (follow them on Instagram at @_foodstories_ and @_designtales_).

Above: Nora (shown here) and Laura spotted their building’s tall steel-framed windows from afar, and when they inquired, discovered the entire first floor was awaiting renovation and available for rent (scroll down to see it as it initially looked).

Their landlords kitted out the space to their specs, with, among other things, newly shored-up walls and a polished concrete floor. And they, in turn, supplied the kitchen, which is entirely freestanding, so they can take it with them should they ever move. Longstanding fans of Frama’s simple, soulful designs, the two are currently at work on a book project with the firm.

Above: Frama’s Studio Kitchen features Douglas fir cabinets (here with a dark stain) and a powder-coated steel frame that can be configured in a number of ways: Read about it in Kitchen of the Week: Frama Copenhagen’s Studio Kitchen.

The kitchen components aren’t attached to the wall or floor, except some of the appliances. Made in Denmark, the design, Frama says, is an antidote to “today’s complex, built-to-fit kitchens” and is intended to look like furniture.

Above: Frama kitchens incorporate top-of-the-line appliances, while, as the company puts it, “retaining a low-tech and analogue expression.” The range is a Smeg.

Above: The counters are made of white Portuguese marble and the matte black faucet is Dornbracht’s Tara Single-Hole Basin Mixer (go to 10 Easy Pieces: Architects’ Go-To Modern Faucets to see more options.)

The wall-hung Bracket Shelves are Frama’s reinterpretation of a classic Scandinavian fifties design. In the US, they’re available for $130 each from Qlty-Life in Brooklyn, which reps the full Frama line, kitchen included: See Shopper’s Diary: A Copenhagen Design Star Comes to Brooklyn.

Above: For their kitchen island, Nora and Laura selected a large, old workbench that, like most of the vintage pieces in the loft, came from J & V, their favorite Berlin salvage shop.

The fridge and freezer are housed in the tall four-door cupboard next to the sink. The standing shelf serves as an open pantry for flours, grains, and spices in Weck Jars.