Malmo & Moss - Kitchen - Interior Design

About

Interior design blogger and influencer Malmo and Moss is currently renovating a 1930s house in North London with her husband and three children into her dream Scandi-inspired family home.

What is Scandi style?

Scandinavian design is recognised by three key elements: functionality, simplicity, and beauty. Minimalistic in design, Scandinavian interiors use a combination of textures and soft hues to make sleek, modern décor feel warm and inviting.

Interview with blogger and influencer Malmo & Moss

Hi Becca, tell us a little about your kitchen renovation. What did the kitchen space look like before you started renovating? What were the pain points?

It was an L-shaped kitchen crammed between two other rooms. We had thick old-fashioned UpVC windows and doors that obscured the views out to the garden. Overall, it didn't work very well as a space for our family of five but we knew that by knocking the three rooms together we could make a really big improvement.

For many (and particularly us here at Smeg!), the kitchen is the heart of the home. For you, what were the most important aspects of the kitchen renovation you wanted to get right?

It was important to open the space up, to increase the amount of light and to create a better connection between the kitchen and the garden so we had a really sociable space in which we could all happily live together! We also wanted to upgrade the appliances which were all starting to fail by the time we had saved up enough to do the renovation.

Sounds like a big project! How long did the renovation take in total?

We started in September 2021 and were finished by about August 2022. But the renovation also included other work to add a loft extension and renovate bathrooms at the same time.

We know you’ve been a fan of Smeg appliances for some time and love the way you’ve used built-in models in your new space. What made you choose Smeg’s products this time?

One of the very first interior items I chose to save up for in our old house was our iconic cream SMEG fridge! It adds such a wow factor to the kitchen and I was very sad to leave it behind. This time around I wanted to go with more slimline appliances but with the SMEG heritage; I was thrilled to find the brand could deliver everything on my mood board and more. And I loved bringing the nod to the retro iconic branding through small devices such as the kettle and toaster.

How you style and place your appliances in the kitchen is often something many people overlook and don’t spend enough time thinking about when designing a kitchen. How did you decide where to place your appliances? What factors did you consider?

The biggest decision we had to make in terms of the location of the appliances was whether to have the hob and oven on the island or on the back wall. I considered factors such as how sociable I wanted to be when cooking, whether I wanted the oven to be visible at eye height and what position of the fridge/freezer would create the cleanest lines.
Ultimately I chose to have the oven below waist height so it is not visually distracting and to have the hob and extractor on the island so that I could easily talk to people whilst cooking without having my back to them. I then positioned the fridge/freezer in the left-hand corner so we could open doors to them uninhibited by the island.

Where did you get most of your inspiration from?

My favourite interiors magazine is Enki because it features the clean minimal aesthetic I love, but I also love Instagram pages such as EST Living, The Modern House and accounts like Studio Nune, Eye Swoon Gillian Stevens. But Pinterest was my ultimate bible! I spent literally hours on it planning the kitchen!

How would you describe or sum up your new kitchen design in five or less words?

Simple, soft, Scandi, modern minimalist

Which Smeg appliance do you find yourself using the most? Do you find yourself surprised by the answer?

With three boys aged 12,10 and 7 in our house, the toaster gets a lot of use! They love Nutella on Toast in the morning or toaster scotch pancakes at the weekend, so it is constantly in action!

How has the kitchen renovation changed how you use it and spend time in the home?

Instead of all being divided across different spaces we now have one large flowing space we can all enjoy together! The kitchen island is the heart of the space where we gather for breakfast as a family or for drinks with friends. The SMEG hob and extractor mean we can cook whilst socialising, facing out into the space. The large bifold doors also mean we have perfect flow out to the garden.

Finally, what advice would you give to anyone tackling a kitchen renovation?

Try and get your layout nailed down as early as possible as everything will then flow from that - it will help you make choices about where to locate switches/lighting (which builders want to know surprisingly early in a build!). Materials and colours you can leave until a little later in the process, but layout should be the number 1 priority.