Modern Kitchen Upgrade Ideas From a Danish Design Firm That's Challenging the Kitchen Market
Kitchen remodels can be intimidating, partly because of the myriad of choices and decisions that must be made for both aesthetic and practical reasons—not to mention possible budget restraints.
Enter Reform, a Copenhagen-based design firm founded in 2014 by Jeppe Christensen and Michael Andersen that's set on revolutionizing the way we plan our kitchens.
The company has recently expanded from their original Copenhagen showroom to locations in Berlin and New York, and their designs include collaborations with some of the biggest names in Scandinavian architecture and design. By starting with the basics elements of an IKEA kitchen, and adding Reform's architect-designed fronts and counters from BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), Henning Larsen Architects, Norm Architects, Sigurd Larsen, and others, they've succeeded in creating a variety of customizable, affordable, and design-forward kitchens for both home and commercial use.
As founders Christensen and Anderson explain, "We are here to challenge the traditional kitchen industry. We collaborate with internationally acclaimed architects and designers to reform our kitchens—and our everyday life—with great design."
Here, we take a look at some of Reform's personalized, design-savvy kitchen collaborations.
Sigurd Larsen x Reform
Danish architect Sigurd Larsen needed a new kitchen for his 969-square-foot apartment in the hip Kreuzberg district of Berlin. So, he designed his own through a collaboration with Reform. Larsen opted for a kitchen in anthracite, as the darker color added a sophisticated contrast to his neutral oak floors and countertops.
It was important for Larsen to design surfaces that could tolerate constant use. The design for his own Berlin kitchen is made up of thin layers of aluminum that have been shaped by simply cutting, folding and assembling in a way that creates a straightforward and flexible system.
Photo: REFORM
Larsen's kitchen design was also used for the head office of Danish interior and design house Broste Copenhagen. Founded in 1955, Broste is one of Scandinavia's biggest interior design brands. Their kitchen has been customized with aluminum in the color anthracite and paired with a steel countertops. The kitchen is simple, but exclusive in its timeless design. With no handles, it presents a sleek, seamless surface. The materials, which have seldom been used in kitchens, present a clean but raw expression.
Photo: REFORM
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Reform's Own "Basis" Kitchen
Danish blogger Tikkie Elsøe chose mint green "basis" fronts—a style inspired by kitchens from the 1960s—which was the first style that Reform designed. The color is precisely what she and her husband were looking for.
"The cold mint green color, in combination with the warmth from the wood handles and the countertop, play quite well together. It was a long process to find the exact mint green color. We looked at several color samples. We didn’t want it to be too warm, or too blue," Elsøe explains.
Photo: REFORM
Another customization includes a basis Linoleum in olive with handles, edges, and countertops done in natural oak, which softens the look of this industrial concrete kitchen in Long Beach, California.
Photo: REFORM
For this bright and airy contemporary home in Charlottenlund, Denmark, this design by Henning Larsen Architects was spray-painted white with metal bands painted in the same color and paired with oak countertops.
Photo: REFORM
"We love great design at a good price, which is our goal for our customers. Ikea is second to none when it comes to creating high-quality kitchen modules at very reasonable prices. Their kitchen system presents a world of possibilities."
For this home in Copenhagen, this design by Henning Larsen Architects was customized in oak veneer with a copper strip and is complemented by a white Corian countertop.
Photo: REFORM
The simple handleless design of the Norm Architects x Reform kitchen is one of the company's bestsellers. Interior designer Alsun Keogh customized the Norm kitchen design for this loft in New York's Soho neighborhood with tombac fronts and concrete countertops.
Photo: REFORM
Also suitable for commercial use, the Norm Architects counter was used in Menu's recently opened 7,500-square-foot showroom, which is located in the up-and-coming Copenhagen neighborhood that surrounds the harbor in Nordhavn.
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