White Kitchen - IKEA Stat with butterum granite countertop and brown tile backsplash

For our house near Lake Balaton, we wanted a rustic but practical kitchen.  We didn't want to pay a lot for hard wood cabinets, and we didn't want any more pine in a house made of pine. The solution?  Painted MDF a la IKEA, otherwise known as Stat.  We've had the same at home since 1999, and it's still almost like new.  You can smash it, beat it, kick it, and the paint won't chip.  Tough stuff.  At least the 1999 version.  Hopefully they've only become better over the years.

The countertop is Butterum Granite from Formica.  We would have loved to use the beech or oak countertop from IKEA, but we chose the laminated counter in the name of practicality.  We have the IKEA beech counter at home, so we know that it really does require love and care.  With a summer house that we might lend to friends and family, we figured a laminate countertop would be safest.

The tile is Materica Argille Brune by Panaria. We had quite a debate about using the same tile as both floor and backsplash, but in the end we did it.  We were a bit concerned we'd have too much brown, but the butterum is just light enough that it works with the brown tiles on both floor and backsplash.  So far we like it.  The space between countertop and cabinets is 60cm. That's because of the 15x30cm tiles.  It's a bit high, but we're getting used to it.

 You'll notice there's a wire hanging out of the wall, and that one cabinet has no doors.  That's because they were out of stock at IKEA.  Picture glass doors there and your set.

Unglazed tiles in the bathroom?

For our cottage at Lake Balaton in Hungary we wanted a rustic look, so we went with Sima Ceramiche Gres Rosso unglazed stoneware tiles, size 10x20cm.  In the States I think these would be called Quarry Tiles.  In Central Europe usually they are called clinker.  In France I think this is roughly the same as tomette.

Now I know there's some debate about whether or not to use unglazed tiles in the bathroom.  I like how it looks so far, but I'll try to keep you posted regarding maintenance.

This is after I removed all residue with Mellerud Cement Streak Remover and treated the tiles with Sopro “klinkeröl” (Clinker Oil in English, which is "fine mineral oil" with additives).

The walls are the local Hungarian-made Zalakerámia white matt, 15x15cm. The sink and toilet are from the Polish manufacturer Koło. Pretty plain stuff, but we like it.