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.