Discover the Festive Flair: Sola Kitchens x Studio Miaki

We are thrilled to unveil a delightful festive collaboration that blossomed between Studio Miaki & Sola Kitchens, weaving together the spirit of Christmas & the essence of exceptional kitchen design!

In this unique endeavor, we joined hands to elevate the art of tablescaping, infusing warmth, elegance, and festive vibes into the heart of your homes.

As part of this collaboration, we were privileged to have an insightful conversation with Sofia Bune Strandh, the visionary founder of Sola Kitchens. Dive into her journey, inspirations, and design philosophies that have sculpted the essence of Sola Kitchens' creations.

Can you share a bit about your journey in founding Sola Kitchens? What inspired you to enter the kitchen design industry?

Sofia Bune Strandh: The idea came about when I bought my first flat in London. The flat was in dire need of a new kitchen so I started to look for a kitchen with the same quality and design that I was used to seeing in my native Sweden. Having searched high and low but not found anything, I eventually decided to get my new kitchen designed and manufactured in Sweden and shipped over to London.

Even before it was fully installed, several of my friends saw the beautiful style and quality and asked whether I could help them in getting Scandinavian kitchens as well. At the time I was working as a solicitor but it did not take long before I resigned from my job to start Sola Kitchens so that I could help others get beautiful, bespoke Scandinavian-style kitchens too!

Like many other start-ups, my journey began in a garden shed. Over the years we have grown and now have three showrooms in London and we design and supply kitchens all over the UK as well as overseas.

How have your personal experiences and background influenced the design philosophy at Sola Kitchens?

Sofia Bune Strandh: I am a fiercely practical person so functionality is very important and this is instilled in the team. Even when growing, we have always stayed true to our Scandinavian design values; placing form and functionality at the forefront of each project.

On the design side, we are blessed with an amazing team of extremely creative and talented designers who continuously challenge existing ideas to create new and exciting designs for our clients. We have developed a range of completely new kitchen styles, playing with architectural details and new and interesting combinations of styles and materials.

Putting the form and functionality together we want every kitchen to look stunning and at the same time work for the person or family who lives there. Each project is different and what is functional for one family may not work for someone else. A family with 5 children who all cook and do homework in the kitchen will have completely different requirements from a family that mainly entertains. The key is to look at each client's circumstances and create a design that they love to look at and love to live in!

How did the collaboration with Studio MIAKI come about, and what makes this partnership special?

Sofia Bune Strandh: Not sure how it all started, I think we were connected by lovely Barry. We love working with Studio MIAKI, it is such a creative team and together we have created some amazing kitchens and other rooms! We love working with you!!

What do you hope customers and clients take away from this festive collaboration?

Sofia Bune Strandh: I hope they will get some inspiration on how they can decorate a beautiful and very festive tablescape!

How do you approach the creative process when designing a festive-themed kitchen or tablescape?

Sofia Bune Strandh: If it is in a kitchen I would start with the basic colour scheme in the kitchen and base the theme, materials, and colours on that.

Are there any unique festive traditions from around the world that inspire your designs?

Sofia Bune Strandh: Being Swedish I love to incorporate Swedish traditions, using a lot of natural materials such as moss and pine trees in the decoration

Are there any innovative materials or technologies that you are currently excited about in the realm of kitchen design?

Sofia Bune Strandh: We love using natural materials in the kitchen. There are a lot of new and beautiful bespoke veneers that we often incorporate into our designs as well as other natural materials such as rattan, glass, stone, and metals. There is constant development in the use of those products with new glass and metal designs that can be incorporated into projects as well as a range of new stone and porcelain materials which is so exciting. It means that we can make really unique designs for every client.

What has been one of the most rewarding projects or experiences since founding Sola Kitchens?

Sofia Bune Strandh: I love kitchens, I love to cook and eat and I love design so being able to work with kitchen design is absolutely perfect for me and I absolutely love my job. There are so many beautiful projects we have worked on over the years, a couple that springs to mind is a job we did last year where we incorporated a large olive tree into the kitchen together with a beautiful combination of colours and materials – we won the kitchen designer of the year for that kitchen which was a lovely recognition.

Also, the project we did with MIAKI earlier this year where we also combined some amazing styles and materials, combining a classic door style with sprayed metal doors and a beautiful natural stone is one of my favourite projects.