Hamran X Smau

The combination of good craftsmanship and the will to try something new has bound Hamran and Smau arkitektur together for 15 years. Now the collaboration expands with a collection comprising kitchen, bathroom and wardrobe. Clearly visible in an old house in Bærum.

- "Do you have an orange carcass?" That's the question we almost always get when we have guests, says Christian Myklebust. He and his wife Camilla Svanberg make coffee at home in the kitchen in Billingstad, Bærum. The family moved here a year and a half ago to get some distance from an otherwise busy life in the city - she as co-founder of the coffee chain Hakone, he running the agency Noveltease. From the outside, the kitchen looks both timeless and quiet - drawer fronts and round handles in walnut, worktops in steel. But then they open a drawer and an orange colour pops out. The joinery is the result of a collaboration between Hamran and Smau arkitektur. It becomes a conversation starter, something people haven't seen before, and it's not something you notice right away either. We think it's fun to be a bit different, the couple say. Today the kitchen is a natural heart of the house, but it has always been that way.

- There was grass right up to the windows here, says Camilla, pointing out towards the garden. When the couple came across the house, it stood as a nearly forgotten project: an old brick house that was originally meant to be demolished in favour of apartments, but never got approval. Instead, it was left standing and falling into disrepair. Most people who saw the house had probably thought the same thing: too big, too expensive, too much work. Christian admits he himself came close to dismissing it. - I thought this would be too big a project, but I was still like: let's do it! says Camilla. It was the shape of the house, the location and the garden that tipped the scale. Even before they put in a bid, the couple had sketched out a plan for how they wanted it. But the evening they got the winning bid, the plan was scrapped.

- We sat down, had a glass of wine and sent an email to Smau arkitektur: "When do you have time?"

When the family finally moved in after a long renovation process, it was without a finished kitchen in the house. - We had built a makeshift kitchen counter, because the money had run out, says Camilla. The dream, however, remained clear the whole way: a kitchen from Hamran. That was also what the architect wanted for the house. - That was the dream. But there wasn't room in the budget for it. So we thought we'd just have to go without a kitchen until we could afford it, says Camilla.

But at the same time, Smau and Hamran had a collaborative collection under development; kitchen joinery and wardrobe and bathroom cabinets. A dream solution at exactly the right time for the couple: - The timing was absolutely perfect for us to bring it in as a prototype at our place, says Camilla. - We went "all in". The collaboration suited our budget, and not least the house.

The collaboration between Smau and Hamran has deep roots. 15 years ago, the architect discovered a small joinery workshop in Snartemo. - Since then it's been a little love story, says Bjarte, who has worked with Hamran on several of his projects over the years. The new series is their first collaborative collection. What he appreciates most is the combination Hamran has of tradition and, at the same time, a will to try something new. - There's both city and country in Hamran, something I value highly. They're keen to do things differently, while at the same time being very grounded in the way they've done things for many years, he says. In Camilla and Christian's kitchen, it's exactly that combination that comes to light: walnut drawer fronts, calm and traditional on the outside, but with a surprise hidden inside - the orange colour that appears when the cabinets are opened. Instead of routed grips, Hamran has turned round knobs in wood, a simpler approach in production, without compromising the expression. - It's an example of the head meeting the heart, says Sandal. The collection comprises kitchen, bathroom cabinets and wardrobe in walnut or pine on the outside, and three colours to choose between on the inside of the carcasses.

At Camilla and Christian's, the play of colour continues throughout the house. In the wardrobe cabinets, a light, almost greyish blue tone appears. In the bathroom, they have chosen mirror cabinets with a pink interior, as a contrast to the blue bathroom tiles. - It sounds a bit crazy, but we still don't feel like there's too much going on, she says. In everyday life, everything revolves around the kitchen. After a long renovation process, it has been given a new place in the house, and has become the place where everyone meets. - You can actually take three routes from the bedroom to the kitchen. That makes the house feel very big. On Monday you can go one way, on Tuesday the other, on Wednesday the third. For Camilla, the kitchen sums up the whole project. - We've got a kitchen that radiates Hamran, with a touch of Smau.