Curtain aren’t an easy call in the kitchen. True, they’re a quick DIY alternative to cabinet fronts. And they hide your holdings. But a skirted sink runs the risk of looking country kitschy. Not, however, in the hands of Christien Starkenburg.
A Dutch interior designer who wears many hats, Starkenburg has her own firm, Interieur-plus, as well as furniture workshop, SlowWood. And she’s the creative director and fourth-generation owner (with her brother, Henk) of Jan de Jong, a Scandi-accented interiors emporium in Leeuwarden, capital city of Friesland, that her family opened back in 1899. Thanks to Starkenburg, the business has one of the best-looking kitchens around, and those humble curtains are what make it especially memorable. Photography by Anna de Leeuw, courtesy of Jan de Jong Interieur.

Above: The kitchen is located in a section of the Jan de Jong three-story complex that for decades was used as living quarters by various family members. In need of an update, it was stripped down to the beams and reinvented by Starkenburg as Interieur-plus’s homey workplace, furnished with a mix of her own designs and pieces straight off the Jan de Jong selling floor.

Above: Stained wood cabinetry with cutout drawer pulls is crowned by a concrete counter that was poured on site. The handmade backsplash tiles are by local Friesland tile specialists Albarello. As for the curtains, they’re 100 percent linen and conceal shelves li...