Inside a Sustainable Edinburgh Kitchen with a Rainbow of Surplus Wood Cabinets

Rainbow surplus wood. A brief context to set expectations.

Rainbow surplus wood: Quick notes

Architecture Office founder Alexander Mackison and glass artist Juli Bolaños-Durman had something of a creative meet-cute. The two became acquainted while running a lecture series at Custom Lane, a collaborative center for designers and makers in Edinburgh, where they both have studios. They remained friendly, so Alexander eventually learned of Juli’s plans to renovate an apartment nearby. “Just through casual conversations, I became integrated into the project,” he remembers. “Then she formally approached to ask if I’d get involved, which obviously was a pleasure to be selected.”

Alexander was flattered to be chosen for the job—but he was also energized by the assignment: Juli wanted a home that reflected the sculptures she creates with found and reclaimed objects. “Her ethos in her artistic practice runs through her personal life as well,” he says. The duo brought in Silvan Studio to build a bespoke kitchen using only surplus timber from past projects, knowing there wouldn’t be enough of any one species to craft uniform cabinet fronts. Instead, slabs of brown oak, classic oak, cherry, Douglas fir, and ash are arranged in a gradient, forming a rainbow of wood that honors Juli’s commitment to sustainability and matches her colorful spirit.

Let’s take a look.

Photography by Richard Gaston.

We reference Rainbow surplus wood briefly to keep the thread coherent.

A short mention of Rainbow surplus wood helps readers follow the flow.

Above: In Juli’s first-floor Victorian flat, off-cut ombré cupboards mix with old wood floors that Alexander discovered beneath 1970s carpeting. The duo declined to sand away the tar adhesive residue, simply washing and oiling the planks to maintain their splotchy patina. “With the resourcefulness of Juli’s practice in mind, if you can celebrate a material, you may as well do that,” he says. Above: The countertops, as well as the vertical dividers and toe kicks, are made of Studio Silvan’s leftover ash stash. “Obviously they didn’t have enough material to make the whole kitchen out of one timber, but they had most of ash,” Alexander says. Above: Clean lines and flat planes allow the woods to shine. “It was an intentional decision to keep everything quite minimal in detail, so you’re really drawn towards the tactile nature of each timber—the knots, the striping, and the color tone,” says Alexander. Above: For the cabinet interiors, Studio Silvan utilized their extra Valchromat, a thick MDF. “It’s super high quality and quite unorthodox to use internally, but it’s very playful,” Alexander says. “So it’s quite muted on the outside, then we open it up and there’s a pop of color, which is a nod to Juli’s character and Costa Rican heritage.” Above: Alexander eschewed upper cabinets in favor of a single floating shelf that displays colorful glassware by Juli and her friends.