Tu Domek was built in an old house from 1922. Its new owners have carefully taken care of it, so you can still feel the spirit of the old days. Tu Domek is a combination of what is old and what is new. The owners created the place using, among other things, the materials they found in it. Several years of work, renovations and discoveries - come to Tu Domek!
Basia: How did your adventure begin?
Marta: Almost 12 years ago we ended our professional life of corpulence... For the first years in the new reality, managing our own companies, we still lived in the city. At the same time, we ran Our House (the cottage where we live now), the House in the Swietokrzyskie Forest, which had a total of about 1,500 visitors in six years, including the former Prime Minister of Poland.
And then a couple of years of hard work so that today this almost 100-year-old cottage can delight
photo by Kamila Leszczyniak
So the following years passed, until there was a final decision to close the urban chapter of our life. The house in the Forest became Our House, to which a neighbor came with an offer to sell the plot of land along with the house from 1922. She didn't wait long for our decision! Maybe a minute? Maybe two? Papers, paperwork, permits and the house along with the plot became ours! And then a couple of years of hard work, so that today this almost 100-year-oldhouse can delight!
Basia: What were the most difficult moments of creating this place?
Marta: There weren't really any, and that's because for us, working on restoring an old house is constantly discovering something new, using the soul of the house, and that satisfaction when it succeeds. Such renovations are surprising, certain aspects come out already in the process, so it is impossible to get bored! And then all the "more difficult" moments are forgotten.
When we saw the old wood in front of us and the history right in front of our eyes, we felt that we have to use it, that this house must have a soul and we can't, just like that, forget about how much the lump of the house has already lived through
Photo by Kamila Leszczyniak
Basia: What was particularly important to you in creating this place?
Marta: We had an almost 100-year-oldhouse in front of us, which required a huge amount of work. When we saw the old wood in front of us and the history right in front of our eyes, we felt that we had to take advantage of this, that this house must have a soul and we cannot, just like that, forget how much the lump of the house has already lived through. And there is indeed a lot of this history in the house, some parts of it are obvious and visible to the naked eye, and others are hidden and accessible to those more inquisitive.
Basia: Where did the idea for such an interior design come from ?
Marta: It all started with a discussion between us and an exchange of ideas that lasted2-3years! During that time we cleaned up the plot, took out tons of trash and created... although for now only in our heads. We wanted to combine the old with the modern, hence, for example, the Scandinavian body of the house with large windows, but also traditional box windows; a bed of old wooden logs, but stairs and walls of steel and glass.
We recently analyzed that in the house, except for one bed, a couch and a kitchen, there is no purchased furniture
photo by Kamila Leszczyniak
We also used what we found in Tu Domek. That's why today the wooden floors are from the wood that was in it originally, we left one original log wall totally exposed in the middle of the cottage, a bar was created outside from metal pipes that were lying around in the garden. We recently analyzed that in the cottage, except for one bed, a couch and the kitchen, there is no purchased furniture - we invent everything ourselves, then sand, repair, paint... from chairs, to doors, tables, shelves, tables and original cinema chairs. We love to see how something new is created from a piece of furniture that most people would trash.
We're not intimidated by old houses and stone walls, because renovated ones will have something that new things don't have. Although you have to "arm yourself with hard work", where there are no compromises, because no one will do it the way we imagine, so the professionals came at the very end....
And after everything, the most beautiful thing is the satisfaction of having actually managed to create something beautiful out of a backward farm. Today we continue work on another plot of land, right next to Tu Domek, where another 100-year-old house and a wooden barn await us. On an ongoing basis on our social media channels, we show what it looks like from the inside out, and what makes us extremely happy is that these are the reports that viewers look forward to the most. So the subject of restoration today is something that intrigues, something that interests, and as a result, we know that creating places with a soul makes sense....
we left one original log wall totally exposed in the middle of the cottage, outside a bar was created from metal pipes that were overdue in the garden
photo by Kamila Leszczyniak
Basia: How do you want your guests to feel here?
Marta: We want them to be able to relax from everyday life, from this city's hustle and bustle. At our place, guests are woken up by birdsong, not the noise of cars. If they don't want to meet even one person during their stay with us, it's quiet possible. We want guests to feel that they are in a place with atmosphere, a place where the old mixes with the new, where design plays an important role. And from what we see, guests appreciate it!
