In Warsaw's Ochota district, in a 1939 townhouse, designers from the Loft Kolasinski office designed a 126-square-meter interior. The bright and spacious apartment for a couple with three children and two British cats is full of unique furniture, exceptional lighting and paintings, prints and posters by artists such as Stanislaw Klimowski, Mieczyslaw Wejman, Henryk Ożóg, Edward Dwurnik and Jan Lenica.
left: armchair in the living room, design: Georg Thams, right: painting by Stanislaw Klimowski
Photo: Joel Hauck
The project included not only the renovation of all rooms, but also the partial reconstruction of one of the rooms. Referring to the historical character of the interior and the building itself, the designers decided to cover the walls with traditional plaster and renovate the parquet floor. In addition to an EA117 swivel arm chair by Charles and Ray Eames, an armchair designed by Georg Thams, a coffee table by Jean Prouvé and chairs with leather upholstery designed by Niels Otto Møller, the apartment also featured furnishings designed by the Loft Kolasinski office: a table, bench, dressers, desk, library, closets, bed, mirrors, sofa, kitchen and bathroom furniture.
Left:extreme dining room chairs with leather upholstery designed by Niels Otto Møller, right: bright kitchen
Photo: Joel Hauck
Ola Kloc: The apartment is located in a tenement from 1939, what are the biggest challenges in designing a historic interior?
Jacek Kolasinski: In the history of our company, most of the projects have been for historic houses and apartments, even a palace and an old smithy happened :) When working in such a space, the priority is to interfere as little as possible with the historic structure of the rooms. When doing general renovations or remodeling, we always try to use finishing materials from the "era" (plaster, woodwork, parquet, stucco, etc.). It's a great pleasure when the result of our work is the connection of historical interiors with the idea of a new image of the property and satisfied investors.
Ola: What was the priority for the investors?
Jacek: The most important task during this project, was to achieve a visual effect and a real enlargement of the space. We significantly reduced the amount of equipment and furniture, at the same time we applied a new idea for space management in all rooms.
bedroom
Photo: Joel Hauck
Ola: What was the main inspiration for the project?
Jacek: In this particular realization you can find our constant inspirations, here we found the classics of Danish, French, Czech or American design. In the furniture designed for this realization, you can see the influence of Japanese and Brazilian modernism.
Ola: The interior is filled with designs of design icons, does including such distinctive objects in the space of the apartment involve any problems? If so, what are they?
Jacek: Traditionally, as in every project, the apartment in Ochota also featured so-called design icons, including designs by Otto Møller, Jean Prouvé, Charles and Ray Eames, Georg Thams. Acquiring these items is possible thanks to the fact that for years we have been working with many collectors and suppliers of vintage furniture, lighting and accessories. Also, thanks to our ongoing cooperation with craftsmen (restorers, upholsterers, carpenters, etc.), we can guarantee our clients professional restoration of such furniture or lamps. This is one of the more passionate parts of our work, especially since we often have the opportunity to acquire real "white ravens" for our clients.
