"10 Questions to an Interior Designer" is a series of short talks inspired by the series "10 Questions to...".This time our attention is turned to interior architects. In today's episode, Luiza Anyszka of Anyszka Studio talks about her approach to design.
Luiza Anyszka - graduated from architecture and urban planning at the Warsaw University of Technology, and from the second year of her studies she gained experience in the architectural office HRA Architekci. After ten years of working in architecture, she focused on interior design. She was most influenced by the five years she spent at Colombe Studio and then at HAM Interiors in the UK. For the past seven years, she has specialized in designing the interiors of apartments in pre-war townhouses and historic houses - spaces that carry the stories written over the years. When creating their new look, she does not cover them with a layer of fresh paint, but prefers to gently wipe off the dust and bring out what is most beautiful in them.
1. home for me is....
FEELING. I am guided in design by this sentence: "Home is not a place, it's a feeling". I dream that each of my clients, living in a house designed by me, could feel this. Home is a mood, security, peace, love. I would like every place I design to evoke these feelings or be a background for them, a pleasant memory.
2 The key to a successful interior design is.
A good flow between the designer and the client. Transparency and openness. I believe that good design is based on COOPERATION between both parties. I offer my knowledge, experience and taste, but it will only work if I listen to the needs of the client, take into account his habits, taste. The key is that space "in between" through which the project is created.
3 - I look for inspiration....
I don't think I look for them, they find me on their own- mainly by looking at everything around me. My fascination with interiors started with architecture. When visiting a place, I most like to get lost. I am then guided by my eyes. I could explore any Italian city from north to south. I love looking into people's windows (I don't know if I should brag about it), I am inspired by what it looks like in others. I love movies; old English country estates. I'd be lying if I didn't say that Instagram or Pinterest hasn't become a giant machine for finding amazing interiors from every corner of the world. However, nothing inspires me more than history.... I love old houses, historic parks, ancient buildings!
4 From my family home I remember best....
A house in which one lived. I remember the wooden parquet floor - scratched by my mother's friends, dancing on it in heels; the stone countertop - with stains from red wine and marks from cutting vegetables; the windowsills, where people talked until the candle wax burned out completely. I write about it on my site, this feeling of fullness, life and joy. I believe this is the home that everyone would want to remember like this.
5 My favorite design style is.
A synthesis of history and modernity with a touch of maximalism or simply eclecticism. Beata Heuman says that interiors are supposed to sing, and I see it that way too. It's a collection of things that tell stories, so I always look for a contemporary break in a historical interior, and I fill the interior of a contemporary house with history. I would like the interiors to age coolly, to be filled with things, with memorabilia. An interior that consists of things from different periods does not age, it is timeless. And I think that's the secret.
6 The most important item in my house is....
A bamboo cupboard from the 19th century, an onyx cigarette case from an antique market. I don't know how to choose one. What is certain is that each of these things is old and evokes in me a longing for old craftsmanship, precious materials.
7 I like to design interiors in pre-war tenements and historic houses because....
I can preserve the remnants of history in them, refer to some value that I find in such a space. I feel in them some nostalgia for the old days. There is nothing more wonderful than a creaky parquet floor and on it a new designer lamp, some decoration brought from an exotic vacation. Designing in such interiors, I feel as if I am a bit transported back in time, telling the story of a place, where every object, every design decision has a story.
8 My favorite material is....
Stone! And the stones I like the most are the ones with a lot going on. The pinnacle of my dreams are stone floors that show the mark of time. Maybe that's why I love church old floors so much.
9 The experience of working in the UK has given me....
A tremendous respect for fine materials and history. In a country that hasn't been as affected by the devastation of war as the rest of Europe, historic homes and vintage architecture are a natural part of the landscape. But what particularly captured me was the way the British cherish this history - with great respect and care, as if it were a priceless treasure passed down from generation to generation.
10 I would like, someday, to live in....
An old English house with stained glass windows made of drawn glass, a huge fireplace, creaky floors. One that remembers the atmosphere of an estate that once bustled with life, but over the years has acquired a nostalgic charm.
Check out other conversations in the series 10 Questions for an Interior Designer
