"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, Urszula Sworczuk of MUTUO Design Studio talks about her approach to design.
Urszula Sworczuk - received her doctorate from the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology in 2010. She did part of her research at Universitat Politècnica de València. The topic of her dissertation was the communication of the architect with the user of architecture. She gained experience in Polish and foreign design and contracting offices. She worked on the renovation of townhouses and historic buildings, which taught her a sensitivity to old material. For more than 10 years she has been the owner of the MUTUO design studio. There she implements the idea of interior therapy and architectural psychology, in which responsiveness to the client's needs is key. Her favorite means of expression is stylistic freedom and a kind of eclecticism tailored to the viewer.
1 Home for me is.
I believe that home can positively change us, make us better versions of ourselves. Wonderfully, if it is a reflection of our style, an externalization of cultural and historical identity, a place to regain harmony after a long day at work. However, in my opinion, the space of a home can do much more. It can help free ourselves from fears and limitations, form good habits, stimulate creativity - after all, the essence of man is to be creative. It can facilitate the discovery of true desires, not those imposed by the world, and bring us closer to other household members and put us in a positive mood, even if the external environment is not conducive to this.
2 The key to successful interior design is.
Mastering a simultaneous process, based on an in-depth interview with the developer. The architect watches over the technicalities, the detail, the artistic expression, the well-solved function and...the chaos of construction. However, this is not the end of the story. A successful project is one that leaves space for self-expression to the future user. It should be an open and inspiring composition.
3 Architectural competitions are for me....
An attempt to see my work against the background of what my professional colleagues are doing and to get wider feedback from people whose verdict I value. This gives me a direction for further creativity and the courage to pursue that direction.
4 When combining different styles, the most important thing is....
To answer this question, it is necessary to define what a well-designed eclectic style is. It's building a balance based on opposites, while also designing in layers. Characterful objects have a calmer neighborhood. Through this, they highlight each other's characteristics. The design is conquered by a flat background. A grandfather's Danzig cabinet stands next to a modern bright kitchen. What's more, it's not just such simple juxtapositions, but also building in layers. Color, texture, material, pattern and the mutual proportions between the components. Finally, a layer of accessories, which are also chosen to conquer the surroundings.
Looking at the effect, one has the impression that everything is "just right", although individual items do not necessarily seem attractive at all. When combining styles, one should get rid of prejudices, fashions, trends and the classic division: pretty - ugly, fashionable - unfashionable. In fact, there is no limit to how many and what styles we can combine. We just need to control that sense of "just right." This is not an easy art, it requires many years of experience. This "just right" is also quite subjective. You are not in control of the project until the end. Coincidence often matters. The element of surprise is valuable. Designing is about imbuing the interior with elements found in various unobvious places: antique fairs, outlet stores, an ironmonger in a provincial town, grandma's attic. I highly encourage this type of experimentation, because eclectic style can best reflect our individualism, reflect the character of the inhabitants and be timeless. Is what I have now stated controversial? You can take it as an invitation to consider.
5. working alone gives me....
An opportunity to become a Renaissance man, even though I would very much shy away from it. And seriously, dealing with the subject comprehensively gives a rare chance to control the project from start to finish in every detail. Decisions are made efficiently, which with multi-tasking is key. I also think that with this particular task of designing private interiors, being the only contact person creates a certain intimacy in the relationship, builds trust, and allows you to get much deeper into the investor's needs. The coolest side effect of working one-on-one is that I can confidently call many of my clients friends.
6 The most important item in my home is....
It's hard to single out a winner. There are many categories: emotional, sentimental, functional, aesthetic. I have objects that remind me of my identity. These are all sorts of family heirlooms, such as a green service from Chodzież from my grandmother, my other grandmother's striped kilims, my mother's Krosno glassware, paintings. It would also be hard for me to live without the books I collect. I have cubic meters of them, it's my favorite form of acquiring knowledge. I like analog reading.
However, I guess my favorite item would be a lamp, specifically the table lamp, so forgotten today. I love table lamps. I am still searching for the perfect lamp, my Holy Grail. I redesign them passionately. I match shades, change wires, add legs, rearrange from place to place. I love that wonderful intimate light that tells me "here is home and relaxation". It's a non-negligible thing in a land where half the year sits in the dark.
7 The most common mistake in self-decorating is....
The "I like it" trap. Closing yourself off from analyzing your decisions by stating that you like something or not is incredibly limiting. You can find a good contractor and avoid construction failures. It is possible to master the technical arcana, to overcome the lack of spatial imagination. There are so many tools today that help with this, and there will be even more. What do we want to do is the first question, but the second is, why do we want to do it this way? Here it often falls "because I like it that way."
Probably the most important thing I learned from studying architecture is that we couldn't justify our choices by "liking it." We had to justify them rationally. To be both accuser and defender. This allowed us to open up to completely new solutions. Why do I like it? Why do I want an enclosed kitchen? Because I don't like the smell of fried fish. How many times do I fry the fish? Once a year. Because in the family home it was like that. And why was it like that? Because there was no other technical possibility. What do I gain if I open the kitchen to the living room? I will be able to be closer to the family and keep an eye on the small children. Many times we repeat such an exercise. We are often locked in with limiting beliefs from our childhood. We have misconceptions about our functioning and preferences. We are influenced by trends, and with such accuser-defender questions, the interior will indeed be ours, created under us, and for us.
8 My favorite material is....
It's probably easier to answer what material I don't like. They all have their own characteristics and fulfill their roles. However, if someone were to break me with a wheel, I would answer that such a material is linen. It is embedded in our culture, history and latitude. It is a friendly and ecological material. It finds its way into any interior. It lives with the interior. It is necessary to accept that the curtain in summer is lengthy, and in winter it shrinks. Well, and most important - it can be wrung out and crumpled, and at the same time elegant. Formal-unformal. It combines contradictions, that is, the ideal.
9. trend that I would like to see passed already is.
There are two trends that are related and occur regardless of the era. Terror of the set and à la hotel style.
The first is the tendency to decorate interiors, so-called "elegant", where everything is matched to the last napkin in the drawer. This is not about money, as it is independent of wallet wealth. This kind of total, catalog-fit, one-drawer design is perfectly fine for a hotel, a wedding house or a short-term rental apartment. However, how can people live in this on a daily basis? Like Marcin Wicha, I'm afraid of apartments that look "as if their owners have sorted and distributed all their possessions." This requires extraordinary discipline, pyjamas to match the color of the sofa, punitive children and pets. Stainless steel is extremely unforgiving, gold intimidating, stone soulless. In the cheaper version of such an interior, marble tile looks fake, woodgrain laminates look extremely tacky, and stucco looks off the charts.
With this comes another trend, namely the terror of the set. Our brain tends to match things by similarity. It fits because it is similar. And it's not that simple, because sometimes it fits because it "doesn't fit." I mentioned this when combining styles. Such total consistency in reflecting a given style, whether glamour, farmhouse, loft, or japandi-is extremely limiting in the end. You can date this type of apartment every five years. Things devalue quickly. Often we only screw the industry with cheap furniture and accessories of dubious origin. All this together results in a closed layout. This is where the aforementioned grandfather's Danzig closet doesn't fit, nor grandma's kilim, or the coveted Danish dresser. We are enslaved by space. In addition, the use of such specific total styles carries the danger of falsity. A palace from Kozlowka in a 1960s block of flats, Provence in a Wilanów apartment. Deadly seriousness and totality in the approach to styles is neither clever nor timeless.
10 I would like, someday, to live in....
A flying house. There was a children's movie "Departure", where the characters, hooking up balloons to the house, moved to another land. Or I'll mention a second house theme, this time from "The Wizard of Oz," where a tornado snatches the house along with Dorothy and her dog. I could live in a house like that, drink coffee with a view of the sea, another day of the mountains, but also have the opportunity to return to my forest. I hope someone will come up with this one day. I could be such a Dorothy and live in a prototype.
Check out other conversations in the series 10 questions to an interior designer
