This time we are looking for pleasure in Masuria. This will not be a difficult task. More difficult would be not to find interesting and beautiful places here! In the village of Lisewo, located on Lake Rajgrodzkie, Radoslaw Maciorowski has created a unique house. There are no crowds of tourists around, guests are accompanied only by wildlife, roe deer, elk and beavers.
Don't let the beautifully renovated brick house - an architectural element characteristic of the region - fool you. Inside you won't find rustic furniture, products of local art or colorful pots hanging in the kitchen. What awaits you instead is a glowing green Smeg refrigerator in the corner of the kitchen, designer poufs and armchairs and modern lamps. However, the whole is encompassed by original bricks and wooden woodwork warming the interior. And after a day full of Mazurian adventures, you can lounge in the backyard sauna.
Basia Hyjek: How did your adventure begin?
Radosław Maciorowski: I grew up not far away, in Elk. I have been visiting Lisewo quite regularly for about 20 years, as I have both family and sentimental ties to this place. It is a very charming and beautifully located village. It is the true borderland of Masuria, since it was here that the Polish-German border ran before the war, and Lisewo (Lissewen) itself was quite a large village.
Almost 12 years ago I first looked at this house, or rather, the abandoned ruins of a house. Ruins overgrown with waist-high nettles, weeds and bushes, from behind which it was difficult to see. Despite this, I fell in love with the place at first sight. However, it turned out that buying it would not be easy. We succeeded only after several years. Unfortunately, the plot of land had been cleared beforehand, and all that was left of the wooden barn was the concrete foundation.
After building the house, it was time for the barn, without which it would not be a real habitat
photo by Radoslaw Maciorowski
Basia: What were the most difficult moments? How did the house look before?
Radoslaw: From the beginning, I wanted to restore the habitat to its former appearance, while making it a comfortable and modern place to live. In the course of construction I found out that these two assumptions are difficult to reconcile. It requires a lot of compromises and efforts. And considerable expense. Especially when building remotely - we live in Warsaw on a daily basis. Fortunately, I came across a good young architect from Elk, who translated my visions into a design, and also recommended me a very good contractor. For 9 months I worked during the day, and spent my evenings coordinating purchases, choosing furniture, designing the interior, and looking at the photos that Mr. Gregory - the contractor - sent me almost every day with questions like "Is this good? Can he plaster?". This was my first construction project. Before that I didn't realize how much work it takes!
After building the house, it was time for the barn, without which it wouldn't be a real habitat. I did the design myself, based on the design of traditional German barns, and it was built by local workers under the expert guidance of my father-in-law, who takes care of the entire habitat to this day.
Basia: How do you want your guests to feel here? Where did the idea for such interior design come from?
Radoslaw: In the beginning we built it all for ourselves and decorated it in the style that my wife and I like. We were inspired by loft interiors, but also by examples of this type of renovation from the UK or Italy. On the first floor we used only raw and natural materials - brick, concrete, wood, steel. The entire first floor has an industrial concrete floor. Where we could, we left the original old walls, but already the windows are modern.
On one side, fields stretching to the horizon, and on the other, a lake glistening from behind the trees
photo by Radoslaw Maciorowski
The heart of the house is a large open kitchen with a table for 12 people, combined with a kitchen island, at which all residents can sit comfortably. The table and furniture are of my design - we made them, among other things, from old wooden beams from the demolished roof of the house. Downstairs there is also a spacious living room with a fireplace hidden in a brick wall and a wooden extension with a sauna. Upstairs the house looks completely different - it's bright, warm and cozy. There are three bedrooms, including two high ones with exposed wooden roof structure. This division - between the first floor, which refers to the history of the house, and the bright modern floor, perfectly reflects the whole concept of our habitat.
Basia: What was particularly important to you in the creation of this place?
Radoslaw: Initially, this was to be a summer home for our family, but the rising costs of construction, as well as the realization that we would not be spending our entire vacation there, so the habitat would stand empty, made us decide to start renting. We were also confirmed in the rightness of this decision by the opinions of our first guests, who were delighted with the place, nature and the surroundings. There are few tourists here, but plenty of birds and animals. On the one hand, fields stretching to the horizon, and on the other, a lake glistening from behind the trees. There is something magical about this place. After a few hours of arrival, one forgets about the whole world. There is only peace, greenery and swallows squeaking from under the eaves of the house.
