The place surprises not only with the quality of its execution, but also with the maturity of its design concept. The author of the new hairdressing salon in Bytów is Błażej Połczynski, a final-year student at the Magdalena Abakanowicz Secondary School of Fine Arts. The project, which he worked on for several months, became both a professional challenge and a source of personal satisfaction for him. Thanks to the investor’s openness, he was able to afford solutions that are rarely found in commercial projects.
From the outset, the young designer assumed that the beauty space should act as a neutral backdrop. The interior should emphasise the diversity of the salon’s visitors, rather than compete with their appearance. Hence the decision to use a floor with a misty, greyish colour, whose subtle sheen harmonises with the white walls. This combination gives the effect of cleanliness and visual order, while at the same time introducing a noticeable depth to the space.
Already in the entrance area, it is clear that the designer has consciously manipulated the material and form. The representative counter, finished with green granite, has a sculptural character, its light, geometric shape contrasting with the wooden fittings and brushed steel accents. Next to it are waiting room seats upholstered in green fabric, which harmonise with the stone details and create a coherent colour palette.
The main room houses three hairdressing stations and a washbasin. It is here that Błażej Połczynski decided on his most original solution: furniture based on a triangular plan. Prisms with a triangular base were arranged to provide customers with a bit of privacy during treatments. The inspiration came from an existing element – the triangular vestibule of the entrance window. The designer could not change it, so he decided to emphasise it, following the advice of a friend: “If you can’t hide something, emphasise it.” The result is a layout that not only organises the space but also gives it a distinctive character.
The interior is 45 square metres in size and is not without humour. On one of the walls hangs a graphic depicting Mona Lisa with rollers in her hair – a slightly camp element, whose colours have been carefully matched to the green palette of the living room. This detail breaks the seriousness of the composition and adds lightness to it.
Behind the sliding doors made of grooved glass, there is a staff room and a bathroom. The glass not only separates the functions, but also diffuses the light and creates an impressive play of shadows, giving the interior an additional visual dimension.
Połczynski emphasises that the design existed only on paper and in visualisations for a long time. It was only on the construction site that he encountered the reality of materials, light and details of execution. This is the stage at which, as he says, the design begins to come to life. Shades, proportions and details undergo changes, sometimes forced by technology, sometimes resulting from intuition. The effect is never a copy of the renderings, but that is precisely where its strength lies.
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About the designer:
Błażej Połczynski – creator and designer of spaces, originally from a small Kashubian village. Close contact with craftsmanship and the rural landscape shaped his design sensibility. In his practice, he combines conceptual thinking with practical experience. He is interested in architecture embedded in the context of place and material, engaging in dialogue with local tradition.
He is a final-year student at the Magdalena Abakanowicz Secondary School of Fine Arts in Gdynia, where he has been developing his skills in the field of visual arts and spatial design for five years. At the age of 18, he designed and supervised the construction of a hair salon, including original furniture and equipment. He participated in the inventory of the Agnieszka Osiecka Atelier Theatre in Sopot and collaborated on a road project in Brodnica. He designs lamps that serve both functional and sculptural purposes.
design: Błażej Połczynski
photos: Amelia Makiewicz, Pavko Krajka, Mox Magna
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