How do you create an interior that pulses with artistic energy and at the same time embraces homely warmth? How to combine the boldness of designs and materials with the functionality that everyday life demands? The house in Kraków belongs to Agata and Przemek – a couple of graphic designers and founders of bisoñ studio. The Mistovia studio has found the answer to these questions by designing a space where creativity and private life do not compete, but coexist. It is also a story about friendship, trust and how the design process changes when an architect knows his or her clients in more than just a professional capacity.
Agata and Przemek met Marcin Czopek, the founder of Mistovia, many years ago at a design fair in Łódź. The meeting turned into a relationship that continues to this day. From the beginning, the owners of the house cheered on the development of his studio and even, in their own words, had a hand in it. “They were the ones who created the visual identity of my studio,” Marcin recalls. Today, the roles have reversed: it is he who has designed the house for them and their two dogs, Ozzy and Fury. “Designing for friends is always more exciting, but also more rewarding. It’s nice to bring something real into the lives of people I care about.” – adds the architect. This closeness is clearly reflected in the language of the interiors: consistent but devoid of rigidity, bold but unadorned.
Before moving to the outskirts of Krakow, they lived in the city centre for years. They worked from home or in a rented office in the modernist Aleksandrowicz building on Sereno Fenn. Over time, however, the urban hustle and bustle began to tire them out. They needed a space where they could breathe, work in concentration and develop their own projects. “In addition to escaping the crowd, we needed more space – above all a home office where we can work quietly, and a painting studio for Przem,” says Agata.
The 125 sq m house was in shell condition, which gave Mistovia complete freedom of action. The most important consideration was to open up the interior and let in as much light as possible. On the ground floor, the partition walls disappeared and the space began to flow – from the entrance, to the kitchen, to the living room. The only element that could not be moved was the chimney riser. Instead of treating it as an obstacle, the architect enclosed it with a modular piece of furniture that ties the three zones of the house together. On the entrance and kitchen side, it takes the form of a black, geometric built-in, while in the living room it gently rounds off and transitions to light oak with decorative veneers, creating an elegant showcase.
The kitchen is a manifestation of the owners’ graphic sensibility. It is led into it by a portal made of Black Forrest stone – an intensely drawn black and white granite, which also returns at the coffee corner, highlighting the red switches. It is contrasted by the calmer, pinkish Prada Gold granite on the worktop and work wall. The whole is completed with a steel hood housing – Marcin’s own design – and a sculptural island with an orange base and black graphic veneer. Above it hangs an inflatable lamp by Ingo Maurer, Blow Me Up, whose slightly ironic character breaks the seriousness of the materials. The final touch is a glass hen-cup from Ząbkowice, a trinket from Agata’s collection that brings a personal tone to the space.
The most surprising room on the ground floor is the small bathroom hidden under the stairs. Although devoid of a window, it teems with colour and texture. The undulating lines of the built-ins emphasise the unusual shape of the interior, and daylight streams in through two circular skylights. The red travertine, the chevron, the mosaic, the blue washbasin and the Italian red taps create a composition that might seem crazy if it were not so finely balanced.
In the living area, the pace slows down noticeably. A Marset glass lamp hangs above the black dining table by TAMO, whose colours evoke the setting sun. The sofas are arranged opposite each other – Agata and Przemek’s favourite arrangement, conducive to conversations and meetings with friends. A sumptuous library made of walnut, coloured ash and bubinga holds their sizeable book collection, while the TV is hidden in a lockable cabinet so as not to dominate the space.
An oak staircase leads to the first floor, which transitions to a light steel structure above. The bedroom with wardrobe is kept in hushed tones: warm oak, a silk lamp by OiSoOi, prints by Łucja Wużyk and Chwilczyński. The upstairs bathroom is a counterpoint to the one downstairs – elegant, restrained, with dark burnt oak and fluted glass in the form of a classic arch. A vintage wall lamp completes the relaxed atmosphere.
Agata and Przemek’s home is not homogeneous – and that is precisely where its strength lies. Each room has its own character, its own rhythm, its own story. The variety of materials and forms does not lead to chaos, but to harmony, which is the result of a consistent but flexible design approach. “Here everything has its own pace, its own light. The forms are unobvious – sometimes soft and undulating, sometimes geometric and decisive – like a conversation between personalities that differ yet harmoniously resonate,” concludes Marcin Czopek of the Mistovia studio.
design: Mistovia
photography: Oni Studio
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