Its interior was designed by Anna Rybacka of the Head Made studio. The flat is 85 square metres and is located in the building of the Archduke Brewery of the Habsburg family on Zbożowa Street in Kraków. The elegant flat is intended to reflect the character of the neighbourhood.
No historical elements have been preserved in the flat. Nevertheless, the designer wanted to breathe the old spirit into the space. The space’s advantage is its height (as much as 4 m!) and the window woodwork reproduced on the model of the authentic old windows in the building.
The first step was to correct the height of the door openings. The typically high openings looked caricatured in the 4 m high interior. The decision was made to insert a 3.3 m high door. The layout of the rooms also required some adjustments. After the changes, it was possible to create an extra room for the laundry room. Two bathrooms were redesigned. The entrance to one of the bathrooms was moved to the corridor wall in order to have a whole wall available for furniture in the entrance area. In the bedroom, on the other hand, space had to be created for a roomy wardrobe. Due to the shape of the room and the positioning of the windows and doors, it was not an option to erect a partition wall. The wardrobe area was separated by placing the bed and using the 3.3 m high headrest as a partition behind which the wardrobes were placed.
After consultation with the client, the colour range was established. It was decided to limit it to beige and broken white with accents of graphite and gold. The colour restraint encouraged the juxtaposition of different materials and textures. Hence the use of wallpapers with different textures and furniture with wood braid finishes and different upholstery fabrics.
The largest space is the living area. It consists of a kitchenette, a seating area and a dining table. Visible from the entrance, the kitchenette with an island invites you in. The 3.3 m high furniture is made up of two parts: worktop furniture and a high built-in unit. The worktop furniture is a combination of cabinets with panel fronts with a quartzite top and wall cabinets with antique mirror fronts. All these elements are brought together by the consistency of colour. The tall cabinetry, which was only meant to be a backdrop, was hidden behind simple fronts in the same shade as the walls. The already mentioned free-standing island exposes the natural stone front. This stone was also used for the worktops.
The Eichholtz Valley chest of drawers and console with fronts made of braided oak logs and metal trims fit well into the living room space. In keeping with the colour discipline, the rest of the furniture – sofa, table and chairs – are also in soft beige tones. The subtle shades of the upholstery of the sofa, chairs and seat in the entrance area are complemented by the fabric of the curtains surrounding the window. The accent in the living room arrangement is a painting by Sylwia Wenska from the ‘Grey Gardens’ series entitled ‘Carnival in Venice’. The greys and blacks of the painting combined with beige and flecks of gold correspond with the antique mirror of the kitchen fronts. The painting is framed in a subtle frame specially made in the tonality of the painting. The bird motif did not appear in the painting by accident – in the living room, the space above the table is used by the Perch Moooi lamp – the favourite model of the Investor, explains the designer.
The oasis of peace and quiet is, of course, the bedroom. The main role here is played by a bed with a high upholstered headrest, behind which wardrobes are hidden. The wardrobes are a kind of background in this interior. The wardrobe and bedroom furnishings are complemented by a dressing table with a mirror set on a stone base, made especially for this project. Textiles in the form of curtains and upholstery of the headrest create the atmosphere of this room.
The elegant flat also has a study for working. The room is furnished with a light desk with rounded corners, a sofa with a sleeping function and a wardrobe with rounded sides. An interesting feature of the space is the ARTE Sculptura Rovine mural.
Slightly darker are the bathrooms. The first, with a bathtub, is distinguished by an elaborate wallpaper and a dark ceiling. against the dark background, the light-coloured walls, finished in the bottom strip with a sintering of delicate stone drawing, stand out. The second bathroom has a shower. The floor here is decorated with classic mosaic tiles. The architect opted for a contrast of dark and light wall sections with fittings in warm gold.
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About the studio:
A head made design studio founded in 2011 by Anna Rybacka, a graduate of the Interior Design Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, formerly active in the “bez atu” Interior and Furniture Design Studio. The studio’s track record includes a number of realisations of public and private interiors. In designing, she combines traditional technologies and objects with contemporary elements. She values the individualism of interiors achieved through the skilful incorporation of art objects. She particularly enjoys projects in buildings with historical potential, which offer the possibility of unconventional arrangements. An elegant flat in Krakow is one example of the studio’s approach to design.
design: head made Anna Rybacka
photos: ONI studio
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