Designed by forty-four different model studios, the New Żerniki housing development in Wroclaw recently received a SARP award in the Public Space category. Noteworthy are not only the masses of the residential buildings that make up the "second WUWA," but also their interiors. One of them for herself and her family was designed by Aleksandra Hobler, an architect from the we.make studio. The interior was awarded in this year's International Property Awards in the apartment category.
Unobvious, far from bright Scandinavian trends, the interior is full of bold textures, colors and patterns - in addition to black furniture in the bathroom or navy blue fronts of kitchen cabinets there is light wood, gold accessories, optically enlarging walls of mirrors and greenery that completes the whole.
The kitchen is separated from the living room by a glass-and-mirror wall
Photo: Stanisław Zajączkowski
Ola Kloc: Where did the idea for such a combination of materials and styles come from?
Aleksandra Hobler: When I designed my apartment, I had two guiding thoughts. First - I wanted it to be "different." At the time, Scandinavian interiors reigned supreme, very bright, white kitchens were a furor. Clients often have a somewhat conservative approach to interior design, and I wanted to do something different for myself - in my own apartment I could experiment more strongly.
Secondly - I wanted my apartment to have a certain non-obvious WOW effect, to be "something". It didn't have to appeal to everyone - it had to appeal to us and fit our family. Surrounded by such style, such materials and colors we feel best. We wanted it to be darker, cozier, we knew we could experiment on our own with materials, textures, unusual solutions.
Texture on the wall in the living room and a patterned ceiling in the bathroom
Photo: Stanislaw Zajączkowski
Ola: Does and how does designing an interior for yourself and your family differ from preparing a project for newly met investors?
Aleksandra: I have to admit that I didn't quite expect it, but it turned out to be strongly different - it's more difficult in my opinion. Before, I thought that the task would be simpler - in reality, however, the "curse of knowledge" turned out to be huge. As part of my work I design and look at a lot of interiors, different solutions, products, materials. I like a lot of things and it was hard for me to decide what we do and what we don't. In the end I decided to combine several different trends and inspirations, but it was a difficult decision for me.
Besides, working for other builders, our process is much tighter - after all, clients usually expect precisely that we, as designers, will lead them by the hand a bit during this time, help organize and coordinate ideas. In the case of my own apartment, this was all done much more intuitively - it was an interesting experience.
view of the living room
Photo: Stanislaw Zajączkowski
Ola: What was the biggest challenge, and what gave you the most pleasure during the design process?
Aleksandra: The biggest challenge was deciding on specific materials and solutions, I mentioned earlier. I knew in general what effect I wanted, but it was difficult for me to decide on specific choices among so many possible alternatives.
The greatest pleasure for me is always the realization stage, when all the previous ideas, drawings and models gain real forms and all the puzzles start to fall into a coherent whole. This applies equally to the realization of my own apartment, as well as to the realization for clients of our studio. For me as a designer, it is always extremely satisfying when I see our months of conceptual work begin to materialize.
Ola: Thank you for the interview!
