The great advantage of the house in Magdalenka, which the architect managed to bring out, is the open space of the first floor. Here the main inspiration was industrial style, and the whole was complemented by unobvious accessories. Despite the consistency of the arrangement with the first floor, it is clear that the two zones are slightly different. On the upper floor there is a slightly greater impression of coziness and warmth.
Paulina Swist of ArchiWisła studio created an eclectic interior for the house, which is surrounded by trees growing around it. Each side of the building overlooks the forest, which further enriches the home's space.
Basia Hyjek: What was the main inspiration for this project? What were the expectations and needs of the investors?
Paulina Swist: The house in Magdalenka came into my hands at the time of the open shell. I very quickly found a common language with the clients. The interior was to refer to lofts in its details. Steel staircases, steel doors with glazing on visible tracks, electrics run in tubes and surface-mounted boxes, and a resin floor. To keep the interior from being too austere, wood appeared on the ceiling. The warm brown color was also found in other elements: the dresser in the living room, the wall behind the fireplace, the table and the sofa in the TV room.
A color that is repeated in most of the rooms is turquoise and its various shades - the residents' favorite color
© Paulina Swist
Basia: Where did you get the idea for such a combination of colors, patterns and materials?
Paulina: The color that repeats in most rooms is turquoise and its various shades - the favorite color of the residents. From light, pastel colors downstairs to more intense ones upstairs. We paid a lot of attention to details and searched for interesting products from the Polish market. The owners chose brass OPEN&HIDE furniture handles, ULTRAlight lamp over the table and for the TV room, and Purpura cement tiles.
Mrs. Ula, the owner's dream was a free-standing bathtub, and Mr. Tom's dream was handmade "dragon scale" tiles in various shades of turquoise. With two bathrooms upstairs, both dreams came true! The one with the bathtub is very feminine, thanks in part to the floral motif on the wall. It's a waterproof wallpaper that works well as a substitute for tiles and gives a bath salon feel. It also serves as the main accent in the bathroom. The rest is calm and minimalist - in tones of white and gray.
The dream of the owner, Mrs. Ula, was a free-standing bathtub, and the dream of Mr. Tom - handmade "dragon scale" tiles in various shades of turquoise
© Paulina Swist
A similar treatment was used in the bathroom next to the bedroom, where a wall of dragon scales plays the main role. These handmade tiles catch the eye with their various shades of turquoise. Windows in both interiors framed in "frames of mirrors" make the interiors seem much larger and more spacious, and the boundary between what is real and what is reflected is lost. A similar treatment with mirrors was used in the downstairs restroom, where a small area carved out under the stairs enlarged its space, thanks to the reflection in the mirror.
The first floor is less austere than the first floor - it has been warmed by oak flooring. In the bedroom, a huge U-shaped upholstered headrest provides coziness and calms the interior. The color brings to mind the night sky. Despite the large plane of dark color, the bedroom is not overwhelming, as the treatment from the other interiors is repeated: accent and calm background. In this case, the walls and cabinets are in white. The bed and cabinets on metal profiles refer to the industrial elements from the first floor.
In the bedroom, a huge U-shaped upholstered headrest provides coziness and calms the interior. The color brings to mind the night sky
© Paulina Swist
Basia: What gave you the most satisfaction in creating this project, and what was the biggest challenge?
Paulina: It was immensely satisfying for me to carry the project through the entire process from concept to finished interior with no changes to the design and no compromises with the contractors. An arduous and lengthy process, but one that brought the greatest joy!
