"10 Questions to an Interior Designer" is a series of short talks inspired by the series "10 Questions to...". This time our attention is turned to interior designers. In today's episode, Grzegorz Goworek and Aga Kobus talk about their approach to design.
Grzegorz Goworek and Aga Kobus - architects, owners of Studio Organic. They write about themselves, "We design buildings, interiors and landscapes where people live. Created to experience space to the fullest, to be in undisturbed contact with nature and oneself."
1. For us, home is...
Aga: A peaceful retreat, a space where I regenerate.
Grzegorz: People, animals, nature... We don't get attached to places, because we carry home inside us.
2. The key to successful interior design is....
Aga and Grzegorz: Empathic communication. Developing a common language with the client. Careful, sensitive listening and observing. Asking smart questions to see even deeply hidden and unconscious needs.
3. We look for inspiration....
Aga: We don't look for inspirations, they come to us by themselves. I see them in everything around me... I am a careful observer. Besides, I find inspiration in silence - that's when most ideas come to me. When I manage to regenerate, to create a space to relax, a lot of inspiration pops up in my head.
Grzegorz: We try to surround ourselves with quality things. Go to places that give more than just relaxation, give respite, a wider palette of emotions. That's why we draw inspiration from everything we experience.
4. In cooperation with a developer, the most important thing is....
Grzegorz: ...either great trust in the architect, or great awareness of the investor....
Aga: ...and in both cases it is crucial to be guided by the same values.
5. Our favorite design style is....
Aga: We can describe our style as warmed minimalism. We focus primarily on soothing the senses, a muted color palette, harmony, sensuality and soft materials that make the interior seem to "wrap". This gives a sense of peace and security, which we all need.
Grzegorz: I don't have a favorite style. It is people who call it and systematize our way of designing. We like a certain color palette, we consistently use given spatial solutions. We call this design philosophy Organic Shelter. Thanks to it, we achieve the harmony that investors appreciate us for.
6. The most valuable object in our house is....
Grzegorz: We collect little, because we don't look for value in objects, but rather in the emotions that objects evoke....
Aga: ... that's why my favorite "object" at home is the fig tree, which I take great care of and which has recently started bearing fruit.
7. The most common mistake in self-decorating is...
Aga: Doing interior design on your own.
Grzegorz: Not using the experience of experts. We don't need to know everything, but it's worth realizing it to avoid disappointment when creating the place we live in.
8. Our favorite material is....
Aga: Linen - I like its texture, color and the fact that it brings warmth to interiors.
Grzegorz: I appreciate stone the most - especially worked, worn, bearing the marks of time. This ties in with experiences drawn from different places around the world. Always, when traveling, I like to traverse barefoot streets or paths lined with stone.
9. Trend that we would like to see pass away already is....
Aga: I don't want any trends to pass away, because they show the thoughts of a person at a given moment, they are a kind of litmus test and an interesting phenomenon to observe.
Grzegorz: I think that momentary trends or architectural microstyles have mostly been named to drive sales. Through their passing, we are able to observe what is timeless and what has stood the test of time.
10. We would like to, someday, live in a...
Aga and Grzegorz:
In our Organic Shelter, which we will create ourselves, in the wilderness, without fences, without architectural barriers. Just sky, water, plants and a symbolic roof over us. A place with moderate temperatures all year round, its own garden along with a vineyard. It is likely that this dream house will be found outside Poland. Often visiting Italy, we feel at home there - maybe this is a good direction?
Want to see projects by Grzegorz Goworek and Aga Kobus? Click HERE
