Austere, but cozy, classic, although with industrial elements, timeless, yet modern. Check out the latest interior in a single-family house near Warsaw designed by Justyna Ławrynowicz and Patryk Ławrynowicz from the 3XEL Architekci studio in Łódź.
A single-family terraced house, nearly 140 square meters and two people in their thirties. They used to devote their free time to long-distance travel, but dreamed of a place where they could stay for a longer period of time — a cozy haven full of interesting materials, but devoid of unnecessary decorations. How did designers respond to these expectations?
kitchen
photo: MIGDAŁ Studio
The first step was to change the existing functional layout to fit the needs of the householders.
A large bedroom area was created on the first floor, with a generous opening of the bathroom to the bedroom, and instead of an additional room, a comfortable dressing room was created next to the bedroom. Meanwhile, the living space was meant to correspond with the garden, due to its large glazing. Partially open to the dining room and living room, the kitchen became the heart of the house, a place to meet with friends and cook together — the project authors explain.
The architect duo opted for timeless, natural materials and strong accents associated with industrial spaces rather than home interiors — including steel mesh at the staircase railing, reinforced glass in the kitchen cabinets and a wall of raw concrete in the bedroom, but more on that later.
In the living room, the eye is drawn to the white fireplace surround with gently curved corners
photo: MIGDAŁ Studio
Let's stay on the first floor for a moment — in the spacious living room, two contrasting forms catch the eye. The first is a white fireplace form with gently rounded corners, next to which the designers placed a cabinet floating slightly above the floor and a veneered wall behind the TV. The living area is wrapped in a warm shade of wood further emphasized by a brick-colored corduroy sofa and curtains.
The corduroy sofa, beige carpet and soft curtains add to the coziness of the interior
Photo: MIGDAŁ Studio
The location of the house near the forest enhances the feeling of comfort and tranquility emanating from this interior. Wood, steel, glass, concrete, stone, wood veneers are timeless materials. When used in an interior, they age with dignity and remain for years — the architects explain. — The color palette is rather subdued, the main theme is natural wood, whites, grays and the most contrasting blacks. The introduction of greenery into the interior, as well as various fabrics and textures, helped soften the space — they add.
view of the staircase
photo: MIGDAŁ Studio
The second strong element is the minimalist staircase — an original design by architects from 3XEL studio. A balustrade made of technical steel mesh was placed over the monolithic black block, in which cabinets are hidden. The industrial effect is intensified by the raw gray background of the wall.
Artwork by Lodz-based artist Teodor Durski
photo: MIGDAŁ Studio
Climbing up to the floor, we can see a large-format graphic by Teodor Durski, a young generation artist from Łódź, matched in color to the palette of the entire interior.
The last of the motifs appearing throughout the house is glass — plain, reinforced and ornamental — which appears between the bathroom and the bedroom, in the kitchen cabinets, in the doors in the hall and in the dressing room.
A glass wall between the bedroom and bathroom
Photo: MIGDAŁ Studio
