Pastel Katowice. A captivating apartment designed by the Mistovia office

We can spend the night there

This small, 45 sqm apartment is located in a historic tenement house in the city center, which has recently undergone a thorough renovation. It was created from the merger of two tiny premises. The investor bought them with herself in mind. Over time, life verified these plans and eventually the apartment was intended for short-term rental. The project did not suffer from this at all, although part of the concept had to be adapted to the new function. The owner invited designers from the Mistovia office to cooperate, who have already gained considerable experience in designing impressive interiors for rent.

Vintage hunting

– This time the design assumptions were very specific – the owner is a lover of the vintage style and immediately knew that she would like the design to include numerous elements referring to this aesthetics. What’s more, she herself engaged in searching for them in stores and on Internet portals. As usual with investment apartments, the budget was a bit limited. In the case of second-hand equipment, you can not only save a lot, but also give old furniture a new life. On the other hand, buying vintage items involves quick decision-making and requires a lot of patience. Gems at bargain prices disappear quickly, say the designers.

In search of a place

– Before you could move on to the choice of equipment – ​​the interior, however, underwent several major functional changes. In the original layout of the apartment, the bathroom was located in the current living room. Therefore, the first step of the designers was to move it to a different place in order to create a larger living space – this allowed us to separate a large part of the living room combined with a spacious kitchenette and dining room – explain the designers.

Private issues

The architects carved out the bathroom from the bedroom using a light structure made of pink steel profiles filled with frosted glass that guarantees the necessary privacy. Another key element of the project was to provide adequate storage space. In apartments intended for short-term rental, it is very important to find space for a utility wardrobe. In this project, it has been carefully hidden behind a sheet of colorful mirrors, which at first glance seem to be only an effective decoration, but contain a very specific solution. Storage in the bedroom has also been unconventionally solved – with the help of a white system of shelves for wardrobes, which, exposed here on one of the walls, create a gallery of interesting objects.

Oak, pastels and granite

The classic, oak parquet, which was made personally by the investor’s dad, perfectly matched the stone interior. In order to break the character of a rather dark floor, the designers decided to introduce light, pastel colors – whitened blue can be found, unusually, on the ceiling (this solution was favored by the height of the interior), in the panes of colored mirrors, bathroom walls, and in a slightly different version also on simple cabinet fronts kitchen. Pink reigns in the kitchen, powder-coated bathroom profiles, and a trained eye will also notice it on the window sills and the top of the old linen closet, which has gained a new life by becoming a washbasin cabinet. The only thing that stands out from the pastel tones is the bold, intensely navy blue color of the entrance door, which has been raised thanks to the painted arch in the lintel. On the doorstep (literally) guests are greeted by the impressive dark Negro Macondo granite.

Silesian cuisine

In the kitchen, the central place is occupied by the so-called byfyj – an old sideboard, or rather only its upper half, which was used as a replacement for hanging kitchen cabinets. It is surprising how this traditional element of Silesian kitchen equipment “gets along” with Italian furniture – a set of modernist chairs by the Milanese brand ZEUS (turn of the 80s/90s) and a table made of chrome steel and black glass reminiscent of Giotto Stoppino’s designs from the 70s of the twentieth century. Lighting, also vintage, are finds from popular internet portals, and the leather sofa comes from one of the older IKEA collections. – In this project, we had space for experimentation and a large dose of freedom in the use of elements of various nature. After all, vintage does not mean one specific style, and a low budget does not have to mean buying poor quality equipment. It is enough to skilfully combine existing furniture, which sometimes does not even require renovation, but only refreshment, with simple, minimalist forms of new furniture – say the designers – the proposed colors were to be a delicate background for older elements, and our main goal was to create a cozy interior.

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Location: Katowice
Project: Mistovia
Area: 45 m²

Photos: ONI STUDIO