Reconstruction of an apartment on Paris Street

Adapting the layout of an old apartment to the needs of a contemporary family is not simple; the lifestyle a hundred years ago was governed by completely different social customs. Bourgeois apartments included a separate kitchen, as cooking belonged to the duties of the maid, and the kitchen was usually accompanied by a small room with a window to the courtyard. The living room or social salon with a large dining area was located near the entrance or hallway, and the windows of the family rooms faced the street or square, essentially a representative public space.
Today's families have integrated cooking into activities they need not be ashamed of (on the contrary, many celebrities boast of their renowned kitchens), and kitchens along with dining areas have merged into an open living space where family members can spend time together. Private rooms have become a separate and distinct part of the apartment. Here, the number and composition of rooms are determined by the specific needs of each family.
In historical buildings, architects typically cannot interfere much with the structures to avoid destroying preserved valuable parts, so changes to the layout are limited. The contemporary appearance of the apartment can be acknowledged (and is appropriate) using modern expressive means, but in particularly valuable houses, the most considerate form is a somewhat "temporary" installation: after removing the built-in constructions, the apartment can be returned to nearly its original state. New interventions will not permanently disrupt the preserved parts of the building.

The owners of one apartment in a Art Nouveau building were very well aware of the careful renovation that an apartment in a historical building requires. They chose the studio Design by Donlić, with which they had a previous good experience. The author, Ivana Dombková, responds very sensitively not only to the personalities of her clients and their wishes but also to the space entrusted to her. Additionally, the company’s craftsmen, trained on numerous projects, are capable of precise and meticulous work, particularly needed here.
Throughout the apartment, the plaster decorations of the ceilings have been preserved and restored, which distinctly define the style of the house. The delicate plaster finishes, executed according to contemporary technologies, refined the overall impression of the undisturbed original style. All original windows were repaired, door frames were refurbished, and in cases where the wood was rotten, they were replaced with exact replicas. The wooden floors were also restored to their original parquet pattern.
Three living rooms, with windows facing the street and arranged one behind the other, were presumably completely closed rooms, but later modifications connected the largest room with the adjacent one through a large opening. It seemed natural to utilize the unified space and place the living room with the dining area here. The kitchen is freely open to the dining area, and the original doorway was used for access to the adjacent guest bedroom. However, the room visually connects with the living room through a glass partition in the original frame (a curtain can be drawn if needed).

Although the interventions in the structure of the floor plan were significant, the entire apartment has retained the atmosphere of the early 20th century. However, it allows for the current life of the family without issues. This is contributed to not only by the modified layout and the furnishings of the interior but also by clever lighting throughout the space. The original door leaves have been preserved on the entrance doors to the apartment and the doors to the main bedroom, but instead of replicas of the other leaves (which were in very poor condition), glass leaves were fitted into the restored frames. The combination of Art Nouveau frames and glass evokes a sense of romantic nostalgia for the old days while providing ample light and visual connection between all spaces. The new door openings between the bedroom and bathroom already have a completely contemporary appearance, including frames.
The furnishings of the rooms are typical for the studio Design by Donlić - distinctive design, use of noble materials in their natural form. Only the essential amount of furniture for the comfort of the residents, clean geometric shapes based on construction logic, thoughtful details, and careful craftsmanship. Most of the items in the interior are custom-made; for supplementary furnishings, Donlić chooses companies whose products with distinctive design concepts correspond, whether it is seating furniture from THONET, appliances from MIELE, sanitary equipment, lighting, and small home accessories from foreign, particularly Italian companies.
The cultivated environment of the Art Nouveau apartment is confirmation that even while preserving all the original elements, an apartment in a historical building need not stagnate in the position of a lifeless museum; it is possible to create a completely modern space that can live a contemporary life.

Věra Konečná for bydleni-iq.cz