Here on Remodelista, client projects by decorators and architects are our stock-in-trade, but, in our opinion, nothing quite beats a peek into a design professional’s own home. So when Marta Chrapka, of Colombe studio, reached out to share images of her Warsaw flat, we were instantly rapt.
We’ve featured some of her projects before—all singularly elegant, with an eye toward tradition and a foot planted in modernity—and her own apartment, which she shares with her partner, Christopher, and a dog and cat, is no different. Their 100-square-meter (about 1,000-square-feet) one-bedroom feels like the home of a refined and thoughtful designer, albeit one that prefers sneakers to heels.
Was it harder for her to set up her own home (as opposed to someone else’s)? “No, for me it is easier,” she says. “It took me just a few days to design it, in fact.” As she did for her client projects, Marta stripped the apartment—it was built in the 1950s—of any offending architectural details and started fresh with new moldings and herringbone floors. “The interior itself before the renovation did not have a single advantage that usually encourages people to buy it. The space was low, inconsistent, built of poor quality materials, which was all characteristic of post-war buildings.”
Then she filled it in with “a mix of styles that I have used for the last 10 years when designing my interiors,” she says. “I didn’t want to focus on fast-passing trends.” For reasons both environmental and economical, Marta chose to “shop” from her own inventory of cast-offs, mistakes, and leftovers from prior renovation projects. “My garage was overcrowded with sinks, remnants of tiles, lamps, handles, single switches, and lots of old stuff for renovation. I decided to incorporate all this into [my new home.]”
The sum total of these parts: a trend-proof home that marries Old World style with modern-day elegance.
Photography by Kasia Gatkowska, courtesy of Colombe.
![\2\20;i chose my favorite elements for this home—some classic pat 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-living-733x489.jpeg)
![both the wallpaper (in arlesienne pattern) and the upholstery in the living roo 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-fireplace-733x977.jpeg)
![one of the only original architectural details that marta chose to keep is the 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-dining-733x977.jpeg)
![the kitchen cabinets were originally installed in her showroom. they were simpl 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-kitchen-733x977.jpeg)
![the vintage ruffled milk glass pendant is an ebay score. 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-kitchen1-733x977.jpeg)
![the cheerful green scalloped console is a colombe design; the jolies fleurs
22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-hall-733x977.jpeg)
![marta designed the library for christopher, who\2\17;s a writer. the tab 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-office-733x977.jpeg)
![the sun filled lounge area adjacent to the study was formerly used as a closet 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-office1-733x489.jpeg)
![marta\2\17;s signature design feature is the bed alcove, surrounded by b 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-bedroom-733x977.jpeg)
![\2\20;the bathroom is probably where the most recycled items landed 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-bathroom1-733x977.jpeg)
![her love for niche spaces extends to the bathroom. 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/marta-chrapka-colombe-warsaw-apartment-bathroom-733x977.jpeg)
For more projects by Colombe, see:
- A Glamorous Pre-War Flat in Poland, Courtesy of Colombe Design (and eBay)
- Creative Flow: A Novelist’s Elegant Pied-a-Terre by Colombe Studio
- Old World Meets Modern: A Casual but Elegant Pre-War Flat on the Baltic Coast
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