From a generous four-room apartment in a historic Bratislava house, a family of three then, now four, moved to a three-room apartment in a new building in Piešťany.
“After the birth of our first daughter, our priorities changed and we decided to return to a smaller town, where we saw greater potential for a better family life. The new building in Piešťany appealed to us with its excellent accessibility to the center, and the apartment itself impressed us greatly terrace. It is located on the highest, fifth floor, so there is a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding mountains,” describe husband and wife Martin and Paulína.
An inspiring collaboration
They bought the 65-square-meter apartment in a bare-bones condition, and they worked on the interior design with the architects Silvia and Ľudovít Vitková from the VAU studio. “I knew Ľud from my high school and university years, when we played basketball together on the playgrounds in Piešťany. Years later, he was recommended to me by my brother, for whom they designed a family house project. The cooperation was very inspiring and despite the fact that moving and setting up a new home is often stressful, thanks to the expertise and way of working of Ľud and Sisy, we did not have this feeling at all,” says Martin.
Opening space
The apartment building is the result of the reconstruction and expansion of the original building, of which the reinforced concrete skeleton has been preserved. “The new residential function was therefore the subject of the reconstruction of the entire building, and the demolition work in the apartment was minimal. It was only about opening the vestibule towards the day zone, which brought better lighting and a pleasant view right from the entrance,” describes the architect.
Pure timeless design
The owners wanted a clean, well-lit and contemporary interior – they emphasized functional and well-thought-out solutions, detail and uniformity of expression. “We like clean, timeless design a quality materialswe prefer simplicity in terms of color – white in combination with wood, complemented by shades of green and grey. We had many discussions with the architects about our ideas, but the entire design was in their hands. They were always able to give us factual and professional arguments when our ideas did not match their proposal for practical or conceptual reasons, and they knew how to guide us sensitively,” describe the owners.
Photo: Archive of the studio
Custom-made furniture and designer pieces
They are on the floors wooden parquetsthe joinery products are in white and cashmere grey, they used technical stone for the kitchen counter, and the perimeter walls in the apartment are perfectly unified by long curtains that also let in the sun’s rays.
Most of the furniture is custom-made, thanks to which they gained maximum storage space and at the same time visually unified and connected the interior. However, design pieces and lamps or stylish handles have also found a place here, and the number of indoor and outdoor plants is not to be neglected.
Less is more
“Martin and Paulína have taste, they understand the need for proportionality and hierarchy in the interior. They didn’t want everything to stand out, everywhere and at once. The concept is clear. It is based on the openness of the day part and at the same time a smooth transition to the night zone – the doors are part of the joinery panels, they alternate with slats and a mirror, the space feels complete and fresh. Keeping the concept clean from idea to implementation is sometimes the hardest thing, but in the end the cleanest, clearest solutions really stood out and showed how much less is often more,” adds Ľudovít Vitko.
Life on the terrace and inside
On warm days, the family spends most time on the terrace. Due to its generous area, it has become a place for their daughters to play, meet with family and friends, have barbecues, lunches, but also just sit and relax. During the year, the natural heart of the home is the living room connected to the kitchen.
“If we look back, as a family of four with growing daughters, we probably should have bought a bigger apartment,” the owners say with a smile, but at the same time add that they wouldn’t change anything in terms of style and functionality: “we are extremely satisfied with the result of our architects’ work.”
Business card of the studio
VAUarchitects is an architectural and interior studio focused on the creation of thoughtful, functional and expressively authentic solutions. They combine architecture with interior design so that the resulting space respects the context and reflects the character of the user. With an emphasis on detail, choice of materials and timelessness, they work on a variety of tasks – from family and apartment buildings, residential and commercial interiors to public spaces. More at www.vauarchitects.sk.
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