A Novelist's Elegant Pied-a-Terre in Warsaw

When we happened upon Colombe Studio’s Instagram account, we discovered image after image that activated our endorphins. It was clear that we had to share founder Marta Chrapka’s sophisticated projects on our site. A while ago, we did just that—see A Glamorous Pre-War Flat in Poland, Courtesy of Colombe Design (and eBay). Here’s another refreshingly grown-up home by the Warsaw-based designer.

This one belongs to a couple (a writer of historical novels and his wife) who asked Chrapka to transform a renovated-for-the-worse apartment into a sophisticated pied-à-terre that was worthy of its prewar shell. As Chrapka very succinctly explains, “Everything outside—the beautiful building, the parks, the Vistula River, the view, the light—[was great].” And the bad? “Everything inside.”

After reinstating period details via moldings, herringbone oak floors, and new grand windows, Chrapka went about appointing the space with pieces—a mix of custom, new, and vintage—that, together, channel eclectic elegance. But it’s the colors in this project, a warm mix of rust and brick red punctuated with gold accents, that we so admire.

Have a look.

Photography by Kasia Gatkowska, courtesy of Colombe Studio.

Above: “The style began when we found the golden rhubarb lamp. That was the first and the most important decorative point,” says Chrapka, who picked it up at Galerie Canavese in Paris. The pendant light is by French lighting design company Magic Circus.