Rozbrat Apartment in Warsaw by Colombe Studio.

The devil’s in the details in this 140 metre squared pre-war apartment revival in central Warsaw. Designed by Colombe Studio, it recaptures the elegant and eclectic spirit of its neoclassical building through custom joinery, antique objects layered with new pieces and a colour story that reads like a love letter to the 20th-century design.

A bit of a one-stop-shop, Colombe Studio creates intricately detailed spaces down to the doorknobs thanks to their in house carpentry, upholstery and metalworking studios. The Rozbrat Apartment is a great example of the multi sphere of design services they have at their fingertips. An interior joinery construction has created a solution to the awkward slanted walls. Bed niches wardrobes and bookshelves are built-in forming a practical and prominent feature within the space.

Related: 1930s Warsaw Apartment Renovation by Marta Chrapka of Colombe Studio.

While they reinstated period details like the herringbone oak floors, grand windows and original style mouldings the space is multi-layered, with old and new pieces existing in harmony. A custom wrap-around teak cabinet in the living room culminates in a marble console, utilising traditional techniques to create something modern that feels very at home within the neoclassical interiors. The Golden Rhubarb lamp, designed by French lighting design company Magic Circus is an arresting sight, while the space is restrained and thoughtful, it was the first and most important decorative point informing the rest of the apartment.

Joseph Franks cabinets inspired some of the custom work seen throughout the interior. In the bedroom, the bed is framed with autumn feeling wallpaper lined with the same oak seen throughout. William Morris wallpaper provides a backdrop for the vintage Knoll daybed in the reading room also echoing aspects of Franks work. Most playful is in the kitchen where Colombe Studio has paired the lower cabinets painted in a traditional Farrow & Ball Studio Green with whimsical upper cabinets with walnut disc handles and glass doors.

The original layout of the apartment has been updated to create a more contemporary feel throughout, forming boundaries between day and night zones. Two wing doors, carved from solid walnut and inspired by Krakowian folk design artfully separate the combined kitchen living and dining areas from the bedroom and reading room.

The zones can also be indicated by the use of colour. While the “day” areas feel bright and spacious, painted in off whites and featuring accents like Pierre Frey mustard coloured drapes in the living room the “night” zones like the reading room is painted in dark tones of Farrow & Ball Mouse’s Back.

An unexpected colour pairing in the powder room adds an air of delight to the space with colours Skylight and Picture Gallery Red by Farrow & Ball adorning the walls and floor.

Layering mid-century accents with modern lighting and furniture choices, including polish style solid walnut doors with original Bauhaus knobs (I told you doorknobs would come into it) Colombe Studio has designed a polished apartment that celebrates the heritage of Polish pre-war architecture without compromising in style and practicality.

[Images courtesy of Colombe Studio. Photography by Kasia Gatkowska.]