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SQUAT iD23A DESIGN BY IVANKA KOWALSKI

Where Concrete Meets Wood and Marble

At the end of November, a unique project was introduced in Prague and an old historical building was opened to the public. Insidecor, a Czech online architecture and design influencer, began cooperation with Prague Real Estate Company (PSN) and invited five different studios to participate in the renovation. As a result, the architects created five flats, each designed in a different style. The project is called SQUAT iD23 – the name reflects the fact that visitors can occupy the spaces for a moment and enjoy them with all of their senses. The flats are located on Pařížská street, the most luxurious street within Prague.

The flat on the first floor was designed by Ivanka Kowalski, a Czech designer who had lived in London for a long time. She created a sophisticated and gentle space full of very feminine details. Kowalski decided to introduce a clever combination of modern and traditional materials. The floors are created from oak wood, whereas the kitchen includes marble tiles. In the bathrooms, there are concrete wall treatments combined with wallpaper. The area of the flat is almost 300m2.

The flat was designed for a four-member fictional family. There are two kids rooms, one designed for a teenage girl and the other one for her young sister, both equipped with colorful wallpapers. Furthermore, there is a major bedroom for the parents, a home office and fitness room. The technical details and space dimensions had been predetermined by Ivana Dombková atelier, which took care of the reconstruction of the flats. Each of the rooms has its own bathroom.

“As soon as I saw the space, I thought about Parisian interiors and they also became my main inspiration,” explains Kowalski. The designer cooperated with many top furniture and lifestyle suppliers, mostly partners of insidecor. Ivanka Kowalski also cooperated with many local designers and artists.

The living room which is connected to a kitchen and a dining room is the dominant space of the entire flat. In the huge kitchen, there is a large dining table with flexible lighting, which can also be found in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Some of the equipment may even be reminiscent of castle or palace interiors.

As in many other projects, Kowalski introduces a number of thought-through details. In the hallway, there is a mirror wardrobe that makes the space look bigger and lighter. The made-to-measure wardrobes in one of the kid's rooms were inspired by the old historic houses in the Old Town Square, which is located very close to the building. Furthermore, the king-size bed in the master bedroom includes hidden drawers. The fitness room includes a cascade garden created with real flowers and a unique irrigation system.

Light plays a very important role in the interior and that is also why Kowalski used light and soft colors, such as white, gray, gold and silver. She combined them with gentle pastel colors. Surfaces are united all over the flat, because as Kowalski says, “They make the flat look bigger and integrated”.

The goal of the designer was also to highlight historical details of the space, namely historical stucco and high ceilings. On the other hand, she did not want to create a fully historical interior full of antique furniture. “Parisian interiors tend to be modern and sometimes minimalist too,” says Kowalski. The flat will be open to the public until December 22nd and offered for rent after the end of the exhibition.