Family Silver

The reconstruction design clearly favours quality over quantity. In order to achieve spatial airiness, the previously separated smaller rooms were merged into larger open spaces – maximizing the common ones where the family spends most of its time together. The children's rooms, on the other hand, are conceived as small, purposeful cells, entered through a large blue Narnia-inspired storage cupboard. The history of the apartment is recalled by a number of original features, such as doorknobs, parquet floors, sliding doors, and the acknowledged original painting in the parents' bedroom. The bedroom has an en-suite bathroom and is also accessible from the study with a small balcony. "The blue wardrobe, and especially the entrance to its bowels, is meant to lead people out of reality into another world, a magical space, to be a filter between the apartment and the children's rooms. It is meant to convey an experience and enhance the imagination. The whole apartment then allows to experience different light situations, thanks to the fact that the light has access to the apartment from all cardinal points and in different ways - through a rounded strip window facing the street, through a window folded over the corner of the courtyard, through an ordinary flat window and also through a series of several windows - these are the characteristics of the corner house and the architecture of the 1930s, we have only tried to reinforce this fact and not to literally lose it," the authors stress.

The authors approached the complete reconstruction of a spacious apartment in Klatovy, Czech Republic, with care worthy of the treatment of family silver. It is located in an apartment building from the 1930s, which was built by the great-grandfather of one of the authors of the design, Zeno Fifka. Moreover, the house remained in the family's ownership to this day, and the renovation was also carried out for close relatives, a young family of four. Thanks to the mutual trust and understanding between designers and clients it was possible to create an unusual family home with many atypical features. The main intention of the design was to give the apartment some spatial generosity and to further support the modernist First-Republic era character of the corner apartment building where it occupies the entire third floor (170 m2 in total). "We convinced the investors that it would be a good idea to take the opportunity of the renovation to make a generous change - not just to change the surfaces, but also to demolish, clean, and change the layout to accommodate the new family and their needs. At the same time, we suggested restoring as many original features as possible, choosing new materials of high quality that would not need to be replaced," says Matěj Janský, describing the project.

Every detail was given individual attention. The fact that the co-authors of the design, Matěj Janský and Cyril Dunděra, run the award-winning design janskydundera studio was reflected in the precise choice of interior furnishings and materials. The apartment is brightened by rich colours and is also equipped with original furniture from the production of MCDJ. "Quality individual elements can stand alone, and together they form a varied whole that can absorb further layers, not definitive and finished without the possibility of further development. We don't try to match everything with everything, because we believe this is how you create a welcoming and relaxed space where different people can feel comfortable and not out of place," say the authors.

Matěj Janský, Cyril Dunděra, Jáchym Janský
Styling: Klára Tománková