Magical energy radiates through this spacious apartment in Klatovy, Czech Republic. Thanks to the mutual trust and understanding between design studio JanskýDunděra and the owners of the circa 1930s residence, the designers were able to create an unusual family home centered around atypical features. Namely, a large blue Narnia-inspired wardrobe, a filter between the communal and children’s space, acts as a gateway from reality into another magical world, enriching one’s imaginative experiences.
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). The transformation emphasizes spaciousness by unifying communal areas while preserving smaller, purposeful spaces for the children.
“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.
The reconstruction design clearly favors 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,” Janský explains. “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.”
“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.”
Every detail was given individual attention. The apartment is brightened by rich colors 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,” asserts the designer.
Photography by Honza Zima.
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