Perched on the top floor of an intimate building in Kraków’s Zwierzyniec district, the Krakow apartment on Księcia Józefa Street, designed by the studio one desk, seems to float above the world. This exceptional residence boasts a southern exposure that provides an open, unbounded vista across the Vistula River valley, making the space feel entirely suspended within the treetops. To the north, the panorama is equally captivating, featuring the historic Przegorzały Castle, a pre-war modernism marvel by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, which is gracefully integrated into the lush green slope of the Wolski Forest. The design brief was clear: a modest functional program—a living area, a bathroom, and a single bedroom—yet the intention was to maximize openness and natural daylight.
The challenge for one desk lay in the intricate geometry of the multi-pitched roof that defines the top-floor space. Sloping ceilings are a defining feature in every room, acting as both an ally in defining intimate zones and a constraint that required highly custom and inventive solutions. The owners, who had traded the Baltic coast’s Tricity for the historic grandeur of Kraków, sought a bright, calm interior that would serve as a serene retreat. This objective mandated a careful and restrained treatment of most surfaces, allowing the pale walls to subtly shift and transform under the changing natural light filtering in from the spectacular surrounding views.
The former configuration of two smaller rooms in the north was transformed into one cohesive, spacious bedroom. This room, which incorporates a wardrobe and a small workspace, features a wall lined with light blue built-in cabinetry, visually unified by a horizontal cornice in the same calm hue. Notably, a built-in seat finished with veneer designed by Ettore Sottsass intelligently organizes the irregularities created by the merger of the former rooms. Enhancing the sense of spatial continuum, wide, double doors with fluted glass open the bedroom to the hall and living area. This generous opening effectively connects the two dramatic views—of the Vistula River valley and the Wolski Forest—underscoring the successful interior design approach by one desk.
The overall feeling of continuity in the Krakow apartment is anchored by a seamless, light microcement floor that flows throughout the entire space. In the entrance hall, a strategic mirrored wall conceals the bathroom door and dramatically amplifies the perception of space. This architectural move adds a slightly surreal touch, like a subtle piece of installation art that invites the resident and guest further into the story of the home. The pursuit of a bright and calm atmosphere defines this truly minimalist interior, where visual clutter is sacrificed for purity of form and material.
The low kitchen cabinetry adheres to the apartment’s tranquil aesthetic: stainless steel fronts and a light stone countertop subtly reflect light and fragments of the surrounding environment. This serene tonality is sharply but elegantly punctuated by a few deliberate accents. The most prominent is the tall, semi-freestanding kitchen unit, finished entirely in deep chocolate bird’s-eye maple. Its softly rounded edge is a quiet, sophisticated nod to the owners’ seaside origins, recalling the streamlined forms of 1930s Gdynia modernism. This motif of a gentle transition is echoed in the bedroom furniture, ensuring the design language is consistent across functional zones within the Księcia Józefa Street residence.
The living area provides direct access to a large terrace, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor experience. Inside, the space is grounded by a rust-colored sofa and illuminated by a Counterbalance wall lamp by Luceplan over the dining table, complementing a custom-made sideboard. The bathroom maintains the bright palette of the apartment, using various textures of white, such as the small Vogue Ceramica tiles used for the shower enclosure and countertop. Against this pale backdrop, the warm, reddish bird’s-eye maple veneer of the under-sink cabinet stands out, providing a final, rich point of contrast. In this carefully curated, ornament-free space, there is ample room for contemporary art: pieces by Karolina Wasiluk, Michał Sroka, and Aleksandra Toborowicz complete the home’s striking composition, bringing life and colour into the modernism-inspired shell.