The Quiet Geometry of 34 Square Meters by Dawid Konieczny Interiors
In Warsaw’s Port Praski, a compact 34 square meter apartment by Dawid Konieczny turns a small urban retreat into a warm, highly considered design project.
Created for a couple of photographers who do not live in Warsaw year round, the apartment was conceived as a serene place to return to during intermittent stays in the city.
The setting plays an important role in the project’s character. Port Praski is a vast regeneration area transforming former docks and industrial land into a new mixed use district. Its history reaches back to the interwar period, when only three of five planned dock basins were completed. The new 2024 building nods to classic riverside architecture, while the interior translates that context through a contemporary language of soft geometry, warm materials, and carefully selected vintage details.
The original apartment was planned as a studio with a separate kitchen. Konieczny reworked the layout by placing the bedroom where the kitchen had been, freeing the main area for an open kitchen, dining space, and small sitting room. This intervention required a full redesign of the electrical systems and, most importantly, the plumbing. Custom built in furniture was then used throughout to save space and give the apartment a unified visual identity.
The entrance draws the eye diagonally into a fan shaped living area, where curved wardrobes and bespoke storage soften the compact plan. Every element is arranged to preserve openness and light, making the apartment feel more generous than its footprint suggests. The circulation is direct and efficient, with no wasted space, yet the interior avoids feeling purely functional through its theatrical detailing and tactile material palette.
Warm muted tones define the apartment. Floors, ceilings, and walls are finished in a subtle vanilla white waxed cement, creating a quiet backdrop for oiled oak veneer, cream lacquer, Blue Roma quartzite, brass accents, and California burl by Alpi. Rounded corners and curved surfaces recur across the sofa bed, wardrobe patterns, bedroom frame, and bathroom shower wall, giving the home a cohesive visual language.
In the living area, a sculptural caramel toned daybed sits in filtered daylight, setting a calm and elegant mood. Bespoke pieces, including the daybed, table, and mirror, anchor the room alongside Ron Arad’s Zigo Chair for Driade and vintage Belarusian wall lamps and bas reliefs. Above the dining bench, a pre war brass artwork found at a flea market adds a layer of history and character.
The kitchen combines oiled oak fronts with cream lacquer and Blue Roma quartzite. The stone forms a soft organic backsplash that becomes one of the apartment’s most expressive gestures. A woven metal chair and black column table complete the dining nook, balancing modernist restraint with tactile richness.
The bedroom receives the most dramatic treatment. Framed like a ship’s cabin, it features Art Deco inspired moldings, a raised platform clad in Alpi California veneer, and soft apricot walls. The high contrast wood gives the compact sleeping area a strong identity, while its enclosed composition creates a sense of intimacy within the small plan.
The bathroom shifts into a more playful register. Blue plaster, red and white checkerboard tiles, vintage fixtures, and California burl veneer create an almost surreal atmosphere. A handmade raw ceramic vase and retro details deepen the room’s mid century references, making it the owners’ favorite space in the apartment.
