In Warsaw’s lively Praga district, a collaboration between Mistovia’s founder, Marcin Czopek, and the owner, a lawyer in his sixties, has transformed a bare apartment into a composed base. Designed for frequent travel and moments of respite in between, the home balances character and calm with thoughtful precision.
From the outset, the design posed a series of questions: Can raw minimalism coexist with maximalist expression? Can a masculine bathroom be pink and blue? And how many light switches are too many in one apartment? The answers unfold through a striking, textured design that embraces them all.
Purchased as a bare shell, the apartment’s original layout was divided into small rooms that restricted light, movement and spatial clarity. Used to the openness of a house, the owner envisioned a more expansive plan with sliding and arched doors; therefore, removing most internal walls became the essential first step.
Guided by the principle, “if you can’t hide it, highlight it,” Mistovia retained the load-bearing concrete column in the living room, stripping away its plaster and extending it with a perforated wall of ceramic glass blocks. While technically challenging, this intervention paved the way for additional raw concrete details throughout the apartment.
“Removing the plaster was one of the most interesting challenges,” Czopek reflects. “It required contracting the right team and overcoming technical difficulties — but the result, including a unique ceiling with preserved traces of past work, was worth it.”
The home’s light switches were tailored to match each space’s specific materials, featuring distinct designs for tiles, concrete and veneers.
The kitchen island was inspired by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen’s Tulip table, featuring a steel oval form and two yellow, upside-down tulip legs.
Pictured: the Vitra Panton chair by Verner Panton.
Vintage references are woven thoughtfully throughout the apartment, lending a sense of playful nostalgia. In the kitchen, a sculptural island evokes a space-age sensibility, with its steel, oval-shaped form resting on two yellow legs and topped in vivid blue quartzite — a material gesture inspired by Eero Saarinen. Overhead, a green crystal lamp, chosen by the owner’s daughter, adds a note of colour and sentiment.
The owner initially envisioned a restrained palette defined by shades of grey and concrete. But as the project evolved through on-site meetings and collaborative decision-making, the interiors began to welcome bolder tones and richer textures. Raw concrete surfaces were softened with gently curved furniture and refined materials, such as dark burl veneer in the kitchen and bathroom, and deep green dotted tiles by Mutina.
Elsewhere in the bathroom, large-format Rosso Francia tiles establish a bold foundation. A matching industrial-style radiator sits beside a freestanding bathtub, while on the opposite wall, sky-blue tiles evoke semi-translucent onyx, playing off nearby walnut burl joinery. The palette continues with a coloured-concrete sink, Bardelli pink mosaic tiles and a checkered veneer cabinet designed by Patricia Urquiola.
The bedroom offers a deliberate shift in tone. Being the only space without exposed concrete walls, subdued colours and simple forms promote rest while vibrant accents, such as a red Artemide lamp by Vico Magistretti and artwork by Przemek Bizon, add personality. The overall atmosphere is quiet and composed, rounding out the apartment’s layered, tactile narrative.
Port Praski resists easy categorisation. It’s at once raw and refined, composed and irreverent — a study in contrasts held together by a clear point of view. “In the end,” Czopek says, “this apartment successfully merges pragmatism with unrestrained artistic expression.”
Because of its structural role, the reinforced concrete column couldn’t be moved. Instead of treating it as an obstacle, Czopek reimagined it as a focal point and a natural divider within the newly opened-up apartment. Adorning it is an artwork from Polish artist Zbigniew Olszyna’s ‘Art of Meat’ exhibition.
Pictured: the Verpan Pantop Table light by Verner Panton.
The bathroom features the apartment’s richest mix of colours and textures, including Rosso Francia terracotta, walnut burl wood, and pink Bardelli mosaic tiles.
“This apartment is open to future changes based on the owner’s needs,” Czopek says. “In the end, it ultimately merges pragmatism with unrestrained artistic expression.”
