Moving to their dream home in Rzeszow, a large city in southeast Poland, AMITY social media agency owner Kamila Banajska-Socha and her husband Karol wanted to give their modern house a unique personality that would reflect their laid back approach to life.
We asked her about the design of their multi-functional living room and how relocating to be closer to family has transformed their lives.
Hi Kamila! We love the serenity of your home, can you tell us how you came to be here?
Thank you, I’m happy you like our space. We’d been living in a small apartment in Cracow for ten years but wanted to be closer to our families over 100 miles away.
So we were delighted to find this modern duplex house with large windows that let natural sunlight flood in and a small garden which has become our private paradise. Here we have a much bigger space to live and relax and we love being able to welcome all our friends and family.
How would you describe your style?
Our home is a modern build and this sits well with our taste in contemporary minimalism mixed with vintage details and natural surfaces. We both work in the interior design and architecture industry and each have our own specific vision of what our dream home should look like. Sometimes, like with our open plan living room, we even agree which is fortunate!
What were your goals for your kitchen and living room project and where did you find your inspiration?
For us, this space is the heart of our home so we spent quite a lot of time considering how we wanted this room to look and discussing lots of ideas.
The foundation of our style is calming neutral colours with natural elements that bring the outside indoors. We wanted to retain the open light-filled feel of this room so that it would be a welcoming sociable space but also feel restful.
Canadian Urban Oak from our Van Gogh rigid core collection (also in a gluedown format).
Your kitchen makes a bold yet understated statement. Tell us about how you designed this area.
I love to cook and bake so I’ve always dreamt of having a large kitchen. We’ve allocated quite a lot of space to the kitchen area and incorporated lots of storage but by choosing sleek handleless cupboards, the units fade into the background.
My favourite part is the island with its tubular extraction fan and waterfall marble surface. We placed a panel of the same marble on the wall to form a visual connection and matched its background colour for the base units.
And how have you connected this to the living areas?
In the dining and sitting areas, we continued the theme of straight lines with circular features to add interest then introduced other neutral shades with the soft furnishings such as the taupe curtains and grey sofas. The onyx panel behind the tv also links this end of the room to the kitchen and we love how the veining of the stone adds another natural aspect.
You’ve chosen Canadian Urban Oak from our Van Gogh range. How has the flooring helped bring all the design elements together?
We were looking for a floor that looked super natural but also would be really hard wearing for daily use, especially as our cat Elżi can be temperamental. We loved how the soft warm tones of Canadian Urban Oak sit perfectly alongside our cool colour palette while the realistic wood design creates a comforting natural elegance. The click-locking installation also meant that a large expanse of flooring could be fitted surprisingly quickly with little upheaval.
The floor has given the whole space a harmonious feel. We spend a lot of time in this room so we wanted every ingredient to be phenomenal and just perfect. It’s a great place to entertain friends and family, especially at weekends and holidays. The end result gives us joy every day!
Thank you so much to Kamila for taking the time to talk to us about her beautiful home. You can follow her story on Instagram @amilaak.
