Interview GHL: Do you think that this house should be self-indulgent? Or is it just your hobby that is decadent? DH: This house is not supposed to be an exhibition model house. I like harmony but I don't feel the necessity to own something of a particular brand or from a particular designer or for something to fit all together
29 Living room, 2014. Photography by Natalia and Ernest Dec
perfectly. Home is a place where you simply live and celebrate family life.
work and we were with his hints, so our
capability changed radically. We wanted to
cooperation was nice and smooth.
do this renovation thoroughly and we were afraid we would have to compromise a lot.
GHL: You were the first ones to show how appealing it could be. I hope that when
GHL: But I also think you chose
Thanks to the City subsidy program we
the garden reaches its full potential, the
a contractor who is very much
were granted a reasonable amount money
house will regain its standing and it will
experienced when it comes to
to renovate the exterior and we didn't need
be a complete success.
monument restoration.
to make extra savings elsewhere. When the
DH: We hope so too. We never thought
DH: The cooperation went really well.
house wasn't under the supervision of the
cooperation with the City Historic
We have had a very good experience
Historic Preservation Officer, the renovation
Preservation Officer would cause any
with both the officer and the contractor.
works went in a totally differently direction.
trouble. We've heard that some people are
Of course, the vital element of it all was
For example, take this plinth made of
really dissatisfied with the communication
the design created by the architect, T.
red brick. Each of these bricks has been
and that the Historic Preservation Officer
Boniecki. And we were simply lucky to
manually treated with a special lacquer.
imposes certain requirements on them.
qualify for the subsidy. Buying this house
When you're renovating a house that is not
We had some sort of mutual respect with
we didn't know anything about that, we
a monument you don't really pay attention
the officer who oversaw our construction
were planning unthinkable loans, then the
to this type of detail. We, however, would
site. He was very much content with our
credit crunch kicked in and our financial
need to choose the right colour of bricks
58 WuWA