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Picture: Images by Hanna Połczyńska
Okay associates, buckle up — as a result of at present’s residence tour is a type of “wait, that is solely 650 sq. toes?!” moments. Designed by Ela Sawicka of EM2, this compact house in Gdańsk’s Wrzeszcz district proves that small doesn’t imply easy. It’s cozy, elevated, and filled with these why-didn’t-I-think-of-that? design selections that make your jaw drop and your Pinterest board explode.
This isn’t simply one other minimalist flat. It’s a masterclass in circulate, craftsmanship, and how you can make 650 sq ft really feel like a boutique lodge suite — with out shedding heat or character.
A Heat Welcome: Historical past with a Fashionable Coronary heart


Picture: Images by Hanna Połczyńska
This house sits inside a historic tenement constructing — tall ceilings, old-world proportions, and a great deal of character — however the structure was dated and uneven. Enter Ela Sawicka, who determined to maintain the constructing’s soul however give it a contemporary, modern rhythm.
Her method? Steadiness, circulate, and performance. She stripped away muddle, refined the colour palette, and launched pure supplies — birch veneer, quartzite stone, and comfortable sage greens — to create one thing that feels timeless but fully fashionable.
The result’s a house that breathes. Each floor feels linked to the subsequent. The dwelling space flows into the kitchen, the kitchen into the tub, all by repeated patterns and supplies that give this house a relaxed, cohesive heartbeat.
The Curved Kitchen: A Masterclass in Customized Design


Picture: Images by Hanna Połczyńska
Let’s discuss concerning the showstopper — that curved kitchen.That is the place Ela and her group at EM2 flexed their craftsmanship muscle groups. The cabinetry is completely custom-made, wrapped in wealthy, heat birch veneer that bends gently across the kitchen’s core. There aren’t any exhausting edges right here — simply easy, architectural curves that make the wooden really feel sculpted slightly than constructed.
The curved panels conceal home equipment, add hidden storage, and soften the geometry of the checkerboard flooring, which runs seamlessly all through the house. It’s a superb visible trick — these rounded corners make the slim galley kitchen really feel much less confined, extra natural, nearly like a bit of built-in furnishings slightly than cabinetry.


Picture: Images by Hanna Połczyńska


Picture: Images by Hanna Połczyńska
Then there’s the stainless steel vary hood, smooth and reflective, anchoring the house with a bit of business glam. Overhead, minimalist pendant lights grasp like jewellery, giving simply the suitable sparkle with out overwhelming the room.
And since that is Ela’s work, the craftsmanship continues into the toilet, the place the wall hiding the bathroom’s cistern can be wrapped in curved wooden, echoing the identical materials and form language because the kitchen. It’s that form of element that makes a small residence really feel cohesive, intentional, and quietly luxurious.
The Checkerboard Comeback


Picture: Images by Hanna Połczyńska
Talking of flooring — can we give a spherical of applause for the checkerboard tile?Black-and-white would possibly sound traditional (and it’s), however right here it’s reinvented in muted inexperienced tones that play completely with the nice and cozy wooden. The identical tile sample seems in each the kitchen and the toilet, connecting the areas visually and giving all the house rhythm.
Checkerboard flooring is formally again, however on this mission it’s refined, grown-up, and completely timeless. It grounds the heat of the wooden whereas including a graphic punch that retains the house energetic.
The Rest room: Curves, Cohesion, and Quiet Luxurious


Picture: Images by Hanna Połczyńska
The lavatory is tiny however mighty. Similar to the kitchen, it’s wrapped in repeating particulars that make it really feel {custom} and intentional. The checkerboard tile continues right here, assembly wealthy inexperienced vertical wall tiles that make the house really feel taller.
That curved wooden panel concealing the bathroom’s cistern? It’s the form of small-space genius that brings instantaneous heat to what may in any other case be a chilly, purposeful room. The countertop — the identical quartzite because the kitchen — ties every little thing collectively.


Picture: Images by Hanna Połczyńska
Lighting is comfortable and flattering (as a result of sure, all of us need that morning glow), and the minimalist pendant provides simply the suitable dose of sophistication.
What You Can Steal for Your Personal Residence
You don’t have to dwell in Gdańsk to take notes from this mission. Listed here are 4 concepts value stealing:
Repeat supplies.Utilizing the identical wooden, stone, and tile all through creates instantaneous cohesion. Your house feels larger and calmer.
Lose the exhausting corners.Curved edges in cabinetry or furnishings soften transitions and make even tiny rooms really feel extra natural.
Maintain the palette restrained.Ela’s mixture of wooden, inexperienced, and impartial tones proves that simplicity can nonetheless be layered and wealthy.
Play with sample.Checkerboard tiles are having a second for a motive — they add motion and nostalgia in a single shot.
The Soul of the Area
What makes this house stand out is how intentional it feels. Nothing shouts. Nothing is “fashionable for now.” As an alternative, each element — from the curve of the wooden to the peak of the tile — feels quietly assured.
It’s an area designed to not impress at first look, however to develop on you. Each time you look, you discover one other considerate alternative. And that’s what nice design actually is — not simply magnificence, however readability.
For extra small house inside design concepts, take a look at:
Remaining Ideas
EM2 turned this 650-square-foot house right into a dwelling, respiratory instance of how {custom} design can fully remodel a small residence. It’s good, soulful, and superbly made — a reminder that cohesion beats muddle each single time.
In case your house feels small or boxy, steal a web page from Ela’s playbook: repeat your supplies, embrace curves, and don’t underestimate the facility of a flooring that tells a narrative.
As a result of when design feels this intentional, dimension really doesn’t matter.
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