"Pracownia" is the tenth project of the collection "XII", designed entirely by Karina Wiciak.

The restaurant is called "Pracownia" (which in Polish means "workshop"), because it was designed as a light pastiche of a painter's studio. The most characteristic features of the interior are colourful blobs, because almost the entire interior of the "Papiernia" has been splashed with paint, from floor through furniture to the ceiling. It was not designed to be youth interior in the pop-art style, but to be modern, elegant restaurant. That is why, beyond the blots, the white and silver metal finish dominates.

To the topic of painting studio, some other design elements have been matched.

Structural columns resemble enlarged paint brushes.

Glass, pendant lamps and table tops have a shape of palette.



A bucket (of course a paint bucket) is present both in the design of tables, chairs and pendant lamps. Brush ends (sticking out of a bucket placed in the table) are used instead of the usual candles or table lamps.

Since the whole interior is designed like a painter's studio, also the toilets cannot deviate from the topic. Therefore, the design of compact toilet bowl and sink also uses a form of bucket, and the counter top and mirror are mounted on a large easel.

André Joyau, a Brooklyn based furniture designer and craftsman who has been creating unique and environmentally responsible furniture for the past 25 years. His work reflects the life experiences gained during his youth in rural France on the family farm. André's work is tempered by his sensibility and desire to make good design while allowing the natural and the organic a place in the finished work.

André Joyau Studio specializes in high end furniture, accessories and lighting. André Joyau Studio has developed strong, long term relationships with exclusive top market designers employing flexibility and direction to meet and provide for the specific needs of customers.

André Joyau Studio's mission is to be a dynamically growing and environmentally responsible designer and distributor of high quality furniture, accessories and lighting.



Andre Joyau from Old Machine on Vimeo.

After failed to find an old building with the spirit of the American East Coast, the owner asked the designer Rene Desjardins to build a new house which possessed all the quality of New England style.

The newly build New England Residence is like an American cottages, it favours the light, the views, the landscape, friendly large rooms and wood, but the resemblance ends there. There are no rustic or nostalgic references here, no decorative excesses or accumulations. All the attributes of the bourgeois style have been reinterpreted in a way that could not be more contemporary, proof that minimalism, once mastered, stands beyond time. The villa does, however, give the impression that it has always been there. It is a place with history, where classic elements coexist with artfully crafted lamps, antiques and collectibles, Louis XV wing chairs and 1930s love seats, opulent velvet and rustic linen, Murano glass and plastic… almost as if remnants of generations past had accumulated in a family home.

The interior can be summarized in three words: consistency, flow and flexibility. As hoped, the villa is as appropriate for a dinner for 50 as it is for relaxed weekends among children and grandchildren, or even just a getaway for two. A wide corridor on the ground floor leads to reception areas facing the lake as well as the private wing on the garden side. A symbol of hospitality, the dining room has been placed at its core, facing the vestibule. The villa's considerable volume is nevertheless broken down into distinct spaces by openings – some of which are made theatrical by square panelled columns – that mark movement without introducing visual interruptions. Sliding doors that slip into the walls make it possible to close off or open up private rooms to satisfy many different needs. For personal privacy and freedom, the rooms upstairs have been designed as virtually independent worlds.

The villa is characterized throughout by style and refinement that are stripped of any pretension. Elegant Ipe floors and the occasional Oriental rug add a warm counterpoint to the pure, symmetrical lines. Similarly, white - a colour that is by definition pure - and honey yellow add a certain modernity to the wall panelling, the ceiling casings and the mouldings, creating a particularly peaceful atmosphere. Every element, down to the door handles, was designed and fabricated in accordance with good trade practice.

New England Residence is designed by Rene Desjardins of Gestion René Desjardins.