The kitchen of P81 House photographed from the entrance, its circular Strzegom granite island and suspended linen canopy emerging from a corridor of floor-length white curtains. The dramatically patinated plaster wall beyond — ochre, terracotta, and ash layered over decades — reads almost like a fresco, softening the precision of the stainless steel cabinetry below.

Wiercinski Studio's Thoughtful Restoration of a 1930s Villa in Poznań

Words by Yatzer

Poznań, Poland

Renovating a historic house is, at its core, an act of negotiation between the impulse to preserve everything and the temptation to start fresh. The most assured restorations tend to be those that resist both extremes: buildings where the new work is confident enough to stand alongside the old without either apologising or overpowering it. P81 House, a 1932 villa in Poznań's Grunwald district restored by Adam Wierciński of Wiercinski Studio, is precisely this kind of project, balancing pre-war details and industrial interventions in an ode to Polish craftsmanship.

Adam Wierciński, the designer behind P81 House, seated on one of his custom-designed solid oak stools in the living area of the restored Poznań villa. The warm, sun-diffused interior — aged timber floors, linen curtains, a PH pendant glimpsed in the dining room beyond — frames its creator with quiet authority.

Adam Wierciński. Photography by ONI Studio.

The kitchen island at P81 House in its full context: a circular Strzegom granite top ringed by brushed steel bar stools, set against stainless steel cabinetry and a vast, paint-layered plaster wall glowing with warm, oxidised colour. A suspended linen canopy above defines the zone with soft domesticity, while an exposed duct and live-edge oak post ground the composition in raw materiality.

Photography by ONI Studio.

The street facade of P81 House in Poznań's Grunwald district photographed in early morning light. The 1932 brick villa's classical proportions — symmetrical window arrangement, decorative cornice, pitched terracotta roof with central dormer — are faithfully preserved, while a new board-formed concrete boundary wall below signals the contemporary sensibility that awaits inside.

Photography by ONI Studio.

The renovation's conceptual direction was set during the very early stages of demolition, when owners Karolina and Mariusz stripped back layers of accumulated plaster to find the original brickwork underneath. Rather than replastering over it, they took the discovery as a cue, preserving characterful heritage features like decorative cornices and aged timber floors in their weathered state. Where that was not possible, as was the case with the window frames, replicas were made. In contrast, when it came to inserting new elements, Wierciński espoused an unapologetically modern language of industrial candour.

The most striking of these is visible from the garden, where the staircase volume has been reclad in corrugated aluminium sheeting. Against the house's warm red brick and classical proportions, it makes for a bold gesture, giving this corner of the house a quietly dynamic presence as the aluminium catches the light. The garden itself was conceived as a semi-wild sanctuary, where native perennials and meadow grasses are punctuated by galvanised steel lanterns, rainwater collection tanks, and a square-patterned gate, all carrying the same industrial vocabulary.

A closer garden view of P81 House focuses on the corrugated aluminium staircase volume, its vertical ribbing and pale silvery surface set in sharp relief against the aged red brick on either side. A mature tree leans into the frame, its bark texture rhyming with the rough masonry behind. The dark garden entrance door below anchors the composition with quiet weight.

Photography by ONI Studio.

  • The garden elevation of P81 House at dusk, the corrugated aluminium cladding of the staircase volume glowing softly between the original red brick flanks. A mature walnut tree in the foreground partially screens the facade, its canopy threading through the composition. Custom galvanised steel lanterns punctuate the semi-wild garden below, the warm lit interior visible through green-framed windows.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • The meeting point of old and new at P81 House: corrugated aluminium cladding abuts the original brick facade at the garden elevation, the join between the two materials as deliberate as a seam. A galvanised steel rainwater collection tank fed by a downpipe sits among hostas and native ground cover, the custom lantern post above carrying the same industrial vocabulary into the landscape.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • A wall-mounted custom steel shelf bracket supports a small round surface against the exposed brick facade of P81 House, bearing a glass vase of garden-gathered wildflowers and grasses. The late sun warms the pale brick behind, while feathery ornamental grass plumes lean into the frame — a moment of unforced domesticity where architecture and garden briefly overlap.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • The garden entrance of P81 House at dusk, where concrete steps lead to a green-framed door set into the original brick facade, flanked by the corrugated aluminium cladding. Large terracotta pots of ornamental grasses frame the threshold, a custom bespoke oak stool sits to one side, and the warm amber interior glows invitingly through the open door.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • A gravel path winds between the brick flank of P81 House and a lush, densely planted border of ferns, ornamental grasses, and shrubs. At its end, a galvanised steel mesh panel set into the board-formed concrete boundary wall provides a glimpse of the vegetation beyond — a quietly poetic detail that blurs the boundary between enclosure and garden

    Photography by ONI Studio.

The open-plan ground floor of P81 House reveals the layered logic of Wiercinski Studio's restoration approach. A preserved timber door frame with amber-tinted transom glass marks the threshold between spaces, while a voluptuous chocolate-leather modular sofa, a cobalt-blue side table, and abundant tropical plants animate the pale, light-filled room. Industrial and domestic sensibilities coexist with unstudied ease.

Photography by ONI Studio.

  • A framed view through the original timber door surround at P81 House captures the project's material conversation in a single shot: rough-sawn pine, amber patterned transom glass, a dark vertical radiator, and raw plastered walls beyond. The green-painted steel beam overhead and the layered flooring — wood giving way to concrete — mark each era of the building's life with deliberate honesty.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • A birch-ply panel frames a view through to the WC at P81 House, where a large expressionist canvas hangs beyond a raw masonry arch — an arresting juxtaposition of rough plaster, pale timber, and vivid figurative painting. The deliberately exposed ceiling junction and a diminutive shelf with a sprig of foliage capture the project's appetite for honest, unresolved detail.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • The guest WC at P81 House distils the project's material language into a compact space. A custom Strzegom granite washbasin on a brushed steel pedestal sits framed by rough white-painted brick on one side and pale birch ply on the other. An olive-painted steel shelf bracket above and wall-mounted tap fittings complete an ensemble that is both utilitarian and considered.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

A custom circular plant island — a steel-legged plinth densely colonised by tropical specimens in terracotta pots — anchors the corner where a partition wall once stood in P81 House. Above it, a red neon arc traces the ghost of that former boundary. White-painted exposed brick and an hourglass-profile oak stool complete a scene that is emphatically alive.

Photography by ONI Studio.

Inside, the ground floor was reconfigured for contemporary open-plan living by removing a central partition wall, replaced with an exposed steel beam that now acts as a visible structural statement overhead. Where the wall once stood, a red neon installation arcs between rooms, accompanied by a circular plant island below that serves as both spatial marker and the home's most exuberant gesture. Concrete infills in the flooring quietly map the villa's previous incarnation as a multi-apartment building, a subtle record of its former self that rewards the curious.

The kitchen is among the project's most distinctive spaces. A circular granite-topped steel island sits beneath a suspended linen canopy, backed by matching stainless steel cabinetry and a dramatically patinated plaster wall that glows amber in afternoon light. Strzegom granite, a regional Polish stone not typically associated with domestic interiors, recurs throughout the house, from the kitchen island to bathroom surfaces and custom washbasins, giving the project a consistent material identity rooted in place

A detail from the dining area of P81 House: a white-framed console with a reinforced glass top holds an Atollo lamp — its domed opal glass shade a midcentury icon — alongside a curated stack of design books. A monstera leaf encroaches from the left, and white-painted brick provides a pleasingly rough backdrop to the polished objects in the foreground.

Photography by ONI Studio.

A large-scale figurative painting dominates the dining area of P81 House, its raw expressionist energy playing off the white-painted brick wall behind it. Midcentury-inflected dining chairs in warm walnut, a custom oak table, a white open console with an Atollo lamp, and a PH pendant overhead complete an eclectic, collector's interior where art and craft hold equal weight.

Photography by ONI Studio.

A full-width view of the dining room at P81 House, where the custom oak table and its midcentury chairs are anchored by a jute rug and flanked by sheer linen curtains diffusing late light. Two PH pendants descend symmetrically above, while a geometric wall sconce and a large figurative painting to the left add layers of considered visual interest.

Photography by ONI Studio.

The dining area of P81 House seen from close range, with the custom oak table's hourglass-turned legs in full view. A large expressionist canvas fills the white-painted brick wall behind, its raucous energy offset by the restrained warmth of the midcentury dining chairs, PH pendants overhead, and a loose arrangement of wildflowers on the table.

Photography by ONI Studio.

The kitchen of P81 House photographed from the entrance, its circular Strzegom granite island and suspended linen canopy emerging from a corridor of floor-length white curtains. The dramatically patinated plaster wall beyond — ochre, terracotta, and ash layered over decades — reads almost like a fresco, softening the precision of the stainless steel cabinetry below.

Photography by ONI Studio.

The kitchen of P81 House at golden hour, the patinated plaster wall ablaze in amber and rust as late sunlight casts window shadows across its surface. The circular Strzegom granite island and brushed stainless cabinetry glow warmly below, while the suspended linen canopy catches the light from above — a scene that oscillates between kitchen and abstract painting.

Photography by ONI Studio.

A close study of the kitchen island at P81 House in warm late-afternoon light. The circular Strzegom granite top, its steel footring, and the brushed metal bar stools read as a single composed object against the glowing patinated plaster wall beyond. The built-in wine cooler recessed into the island base is a characteristically considered functional detail.

Photography by ONI Studio.

A close view of the kitchen's working wall at P81 House reveals the textural richness at the heart of the project. Brushed stainless steel cabinetry and worktops gleam against a heavily patinated plaster wall in warm ochre and rose tones. A custom steel wall panel with cut-out geometric motif adds a sculptural accent, while the edge of the Strzegom granite island anchors the foreground.

Photography by ONI Studio.

A custom bespoke oak cabinet unit by Wiercinski Studio occupies the kitchen wall at P81 House, its knotted grain and warm honey tones contrasting with the exposed green steel beam above and the stainless steel island edge in the foreground. Open upper shelves display a black ceramic head, a cast-iron teapot, and books, while mirrored insets add unexpected depth.

Photography by ONI Studio.

A detail shot of the custom oak cabinet unit at P81 House, its knotted grain shelves displaying an abstract welded steel sculpture alongside a black wire-frame object and a carefully edited row of design books — Aalto in Detail and Living in Japan among them. The interplay of raw oak, oxidised metal, and printed spines speaks to the considered eclecticism running throughout the house.

Photography by ONI Studio.

That commitment to local craft carries through to the furniture, which includes numerous pieces custom-designed by Wierciński in raw steel, solid oak, and reinforced glass that straddle the artisanal and the industrial. In the living room, a minimalist steel console sits below slim shelving made from perforated cable trays, alongside solid oak stools and a voluptuous vintage modular sofa in chocolate-hued leather. In the adjacent dining area, the oak dining table's hourglass-shaped legs echo the restored staircase balusters, subtly threading a formal motif between periods.

P81 House took three years to complete, a duration that speaks less to complexity than to the kind of attentiveness this sort of restoration demands. Decisions were weighed carefully, materials sourced close to home, details resolved by hand. The building wears its history and its renovation in equal measure, and feels richer for the combination.

  • A vignette from the living room of P81 House capturing its collector's sensibility: perforated cable-tray shelving holds leaning framed drawings and a piece of driftwood, while below, a low steel unit houses a turntable flanked by spherical pedestal speakers. Warm afternoon light rakes across pine floorboards, lending the industrial arrangement an unexpectedly intimate atmosphere.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • A turntable with a vinyl record mid-play sits atop the custom steel media unit in the living room of P81 House, accompanied by a single lit candle in a low ceramic holder and a rough-hewn timber offcut used as a bookend. Art and design books on the shelf below ground the vignette in the owners' particular sensibility.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

The original 1932 staircase, its balusters carved with a distinctive hourglass profile, is one of P81 House's most telling details. Dark-stained timber treads contrast with grey ceramic tile cladding along the stringer wall, while dappled natural light enters from a green-framed window above. An amber acrylic object at the base injects an unexpected contemporary note.

Photography by ONI Studio.

The living room of P81 House balances industrial restraint with biophilic warmth. Perforated cable-tray shelving holds leaning framed drawings; a low steel unit supports a turntable and spherical speakers. Weathered pine floorboards, linen curtains, and a generous arched garden door in sage green draw the semi-wild exterior firmly into the composition.

Photography by ONI Studio.

  • The bedroom of P81 House achieves a rare quality of stillness. A custom solid oak platform bed dressed in rumpled linen occupies the centre, flanked by a pair of Tolomeo wall lamps in brushed aluminium. Warm light filters through linen curtains onto bare plaster walls, creating a tonally unified space that prioritises texture and repose above all else.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • The bathroom vanity unit at P81 House seen from the side, framed by a solid oak door surround and a green-painted window overlooking the garden. The custom Strzegom granite basin, oak drawer cabinet, and brushed steel frame are brought into relief by soft natural light, a white ceramic jug on the granite windowsill adding an unassuming domestic note.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • A macro study of the custom Strzegom granite washbasin at P81 House, its speckled grey-and-black surface honed to a smooth finish with a subtly raised soap ledge cut directly into the stone. A wall-mounted brushed steel tap and partial oak cabinet edge below underscore the precision of Adam Wierciński's material thinking at the smallest scale.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • One of P81 House's most accomplished custom pieces: a double washbasin unit combining a deep Strzegom granite trough, solid oak drawer cabinet, and brushed steel frame. Paired with two wall-mounted mirrors on steel pins and flanking cylindrical sconces, the composition is at once functional and quietly sculptural, the three materials in precise, unhurried balance.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

  • A solid oak bathroom stool sits against the Strzegom granite shower wall at P81 House, its warm honey tones and natural fissures catching a shaft of raking light. The contrast of smooth, mineral-dense stone and the stool's raw, split-grain timber surface makes for an image of quiet material poetry — the kind of detail that reveals itself slowly.

    Photography by ONI Studio.

A detail of the P81 House street boundary in raking afternoon light: the board-formed concrete wall, a custom galvanised steel mesh gate, and a slender bespoke lantern post with cylindrical shade — all designed by Wiercinski Studio — read as a miniature study in the project's industrial vocabulary. Behind, the original brick facade and a green-framed arched window complete the layered composition.

Photography by ONI Studio.

P81 House at dusk, the warm glow of the interior visible through the ground-floor arched windows and sage-green door frames. The villa's pre-war brick facade, hipped terracotta roof, and restored classical detailing are rendered in cool blue twilight, the concrete boundary wall and galvanised steel gate in the foreground reading as a composed threshold between street and sanctuary.

Photography by ONI Studio.

Wiercinski Studio's Thoughtful Restoration of a 1930s Villa in Poznań