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Completed project · 2025

Zahalka — a modern Scandinavian-style family apartment, Prague-Modřany · 165 m²

A home doesn't start with a layout, but with a feeling. When you ride up to the twelfth floor and step into the apartment, the city stays behind you, and ahead is quiet, soft light and wood. A young family with two children lives here: a space with lots of movement, cooking, sport and kids' activities, yet not a trace of rush. We were looking for the feeling of a hearth — warm, light, orderly — where busy family life flows at its own pace and the everyday routine disappears into the walls.

Area
140 m² · 5+kk
Location
Zahalka, Prague-Modřany
Scope
in-depth redesign of a new build
Year
design approx. 3 months; construction May–October 2025
Style
warm / Scandinavian minimalism
Studio · designer
IDP studio s.r.o.
Alexey Boganov
Built-in furniture · construction
Interior & Wood s.r.o.
Budstroy s.r.o.
Photographer
Alexey Norkin
”

Alexey Boganov / project author

One material set the tone for everything: soft oak without a rustic grain, quiet and even. It runs through the whole apartment — in cladding, slatted panels, furniture and the solid table — and ties the rooms into one whole.

Light matters more here than decoration. The apartment is on the less sunny side, so we worked with light as a material: we layered it, hid it in the ceiling, walls and shelves, and left only its warm presence in sight. We chose not to cover the view of the Vltava and the Modřany recreation area — instead of heavy curtains there is light semi-sheer linen that softens the light but doesn't take away the river.

The brief

The family got an apartment with the developer's standard layout. It didn't let them live the way they wanted: the position of windows and doors limited furniture arrangement, in places there was nowhere to put furniture, and the father, who works from home, had no quiet spot. The family had outgrown their previous home — four of them were already cramped, and the children are growing. We deliberately kept part of the base: the quality parquet fitted the concept. We worked to a real deadline — the family was selling their old apartment at the same time. The younger daughter has allergies, which set special requirements for materials: we gave up large textile surfaces and upholstered wall panels.

The challenge: fit everything a large, active family needs and hide all the everyday routine without losing air and light.

Floor plan of the 5+kk apartment.

Concept

A warm Scandinavian home where everything superfluous is hidden from view, and what stays in sight is light, oak and the river.

Solutions

Layout and zoning

A radical layout change wasn't possible, so we worked point by point: we moved door openings and installed tall concealed doors. We divided the shared living room and kitchen into seating, TV and dining zones and defined them with designer oak slatted panels. A non-functional corridor became a storage system: a full-wall cabinet for the family's sports equipment and a hallway with three built-in, almost invisible wardrobes.

Video tour of the finished apartment.

Materials

Alongside the soft oak, the bathrooms have dark grey Atlas Concorde tiles with a rough tactile texture that brought the previously bland bathrooms to life, and the kitchen has a cream compact worktop: a practical, honest material that is easy to maintain and repair. The furniture décors are Egger Cashmere Grey and anthracite. Every surface was chosen for how it feels to the touch and how it ages.

Hidden technology

Wiring and backlighting are hidden in the walls. We added air conditioning to the developer's heat-recovery ventilation. The bathrooms have concealed taps, storage behind the mirror and wall heating instead of radiators. The technology lowered the ceiling by about 9 cm; instead of expensive plasterboard we found a matte stretch ceiling that imitates paint with an almost invisible plaster texture. The lost height isn't noticeable — what remains is a clean surface with hidden light.

Custom furniture

Built-in furniture makes up about 60–70% of all furnishings; we spent months fine-tuning every wardrobe and every detail with the client and the furniture engineers. The solid dining table was handmade in a Moravian joinery workshop: elegant, extendable, with refined details.

Construction: rough works and built-in furniture installation.
Work in progress
Before and after

How it looked at the start

Drag the round slider or tap the photo to compare.

Result

The developer's standard layout became a light Scandinavian home: all the routine is hidden, everyone has their own zone, there are three renewed bathrooms, and the living room opens onto a view of the river and the city.