KLÁNOVICE Family House
The renovation of this family house in Klánovice, Prague, began as a form of archaeology. Built largely by its owners in the 1980s from whatever materials happened to be available, the house kept revealing new surprises beneath each layer. What it needed, however, was clear: simplify the layout, connect the kitchen, dining room and living room, open the interior towards the garden and bring in more daylight.
First, we simplified the layout
The original living room, dining room and kitchen were separated by walls as well as different floor levels. We opened them into one shared living space, but did not force everything onto a single level. The changes in height now define where one area ends and another begins.
We also removed most of the window parapets on the ground floor and replaced the original windows with full-height French windows. This opened the house towards the garden and brought considerably more daylight inside. Bleached oak, white and shades of grey run throughout the interior. We kept colour mainly for the rooms where it made sense: the children’s bedrooms and bathroom.
We kept the living room three steps lower
The living room sits three steps below the dining area. Instead of trying to eliminate the difference, we used it. The edge of the raised floor became the backrest of a bespoke sofa fitted precisely into the corner.
A wood-burning fireplace continues from the sofa, while a bookcase opposite separates the living room from the study. The dining area remains slightly elevated, overlooking the living room. Quite literally. We clad its rear wall in the same bleached oak boards used on the floor. Since we did not want to add another cabinet or sideboard, the entire wall took over their visual role. Concealed lighting along the edges was enough to finish it.
The kitchen replaced the garage
The kitchen occupies a room originally intended as a garage. Its three small windows were a rather unusual feature for a living space, but perfectly positioned above the worktop. We did not try to disguise them. We designed the entire kitchen around them.
The long white kitchen is connected to a separate pantry, with a tall storage cabinet opposite serving as a sideboard. We clad the island in bleached oak boards that link the kitchen to the flooring and dining area. The same wood frames the two linear lights above it. We concealed the extractor directly in the worktop, leaving nothing above the island except light and an open view.
The back door made way for a study
The house originally had two entrances: one from the street and another from the garden. We removed the second one and added the former corridor to the study. After enlarging the windows, it became one of the brightest rooms in the house – quite a useful quality for a workspace. A single large sliding panel separates the study from both the living room and entrance hall. Depending on its position, it closes either one connection or the other. At some point, a timber floor had been inserted above the staircase. The upper floor now looks down into the study, while daylight enters from several directions.
A bathroom behind smoked glass
We placed the main bedroom beneath the sloping roof in the northern corner of the house. It is entered through a private dressing room and connects directly to a bathroom separated by smoked glass.
Here, American walnut replaces the bleached oak, while a graphic floor breaks up the otherwise restrained white interior. We positioned the freestanding bath directly beside the window. With a view into the treetops, facing a wall would have made very little sense.
Three boys, three taps
The children’s bathroom serves three boys, so we did not design it as a smaller version of an adult bathroom. Instead of several separate basins, it has one long trough with three taps. Everyone has their own place, and nobody needs to queue in the morning.
Yellow arrows cut across the concrete-effect tiles and continue onto the glass partition, furniture and smaller details. Colour also appears in the children’s bedrooms. One has a bunk bed accessed by a staircase built from storage boxes; the other has an upholstered reading nook with its own light. The children’s spaces can be playful without making the rest of the house feel like a nursery.
A renovation, not a cosmetic update
In a house from the 1980s, replacing the finishes and furniture is rarely enough. A family house renovation usually means rethinking the layout, daylight and connection to the garden. And if the original house no longer works at all, it is worth considering whether renovation or a new build makes more sense.
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Petr - 29. 8. 2026