Shots by Stefan Radtke
A partner-spouse staff transform an aged stone dwelling into a haven that includes a European minimalist style with a rustic twist.
Ewa Sleszynski and her partner, Tomasz, fulfilled in 2003, after coming to the United States from Poland. They had been living in a smaller Brooklyn apartment with two young little ones when they resolved it was time for a improve. “With my background as a vogue and brand specialist, and my husband owning his very own construction small business,” Sleszynski suggests, “we have been fired up to ultimately function on a project with each other — our quite have dwelling.”
The household place involves an Eames ottoman and lounge chair as effectively as a signature lamp from Denq by Oluce, produced by renowned Japanese designer Toshiyuki Kita, in the form of a big light-weight bulb. The antique wood table echoes the coloration of the pine beams in the ceiling.
After a very long search in Westchester, the couple identified a 7,000-sq.-foot stone property in Croton-on-Hudson. Built in 1959, the home was positioned on more than an acre of land, with a non-public pond in the yard and a gate major to trails for climbing and mountain biking. The Sleszynskis bought the dwelling in 2014 and spent six months remodeling the inside. “Combining my fashionable European aesthetic with a trace of vintage charm and the natural splendor of the Lessen Hudson Valley, we’ve made this unique room.”
Ewa and Tomasz Sleszynski with their small children, Stefania and Bernard, and dog, Coco
Sleszynski suggests that irrespective of the entire inside reno, she and Tomasz resolved to keep selected aspects that capture the home’s first spirit. For instance, the dwelling was dark inside and highlighted sections of brown-brick partitions that ran through. “In get to lighten up the room, we experienced all the bricks hand-painted white by rubbing the paint on with a fabric. We didn’t want to protect the glimpse of the bricks, so we had to go extremely gently,” she suggests. They also kept the rough-hewn pine beams in the family-place ceiling and on the bases of the windowsills all over the property but had the darkish paint sanded off to return the beams to their normal mild shade.
To more brighten the inside, the Sleszynskis tackled the Brazilian cherry floors, which ended up stained dim brown when they bought the residence. “What we did was sand the floors and put on two coats of drinking water-based light-weight-gray paint protected with a double layer of matte sealer. It’s a quite fragile floor and quite easy to scratch, but the nicks and scuffs just insert to the rustic factor of the household,” she claims.
Though her partner centered on overseeing the construction, Sleszynski concentrated on the interior design. “Basically, I get most of my inspiration from my travels to Europe,” she suggests.
Several of the structure choices in the property have been the end result of Sleszynski’s queries on furniture internet sites, like 1stDibs.com, and lights web sites, this sort of as YLighting.com and Flos.com. She also shopped in stores these kinds of as Duplex Structure and Moonlight Woodworking in Brooklyn, as nicely as the now-defunct ABC Carpet & Property warehouse outlet in the Bronx. Sleszynski claims, “Not anything has to be superior-conclude present day structure. I like to obtain vintage and antique furnishings and mix them together.”
The entrance door of the Croton-on-Hudson house opens onto a lobby with hand-painted ceramic tiles imported from Mexico and a grand staircase leading to the most important living place.
Bordering the Croton-on-Hudson home’s kitchen area desk are six assorted white chairs, really European and minimalistic in styling, all ordered at the now-defunct ABC Carpet and House warehouse outlet in the Bronx. The Signal Grande pendant light, by Tech Lighting, hangs previously mentioned the desk, and in the corner is a attractive floor lamp, referred to as the Toio Ground Torchiere, developed by brothers Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1962 for FLOS.
In the kitchen and relaxation of the 2nd-floor dwelling area, rows of brown bricks ended up brightened up with white paint, even though the darkish cherrywood flooring were sanded down and protected in mild-grey, water-centered paint for the Croton-on-Hudson residence.
This vintage Eames chair and ottoman are upholstered in black leather-based and framed in walnut.
The home’s family home, kitchen, and eating home are all positioned on the 2nd ground, and Sleszynski enjoys how they join in an open up-space approach. “I have always appreciated extremely gentle spaces, for the reason that they are relaxing to me. I’m not into coloration I like a extremely minimalistic palette,” she states. “Even nevertheless this area has three skylights and definitely large home windows, it doesn’t get rid of as considerably light as you would think. It needs a pure glance with brightness. I realized we genuinely required to go with white partitions due to the fact they have been likely to make the area look incredibly open up and airy.”
Sleszynski determined to fill the rooms with furnishings in different shades of white, gray, black, and brown, alongside with exclusive, European, modern-day, lighting decor. A single of the highlights in the family home is the black-leather-based-and-walnut Eames lounge chair and ottoman, definitely just one of the most iconic midcentury-fashionable home furnishings styles. Sleszynski also included a dark-grey couch from Rove Ideas and a grey, wool-mix rug she got at a thrift shop. A vintage oak espresso table provides a rustic contact and echoes the shade of the pine beams in the ceiling. Completing the residing room’s significant-layout factors is a signature lamp from Denq by Oluce, developed by renowned Japanese designer Toshiyuki Kita, in the shape of a giant gentle bulb.
A stack of journals and a yard plant cutting relaxation on cabinets created higher than a workspace market the Sleszynskis designed in the hallway top to the primary suite.
The dwelling area flows into the dining space, exactly where the Sleszynskis have a stunning table developed by a friend from reclaimed chestnut-wooden planks left above at a building web-site. Six diverse white chairs, every pretty European and minimalist in design and style, encompass the table. There is also a beautiful industrial-stylish flooring lamp complemented by a trio of outsized lights pendants, which hang from the ceiling and incorporate intercontinental modern day style features to the residing house. Completing the eating location is a classic mirror, that includes black places and scratches, to insert character, and a comprehensive metal end, which Sleszynski discovered at a flea market place.
The kitchen table was produced from reclaimed chestnut wooden planks remaining in excess of at a development internet site for a exceptional addition to the Croton-on-Hudson house.
Also showcased in this open ground system is the Sleszynskis’ remodeled kitchen area. The pair tore down cabinetry that was partly blocking the home windows and protecting against the normal light-weight from entering. “Those windows now offer a wonderful perspective in the wintertime of the close by Croton Reservoir and the house’s lush, eco-friendly gardens in the summer time,” claims Sleszynski.
Old cabinetry was eradicated from in front of the kitchen home windows, to bring sunshine into the space, which was even further brightened by custom made-manufactured, glossy-white cabinetry and Bosch stainless-steel appliances.
The kitchen features stainless-metal appliances by Bosch, when the sleek personalized cupboards have a large-gloss white paint on the wooden. Complementing the kitchen’s fashionable European things is a rustic bench Sleszynski identified at a garage sale. A unique component of the kitchen are the floors, which are included with a Moroccan plaster end in grey named Tadelakt. “It’s really uncomplicated to apply and to clean, and it’s also very versatile if you fall a thing, it is not going to break,” Sleszynski states. “Now that the house has settled, you can see the cracks in the substance, but it all appears to be like wonderful.” (They also made use of Tadelakt on the ground and walls of the adjacent powder home.)
Off to the aspect of the broad dwelling room are the two children’s bedrooms there is also a lengthy hallway, with an all-white minimalist workspace (with a chair and a few shelves) and rows of home windows paired with mild-coloured oak benches.
The Sleszynskis developed this hallway workspace market, which is great for performing on a laptop, executing homework, or looking at a book.
A light-coloured oak bench, manufactured from reclaimed wood, is perched below a hallway window and offers the ideal spot for a splash of greenery in the Croton-on-Hudson residence.
At the finish of the corridor is the key bed room, a bright and ethereal space that has a incredibly calm truly feel. In a departure from the relaxation of the dwelling, Sleszynski painted the substantial wall behind the mattress a darkish shade of blue. “This is a big space, and if I were being to preserve it white, it would not have a cozy truly feel,” she states. Also warming up the space is a wood-burning hearth, as nicely as a pair of modern day European lighting fixtures showcasing an sophisticated gold stem and hanging bulb, one on each and every facet of the mattress. Lovely lacquered-oak espresso tables by Muuto serve as nightstands. Off on the significantly facet of the bedroom is a vintage sofa Sleszynski bought from a good friend of hers and reupholstered in navy-blue velvet.
The most important suite in the Croton-on-Hudson dwelling is spacious and ethereal, with a astonishing addition of coloration in the type of a dim-blue wall powering the mattress.
Higher than the vintage couch is a minimalist painting by Polish artist Edyta Kowalewska, which Ewa bought from a friend who owns an artwork gallery in Poland.
The key lavatory carries the identical style and design plan as the rest of the dwelling. The all-white plumbing fixtures are from the German-based Duravit, together with the sophisticated and streamline oval bathtub in the center of the home, as properly as the double sinks and toilet. “They all have a very sleek and present day search that I enjoy,” Sleszynski states. In addition, the twin lights hanging about the tub are tremendous-minimalistic and contemporary, dangling down on wires with creative, twisted bulbs.
The soaking tub by Duravit has a verdant backyard see.
A vintage picket bench is the suitable spot for tub towels and some colourful plantings in this Croton-on-Hudson property.
Seeking for a way to heat up the space, Sleszynski included some crops and held the rough-hewn wood beam on the bottom of the windowsill, as well as a classic picket bench, wherever she retains her towels. “I take pleasure in it so much due to the fact you can take a tub and actually chill out and stare out our big window, which has a gorgeous check out of the yard. It is like a spa,” she states.
During the home, Sleszynski brought in vegetation to insert a touch of color and everyday living. There are a number of vases loaded with sprigs of tree branches and stunning blooms. “I appreciate to deliver in all sorts of plant cuttings from our yard,” she states. “I under no circumstances definitely buy flowers I just deliver what ever nature is about us in the gardens and the woods.”
