Fashionable and functional flats in tenement buildings

Tenement buildings have become fashionable again. Both the old ones, built over a century ago in the oldest districts of the city, and those built today. Restored and designed according to the latest trends, they make excellent commercial properties as well as private flats. Examples include flats for sale in Katowice – the city centre is now full of tenement renovation projects, in which beautiful, spacious flats are being created. Why is it worth living in a tenement building? Why is it worth opening an office in one? And finally: which decor style suits one especially well today?

As for style, it is best sought among the work of contemporary designers. A good source of inspiration is the competition held in Łódź for the design of a contemporary tenement building based on its archetype – the Łódź rental tenement. In the second half of the 19th century, the tenements there were distinguished by richly decorated façades, and their heyday lasted until the 1930s. This year's competition entries proposed brick elevations, the Art Deco style, strong Art Nouveau influences, and also classicism. The emphasis was on elaborate detail and a combination with the hottest interior trends of recent years – eclecticism and the industrial style of abandoned factories.

Tenement buildings are attractive because they house flats "with soul". This one-of-a-kind atmosphere is created by the stately age of the buildings themselves and the history written into them – of the streets on which they were built, of districts, of whole cities and, of course, of the families who lived in them in turn. From a more practical point of view, tenement buildings are usually excellently located (in the very centre of cities or in districts very well connected to it). The second important advantage of tenement buildings is the size of the flats in them. On average there are 4–5 really large rooms, two bathrooms, high ceilings, big windows and plenty of light… Added to that are often perfectly preserved stucco mouldings and beautifully decorated double-leaf doors. For a classical, slightly palatial apartment (on the one hand) and a Scandinavian interior (on the other), there is probably no better space!

Spacious interiors and location are also the main arguments in favour of tenement buildings… for business owners looking for office premises. A tenement building lets you stand out from hundreds of similar companies squeezed into mass-produced glass office towers. It is also a considerable convenience for the company's clients. Finding a small office among all those identical-looking buildings, dozens of floors and the cubicles on each of them is next to impossible. An office in a tenement building, far from the modern business districts of the city, is unforgettable.