Design studio GamFratesi has combined natural materials, custom-made furnishings and a muted colour palette for the interior of the Puro Warszawa Stare Miasto hotel in Warsaw, Poland.
Puro Warszawa Stare Miasto is located on Canaletta Street in Warsaw’s Old Town, a historic district and UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its architectural diversity.
While the hotel’s exterior was designed to be in keeping with the fabric of the surrounding area, the studio said its interior is rooted in Scandinavian “simplicity and soft minimalism”.
In the reception area, a dark-wood Danish cabinet serves as the front desk, contrasted against a lighter handmade brick floor topped with a beige rug, sculptural stone table and pendant light suspended above.
The ground floor spaces are arranged as a series of open, interconnected rooms, with the reception leading to a lounge area on one side and a restaurant on the other.
“A key aspect was for us to create a continuous flow from one room to another, emphasised through a series of portal-like doors,” GamFratesi co-founder Enrico Fratesi told Dezeen.
A “tunnel-like” lounge area with a curved ceiling opens out onto an interior courtyard, bringing greenery and natural light into the space.
A long, continuous sofa runs along one side of the room, paired with an assortment of lounge chairs, low stone tables and ceramics.
“We wanted to create something quite unique – an intimate space that would connect the interior with the outdoor courtyard,” said Fratesi. “The curved ceiling enhances this feeling of transition and enclosure.”
Throughout the interior, GamFratesi set out to create timeless, functional spaces, with a material palette drawing heavily on wood, stone and textured fabrics.
“Materiality was one of our most important tools for introducing character into the project,” explained Fratesi. “We chose high-quality, tactile materials that would age gracefully and feel authentic and warm.”
“We focused on materials with deep artisanal roots, with handmade bricks and specially sourced Danish woods carrying stories of craftsmanship and tradition,” Fratesi described.
“Through an interplay of rich materials and architectural order, the hotel gains a unique personality while staying true to Scandinavian principles of harmony and understated elegance.”
Mund, the hotel’s bakery, restaurant and wine bar, is finished with custom-made veneered cabinets, wooden wall and ceiling panels, and a selection of locally sourced artwork.
The studio suggested that the muted, natural tones of the colour palette were intended as a nod to 18th-century Italian artist Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto’s depictions of Warsaw, after whom Canaletta Street is named.
Pieces custom-designed by GamFratesi specifically for the project are paired with designs by iconic Scandinavian brands including Louis Poulsen, &Tradition, Carl Hansen & Son, Gubi, LYFA, Bang & Olufsen, Eikund and Fredericia.
“Our approach combined historical pieces, contemporary design and vintage elements to create a collection that feels authentic,” the studio described.
“We rooted the design in the concept of home – our goal was to create an environment that felt intimate and personal, even though the building itself is new,” Fratesi said.
Upstairs, across the hotel’s 192 guest rooms, travertine and timber headboards feature alongside bathrooms with deep white tubs, travertine vanity niches and gold-framed mirrors.
Standard guest rooms are fitted with desks and integrated storage space, with custom-made pieces including sculpted coffee tables, lounge chairs, wood-framed mirrors and bespoke light fixtures.
Larger rooms and suites were designed to resemble private apartments, with small lounge areas and private terraces.
Elsewhere, the hotel contains a series of conference spaces on the first floor, as well as a gym and dry sauna on the basement level.
Other interiors projects by GamFratesi featured on Dezeen include a restaurant and jazz club in Copenhagen and a glasshouse-inspired cafe in the Philippines.
The photography is by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen.
