Why Interior Designers Choose Polish Design: A Conversation with Monika Michałowska

When Monika Michałowska left Poland to study and later work as a landscape architect in London, she found herself moving frequently between apartments. Yet no matter how temporary the space, she always managed to make it feel like home. Friends began commenting on it, often asking how each new place could feel so personal so quickly. Looking back, Michałowska sees those years as the beginning of her path toward interior design. Living in Britain also exposed her to a different approach to interiors. The homes she admired felt layered, colorful, collected, and deeply individual.

Returning to Poland, she found a design culture still largely drawn to restraint and neutrality, but over the last decade, she has watched that change dramatically. In many ways, that shift has become one of the defining themes of Design Destination: Poland. Again and again, we encountered interiors and objects that embraced personality, material expression, and a strong sense of authorship. For Michałowska, the most memorable interiors are not built around trends or flawless styling. They are shaped by people, by the objects they choose to live with, and by materials that gather stories as the years pass.

“I design for who my clients are and who they may become, with attention, imagination, and empathy. Not for Instagram or the admiration of others.”

This perspective influences nearly every decision she makes. Rather than treating interiors as finished compositions, she sees them as environments that evolve alongside the people living in them. The objects within a home should support daily life, but they should also contribute something emotional, creating familiarity, comfort, and a sense of continuity over time. This is one reason she is drawn to materials that improve with age rather than resist it. A scratch, a softened edge, a deepening patina: these are not flaws to be avoided but signs of a life being lived. Over time, these layers help create eclectic interiors that feel collected rather than curated, reflecting the experiences, memories, and personalities of those who inhabit them.

“I’m drawn to materials that age beautifully and develop a patina over time. Not objects that remain perfect, spotless, or dictated by trends, but ones that stay alive for decades and quietly carry memories with them.”

For Michałowska, one of the most interesting developments within the Polish design scene is a growing sense of confidence. During our conversation, she repeatedly returned to the idea that the strongest interiors and objects tend to emerge when designers trust their own instincts rather than external expectations. It is a perspective that feels closely aligned with many of the themes that surfaced throughout Design Destination: Poland. Across disciplines, we encountered work that felt increasingly personal, expressive, and eclectic, with designers drawing from a diverse range of influences while remaining comfortable pursuing their own direction.

“I think Polish design is becoming increasingly confident because it no longer feels the need to imitate anyone else.”

Michałowska is also careful not to romanticize the scene. In her view, much of its strength comes from something quite simple: many Polish designers begin with a personal fascination, a material, a process, or an idea they genuinely care about, and build from there. Often, there isn’t a grand business plan behind it. There is simply someone making something they believe in.

That quality is visible in the studios she returns to most often. Pani Jurek STUDIO remains one of her longstanding favorites. She admires the consistency of the studio’s work and the way each new collection continues to feel inventive while remaining unmistakably its own.

“My love for Pani Jurek also hasn’t faded with time. Both her earlier works and the newest collections continue to amaze me.”

That same balance between continuity and reinvention is something she admires in Vintola Studio. What draws her in is not nostalgia, but the studio’s ability to revisit historical Polish furniture forms and allow them to continue evolving. Through new materials, textiles, and proportions, familiar references take on an entirely contemporary life.

Textiles play a similar role in her appreciation of Tartaruga Studio. Their woven kilims transform memories, journeys, colors, and landscapes into objects that feel personal without becoming sentimental. They carry stories while remaining fully grounded in contemporary interiors.

“I think that generally Polish scene of design is blooming. It’s not difficult to find wonderful objects to, put into any interior design”

Taken together, these choices reveal something consistent about her approach. She gravitates toward objects with strong identities, pieces that contribute character rather than simply filling space. They do not exist to impress visitors or photograph well online. They help create homes that feel lived in, personal, and unmistakably human.

For Michałowska, a successful interior is not one that remains frozen in time. It is one people continue growing into. In many ways, that same philosophy runs through the contemporary Polish design scene itself, a growing comfort with personality, material honesty, and objects that become more meaningful through time rather than less.