"Having a beautiful home is important and it's not about pictures, art or vases. It's about the atmosphere," agree husband and wife team Honza Kořínek and Jan Čtvrtečka
I noticed that (not only) the bedroom is decorated in natural muted colours - mainly brown and green. You also have quite a few plants on your dresser. Is it important for you to feel a bit of nature in the city?
Jan: You know, I hadn't even thought of it before, that it would all be this natural and match these tones? But when you say that, I can see it. Maybe there's something to it!
Honza: We had a period where we loved a lot of colorful things. We used red, green, orange in the interior... We were very colourful. But as we've gotten older, I think our taste has gotten a little bit more refined. (Laughs) Now we're going into more neutral tones that those things are easier to mix and match with.
Jan: Honestly, we had a pretty crazy period where we had Mickey Mouse everywhere. And anything with Mickey Mouse on it, we would get - whether it was for birthdays, Christmas or whatever the occasion was - even as gifts. Our colourful and fun home was pretty much in line with that. But as Honza said, we've changed that and we actually have a simpler style now. We don't have so much stuff anymore, we've put a lot of things away, we've cleaned up and we don't display as much. As we like to say, the "serepettes" are a thing of the past. (laughs)
Honza: But to answer your question about whether the relationship with nature is important to us, we like calm, the colour beige, plants, natural things, natural tones. So yes, the feeling of nature here in the city is important to us. And it's reflected not only in our home, but also in our salon, which is not far from our apartment. There, for example, we have a beautiful cozy garden where there are different bushes, we have raspberries, but also palm trees, olive trees, flowers. Now over the holidays and Christmas, we also have a live tree.
Are colours an essential element in your interior? Do they affect how you feel in the apartment?
Honza: Yes, it definitely does for me and colours do influence me. But fortunately, we have the advantage that my partner and I agree and there is never a problem with what colours we use, what tones we match. We're all for one, we're very lucky in that.
Jan: And I think we agree on a lot of other things as well. When we pick something, only one of us goes in and knows if the other one is going to like it. (Laughs) It's rather quick and practical for us - in the sense that we say the colour, the size, what's important to us - for example, with the sofa, it was to carry both of us and to have higher legs, so that it's easy for us to get up from it. And we're pretty much shooters in the end, because then we order online, without trying it on.
Your "keepsake" retro chest complements the bedroom not just because it's colour matched. It breathes memories. Where did you get it?
Jan: We got this chest from my friend Klara, who was moving to Canada. She was looking for new owners for this beauty and wanted to give it to someone she loved because it was important to her. And when we saw her, it was love at first sight. So we couldn't turn her down.
Honza: But we have to admit that it was very difficult because we carried the box ourselves and it was very heavy. We moved it by car at the last minute, because it was maybe a day or two before my friend needed to hand over the flat.
Jan: I remember that very well. It was really difficult to park in Vinohrady, so it was really hard and she could barely fit in the SUV. I wonder if we could have used some guys to help. Do you remember?
Honza: Yes, that's right, we had, I think, volunteers from the pub helping us! But maybe they didn't even take a beer. (laughs)
You can't help but notice the beautiful pictures of the chandeliers above the bed. Who chose them?
Honza: The illustrations in the bedroom above the bed are by Michal Bačák. He is a Czech illustrator whom we like very much. Our mutual friend, the actress Markéta Stehlíková, introduced us to him.
Jan: This collection took three or four years to put together because the illustrations were brought by Santa Claus. I think maybe one year we agreed and got two. We gave them to each other, but fortunately they weren't the same.
Honza: It was Markéta who very often led us to Czech designers. She follows them herself, she likes them. And I think that she was the one who awakened this passion in us.
But these are not the only paintings in the apartment. What about the living room: what can you tell us about the selection of paintings that are there?
Jan: We have only recently succumbed to paintings. And I admit that they are all by Czech artists, more or less well-known. We have paintings by the son of our friend, the actress Martina Preissová. We like them very much. I have to admit that he is really a great talent!
Honza: My husband and I have agreed that we really enjoy the work of Matúš Preiss, although it is a bit untypical for us, because very few people would expect to see naked female bodies in a household of two men. And you may have noticed that there is room on the wall for another work. But that's yet to come. So we're curious to see what Matthew will come up with and paint for us.
Jan: And the other two striking paintings are by our friend Jarmila Gyöngyösi. Jarmila used to be a hairdresser, but a few years ago she turned to art and exhibited these beautiful paintings abroad - for example in Vienna, where she had great success.
Honza: And let's not forget the beautiful drawings by the actress Iva Hüttner. I received them as a birthday present and they made me very happy. And then we also have drawings by our friend's daughter, the budding artist Sofie Havel. These were commissioned by this young lady because they were originally the label for our gift wine that we gave to clients.
What other accessories by Czech artists are your favourites?
Jan: I personally love the Czech artisan glass from Rückl, for example. I absolutely love it, it's my passion and I just love it.
Honza: He likes it too much. I don't share that passion so much, but I have to admit that they are beautiful pieces, except my husband never has enough, so he's a little bit banned from Rückl (laughs).
One more detail I have to mention: You have a funny and at the same time very tasteful element above the heater - a mantelpiece. How did you come up with the idea to create an artificial fireplace in such a clever way?
Honza: That's thanks to my husband and the designer, my friend and client Lucie Šafářová.
Jan: We knew all along that we wanted to cover the heater in some way. We had an old mantelpiece at home, but it didn't fit our living room anymore. I modified it, cut it to fit the heater. I primed it, and Lucie helped us finish the golden elements. The gilding stood out beautifully and added a touch of pizzazz. Lucie gives a second life to older, quality pieces of furniture and it's a blast.
Changing a light bulb, drilling a shelf or sharpening a knife: who does the maintenance and who does the beautifying? Or is it fair to say that you share all activities exactly 50:50?
Jan: Well, definitely not, we wouldn't get anywhere in some things, would we, love? I think that if you want to give Honza something to do, you can give him a chest of drawers to build. Then we'd see things. (Laughs) The biggest feat is when he helps me unpack the boxes and separate the pieces according to size, but that's where it stops.
Honza: As Honza says, I'm not really a practical person in the sense that I can screw something in, screw something in, or that I can significantly assemble something by myself without help. So I'm more into decorating, moving, arranging, embellishing, but my husband is here to build, screw and assemble. It's just a nice split.
Christmas is coming up, and I know you've been baking cookies. What's going to be good this year and who's king of your kitchen?
Honza: I'm the king of the kitchen these days because I would dare say I'm cooking more. But when it comes to Christmas candy, my husband is definitely the king because he has baked over 30 kg this year.
Jan: That's right. We were baking mainly for the salon clients. We did the classics - vanilla rolls, linzer, whipped cream cookies, and also coconuts that just get dusty. And what's the most popular with us is our "Kořínkovice cupcakes". They're always a real mess.
Honza: A lot of clients ask us for the recipe and we've never given it to them. So maybe this year we'll give it to them.
You have a very beautiful, cozy and loving home! Are you planning any other renovations or additions in the near future?
Honza: That's very kind of you. It's very nice to hear that someone likes our apartment. Having a beautiful home is important and it's not about pictures, art or vases. It's about the atmosphere, because where you spend your time, where you relax, just recharges you. So again, thank you so much for the compliments, we really appreciate it.
Jan: And I'll answer your question. Fortunately, there's no adjustments or tweaks waiting for us at home - it'll be quiet here. But next year, we would like to do a little bit of a "chaperoning" to change the design and space in our hair salon. So it will be a bit of a project for a year or maybe even two ahead. We'll see how fast it goes.
And one tricky question at the end: if you each had to write a medallion - a few sentences - about the other, what would it say?
Jan: If I had to say something about my husband, Honza Kořínek, I would say that he is a man with his heart in the right place. He is fair, honest, loving, caring and dedicated. And not just for me, but for our friends, our family, our employees, and all the people in our neighborhood. So Honza is definitely a big heart, a great person and a partner in life.
Honza: And my Honza is definitely a go-getter, a hard worker, maybe even a little bit of a steady hand. He's definitely fair, but strict. At the same time, he doesn't know the word "no" or that something doesn't work. As our friends say: a quarter can do everything! And always with a smile. Even when something seems impossible, he very often stomps it out of the ground.
