Smetanaq House – Czech Republic
The Smetanaq house at 4 Smetanovo nábřeží is a place where people with a shared interest in art, culture and design come together. Its three floors are home to the Smetanaq Gallery as well as studios of young designers on the second floor called ‘Bottega’ after the Italian model. In addition there is the Deelive Design Store (which offers the work of some of the best Czech fashion and interior designers) and Smetanaq Cafe & Bistro on the first floor, serving quality coffee and appetizing desserts. It’s an excellent place for breakfast or to simply spend an afternoon enjoying one of the most beautiful views of the Vltava River, Prague Castle and Petřín Hill.
The minimalistic interior of Smetanaq house is highlighted by the crystal pendants from Bomma – a leading Czech design brands, with its beautiful contradiction of fragile mouth-blown crystal and rope, the Shibari pendants are the most significant eye-catchers of the Smetanaq Cafe & Bistro. On top of that, Bomma crystal pendants are also part of Bottega and Deelive Design Store, which testifies the Smetanaq main aim – to connect and promote the best of Czech design.
The classical-style townhouse was built between 1846 and 1847 and was originally conceived as an apartment house, though during the course of the 20th century, underwent reconstruction several times, became an office building, which was damaged by a huge explosion on Divadelní Street in 2013. The blast destroyed the load-bearing masonry and part of the ground floor ceiling of the Divadelní Street wing collapsed. The original owner made the house safe and secure through expensive repairs and then sold it. At present the part of the house on Smetanovo nábřeží has been completely reconstructed. During the reconstruction architects Jiří Řezák and David Wittásek from Qarta Studio dealt with the insensitive interventions of previous decades, removing all the plasterboard on the ceilings and walls to reveal the beautiful palatial features of the original Burgher house. During this process they uncovered remnants of the original paintwork, which they later incorporated into the overall interior design.
