2024-04-19 20:58:22
Although only a year has passed since the first night in the new apartment, the actors Agáta Kryštůfková and Tomáš Havlínek feel as if they have lived in it for an entire eternity. Art Nouveau doors, parquet floors and large windows that let in golden light at midday are exactly to their taste. In addition, the partners were able to agree on how to furnish their shared apartment. They just used what they already had.
A free afternoon in a Vinohrady apartment can be described roughly like this from the actors’ narration. In the living room with an old gramophone cabinet and a green bookcase, which Agáta made from the showcases of former mainstream clothing, the lady of the house sits in an armchair made from a cottage and puts together a collage from magazine clippings. Next door in the kitchen, which is connected to the living room by an eternally open double door, Tomáš looks into the refrigerator and thinks about what to cook for dinner. A sports broadcast is playing in the background.
“I come from Karlovy Vary, and when I was little, my mother made me play football. I liked it, but on the other hand, I soon felt that it was simply not my environment. I still love sports and am still actively involved in it, playing Prague league in minor football and at the same time I am preparing for the filming of the film Play off in parahockey, so I am already training in the sled. I have also participated in the broadcast as a commentator,” says the active actor, who most often visits and supports Sparta live in Prague.
Even though each of them has their own little kingdom in the apartment, they love spending time together, either in the kitchen or in the living room. They like to talk together, watch movies and spend time with their four-year-old daughter, who Tomáš has from a previous relationship. Their roles in the household are quite clearly divided, even if they have never solved them too much, in short, they just resulted from their strengths.
Agáta Kryštůfková and Tomáš Havlínek have been living together for exactly one year. | Photo: Václav Vašků
“Tomáš likes and cooks very well, so I don’t interfere too much with him. My thing is cleanliness. I need it to be cleaned all the time,” smiles the likeable thirty-year-old woman at Tomas. “I think that Agáta would be better able to cook than I would be able to clean according to her ideas. Not that I’m a big mess, but she can take it from scratch, for which I’m extremely happy, because then it looks nice,” thinks her partner.
Second-hand furniture, memories and original paintings
When they moved into the Vinohrady apartment a year ago, they already had several years of living in different places and also had their own furniture. He had a large couch and chairs for the table, she had an upholstered bench from the 1970s and a dining table. They both also had pictures and various mementos of when they weren’t together. Instead of buying new things, they put everything together and used some of the equipment from the newly rented apartment.
“We have two apartments in one, plus some of the equipment that was here before us. We kept the old bed and secretary, which are from the same series. But then there were brown display cases from somewhere in Jysk that we didn’t like, and the owners they allowed us to remodel. My mother and I took down the doors and painted the frames green,” explains Agáta, how she turned ordinary ready-made furniture into an atypical library. Actor colleague Petr Konáš improved the kitchen in a similar way. He scraped the original dark brown from the door and painted it with oil to the color of birch wood.
Antiques fair ANTIQUE
Lovers of things with a story can visit the 50th anniversary ANTIQUE Antiques Fair at Prague’s New Town Hall this weekend. This year’s theme is “The Hidden Value of Antiques – Sustainability.” In addition to the sales exhibition, the fair also includes an accompanying program such as lectures and consulting services, in which experts assess the condition and value of their antiques for free.
“Although we have furniture of different styles and colors, we feel comfortable here. We have an armchair from a cottage, a second-hand bench from the 1970s, a restored chandelier from the 1960s, a wardrobe in a rustic style and a quite modern couch. We were lucky that we both had quite nice things. I realized how difficult it must be when two have completely different tastes,” reflects the actress, who once completed a course in antiques and art history at the Rudolfinum Academy. “Agáta has the advantage of being able to create a cozy interior. So I left most of the decisions to her,” Tomáš adds.
A showcase that Agatha turned into a library. | Photo: Václav Vašků
Because they are close to art as actors, they also had something to decorate the walls with. Two paintings by Agáta’s father, artist Petr Kryštůfek, or the work of actor Jacob Ertfemeijer stand out in the living room. The decoration in the apartment consists either of books or objects that Agáta inherited from her family.
“For me, heirlooms are quite important. A person has something that he knows from childhood, because his parents or grandparents had it at home. Moreover, especially with the furniture, it seems logical to me in terms of sustainability, quality and price. If the furniture is from second hand, I enjoy giving him a so-called second wind,” thinks Agáta Kryštůfková.
See in the gallery how the actors furnished their first apartment together.