SALON: BROOKMANS ENGLISH FURNITURE makes furniture for kitchens, bedrooms and offices. You also create interiors of private houses and apartments. It is interesting to know how you define the English style?

 - When I am asked this question, I honestly answer that I do not know. English style is very eclectic, because Britain was once a huge empire. We traveled to various countries and "stole" the best. For example, in the traditional English interior there can be white and blue tiles, which we borrowed from the Dutch, beautiful Persian carpets and trinkets from India. The essence of the English style is the ability to combine all these things.

S: I noticed that the British love the furniture of cream tones.

 - The British traditionally included a beige color in the interior palette. It usually acts as a backdrop for stronger colors: dark green, red, gold or rich blue (Royal Blue).

However, I believe that if you want to create a good interior, you need to constantly limit yourself. It is very important to keep a balance between neutral and strong colors, between rigor and excessive decor. I noticed that our clients in Russia often ask to use too many decorative details or gilding.

S: Tell me, is there a fashion in the field of classic furniture or classic kitchens?

 - I think that now the tendency is to mix elements of modern and classic design. You can keep the traditional shape, but use more modern colors - so, my new Middlewood kitchen is painted in violet-lilac color. The essence of changes in subtle shades and details. For example, in this kitchen there is a chandelier hanging, where among the crystal pendants you will see squashes of colored glass.

S: For designers of classic kitchens, one of the main problems is to hide high-tech devices, such as a large refrigerator. How do you solve this problem?

 - I do not think that you should hide technical devices. If you need a large fridge, why should you put up with a compact fridge? Or another example - if you like a modern-style stove, why buy an old-fashioned stove that isn’t the best you can buy? It’s like riding a horse and cart when you can buy a Mercedes or a Ferrari. In order to avoid the effect of contrast, you can put the refrigerator separately, in a wooden frame, and make all the handles in the kitchen metal. Solutions can be very different. It is important that the designer does an interior in which a person would not feel like a guest. This is one of the main goals of design.