Moscow fusion

The interior is a delicate matter. It is born from intangible things: mutual understanding, intuition, taste are important ... Elena Andreeva talks about working on her new project

Passing the gallery

Magazine: Decor N11 (199) 2014

The interior is a delicate matter. It is born from intangible things: mutual understanding, intuition, taste are important ... Elena Andreeva talks about working on her new project

How did the concept of this interior? Elena Andreeva: When the customers turned to me, they identified the main tasks: they needed redevelopment, as well as an artistic solution to the interior of the apartment. The owners came and said: "We want the classics." But in the process of discussing and developing a concept, it turned out that they do not want exactly what they said. That is, they were confident that when it comes to the classics, one of the classical styles must be chosen and strictly ripened. But I realized that the customers actually do modern, free-style interpretations of the classics, and offered to make a fusion, and take neoclassics as a basic style. And they really liked this idea. Looking ahead, I will say that they liked the work process and the finished interior. But for me it was a valuable experience: I now know that everything can be mixed, and the result is a very lively interior. Be sure to take this method into service.

SALON: How did you get started? - Strange, but we started from the end. From the fact that they bought lamps, consoles, mirrors and accessories (EICHHOLTZ). Then came the magnificent BAXTER sofa. These are all very textured things: the chrome polished surfaces of table lamps and wall lamps contrast beautifully with the worn nubuck in the sofa upholstery. He is big, imposing. At first, it seemed to me that it was even too, in my opinion, of modern forms. But then I realized that his laconicism would perfectly rhyme with laconic neoclassical forms of cabinet furniture. Yes, and the owner liked him, and this is very important when the sofa is absolutely comfortable. Given all this, we have “forgiven” the sofa, that it does not fold out, because otherwise it suits us. These things pulled everything else: colors, furniture, and textiles.

S: Redevelopment, as I understand it, was done by that moment. -Well, of course. You see here the traditional two-part division of an apartment — into the front and private zones. Originally, the windows of the bedrooms looked out onto the boulevard, and the drawing-room — over the old house of the beginning of the 20th century. But this did not suit the owners, and we made a redevelopment. Now the windows of the bedrooms overlook the old house, in a quiet courtyard, and the windows of the living room are on the boulevard, which is especially good in the warm season. Both parts of the apartment are connected by a corridor.

S: A noticeable detail of the corridor is a large round panel with the profile of Alexander Pope, an English poet of the classicism era. What explains this choice? —This metal panel patinated under a cast corresponds to the neoclassical theme. Both the style of the image and the “hero” itself are from the 18th century, from the era of classicism. The theme of the story, stated implicitly, in passing, is delicately supported by aged textures. You will meet them more than once in this apartment. For example, in the living room — a panel with the effect of an aged wall; drawing as it appears on the surface. It is asymmetrical, and it is done intentionally: there is a certain charm in wrongness. In the bedroom of the daughter, the wallpaper looks like aged boards, which from time to time have become silvery gray. By the way, in this interior there are a lot of gray and its shades.

S: How did you come to this? Why is gray the leading color in the palette of this apartment? - There are a lot of gray shades, it is easy to choose the most comfortable one for you. If you combine it with black and white, you get the perfect monochrome palette; It looks great with natural wood. And this is a great option for the interior with a representative function, and we created such an interior. In addition, gray is a suitable background for works of art. And yet, the perfect background for some bright accessories, such as pillows, blankets. They will not break the overall balance.

S: What guided you when you picked textiles? —Textile is designed to soften the overall atmosphere, to make it more comfortable. So, in the living room — beautiful arched windows, and at first we did not want to close them with curtains. Then they came to the conclusion that draperies are necessary. Ordered dense, velvet, with a wide satin edging ... Dense drapery gives the opportunity to retire and relax. And this in the Moscow interior is no less important than to get pleasure from aesthetics. And, I must say, this has become much better, even if the shape of the window is no longer accented.

S: There are things that are not intentionally emphasized here. I'm about storage systems. We must look to notice them. How did you achieve this? “The fact is that I just really dislike disorder and, on the contrary, I love that every thing has its place. There are people who just put a lot of cabinets and so solve the problem of storage. And I always reckon with the ergonomics of space. build a storage system, choose a beautiful facade ... There are several similar solutions: a dressing room, a built-in closet for shoes (at the end of the corridor). Even the supporting wall between the living room and the dining room additionally “works” with a storage system: shelves are built into it from the side. This is another example of how beautiful functional solutions can be.

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