Decorator Nadezhda Chernigov: "Any interior is no stranger to theatricality, but the decorating game should be fine and verified"

Passing the gallery

A photo: Sergey Morgunov, Ekaterina Morgunov

Interview prepared: Julia Sakharova

Magazine: Decor N5 (83) 2004

Decorator Nadezhda Chernigov virtuously works in different genres, whether it is the style of Louis XV in private apartments in Paris, English Gothic in a mansion near Moscow or Eastern exoticism in a Moscow apartmentSALON: You are known as a decorator, working in the genre, which can be conventionally denoted as "classic." What are the possibilities of this stylistic trend today? - They are truly huge. As you rightly noted, the “classic” today is a conditional concept. In fact, this is our modern view on the art of antiquity, Renaissance, Baroque, Empire, etc. For example, I love the era of Louis XVI, Directory. But this does not mean that I limit myself to them. "Classic" is diverse, it provides exceptional opportunities for decorating the game with different eras.S: For example? - For example, this is my interpretation of the style of Louis XV in the Parisian mansion, which I decorated for our compatriots. Or, on the contrary, the house in the Moscow region, four floors of which are decorated in different styles, starting with the conventional Gothic and ending with the same conventional Empire style. Mixing in a single space of the house of different styles was justified, because, firstly, it emphasized the floor zoning of premises, and secondly, it helped to create its own special mood.S: How did the idea of ​​the castle? - Ex libris (from books), from knightly novels; born from the feeling of the natural environment (this is a good forest area where neighbors are almost invisible). And if outwardly the house is a conditional European (and stylistically neutral) castle, then even a somewhat brutal knightly Gothic reigns inside. I invented many beautiful things: vaults and portals, stained glass windows, carved wood with the effect of aging. Furniture picked up the Tudor era XVI - early. XVII century. In France, where Louis XIII reigned at that time, the style of that time was refined, more elaborate in detail, and in England it was heavy, powerful, and perfectly suited to realize the idea of ​​a knight’s castle. Almost all the furniture is made of the famous English bog oak. I really like these things in a country house. The winter is long, there is snow outside the window, and in the halls - the furniture is good and warm. To her, you involuntarily show almost related feelings. I must say that I still did not want to go into the style of the Tudor epoch, into historicism, I did not want to forget that there must be some irony in this house, “playing” space.S: What means did you manage to achieve this? - I introduced an element of eclecticism. It is known that in the period of Gothic furniture was not as such, it was replaced by shops, chests. In addition to furniture remakes of the 16th-17th centuries, I also enriched the space with items of modern furniture. A vivid example is deep and wide sofas. So it is conceived that they can fall apart (and not sit in crinolines). White spots of sofas enliven the space, resolved in rich burgundy, ocher, green colors. The library on the gallery of two-light space plays the role of a small living room. On the second floor - the apartment owners, decorated in a style close to the Empire style, and - in the other wing - the apartment of the parents. On the third are guest and children's bedrooms, on the fourth - a billiard room and home cinema. They are decorated in a contemporary style with individual replicas of Art Nouveau, Art Deco. And this is the truth of life, since eclecticism often reigns in real, non-invented ancient European residences. For example, a new owner appeared at the house and designed the living room in a new style, while the dining room remained grandfather's. And it often happens that just such a thing - lively and eclectic - the house gives the impression of a “right”, warm home.