private house with a total area of ​​518 m2 Maria Danelia, Oleg Nikitin

Passing the gallery

A photo: Sergey Morgunov, Ekaterina Morgunov

Interview prepared: Nadezhda Nadimova

Project author: Maria Danelia, Oleg Nikitin

Architect: Vadim Lenk, Alexander Abramov, Valeria Obodovskaya

Woodwork: Sergei Karlov

Magazine: N10 (99) 2005

One of the ancient castles in the north of England served as the architectural prototype of this house. The game in the English style, declared in appearance, continues in the interiors. True, inside is no longer a medieval castle, but rather a respectable classic mansion ... The authors of the project Maria Danelia and Oleg Nikitin argue about the nuances of style and stylization Many are inclined to think of the English style as something strict, nobly-restrained, alien to any decorativeness, says Maria Danelia. - This is not quite true. In fact, the old English mansions are always a bit eclectic, picturesque, filled with things from different eras and styles (including oriental). In them, each generation of owners (with all the loyalty to the traditions) brings something of their own. It was such a lively, and not frozen in the classic forms of the environment, we sought, working on this house. In all its rooms the English theme sounds different. In the large two-light living room, the interior is built on the contrast of ivory-colored walls and separate parts of dark wood (lattice window covers, stair balustrades, wide cornices). A rich combination of golden walnut and mahogany, purple wallpaper and snow-white curtains determines the look of the reception room. And, say, in the nursery, which reproduces an adult male’s office in a miniature, the mood is set by textiles: an elegant Scottish cage of curtains, a variety of patchwork carpets of dyed suede ... There are, of course, techniques found in almost all interiors of the mansion. For example, a typical English combination of a large cage, stripe and floral ornament. Or, say, such an iconic thing as mosaic marble floors in a checkered pattern (a business card of any English home). And in each room - its own variation on the theme, and the pattern of the floor almost never repeats. Another important point - the so-called patina of time. It contains the special charm that things acquire over the years. But time can be literally stylized, like everything else. ” “Almost all materials used in decoration and decoration are specially aged,” says Oleg Nikitin. - Marble has a rough, porous, fissured surface. The sofas in the living room, littered with soft cushions of different colors and shapes, look as if they were repeatedly changed, as if not one generation of owners of the house was sitting on them. Slightly worn fabrics (suede, velvet, jacquard, thick linen and cotton), hand-made leather, woolen homespun rugs, chair covers, this is the objective world of this house. By the way, here not only English or stylized things under England. There are cabinets in the spirit of the Italian Renaissance, low Turkish armchairs and flower tables inlaid with metal, there are even animal skins - a memory of the colonial English past. A lot of things are connected here, a variety is combined, and at the same time each thing finds its place. As it seems to us, the interior should be in English style. But rigor and stiffness are nothing more than a stereotype. ”Oleg Nikitin:“When we were invited to this object, the house was already built. We have proposed a completely new design option for facades imitating an old English manor. Customers liked it, and the development of the English theme in the interiors was a foregone conclusion. ”