Designer Ulyana Stepanishcheva tells how to turn an ordinary cottage into a luxurious country house without unnecessary expenses and nerves

Maria Pennia’s project.

Ulyana Stepanishcheva

Designer

What creates a feeling of luxury outside the city? For me, this is primarily a feeling of spaciousness, light and plenty of air in the interior and the opportunity to enjoy every minute spent away from the city.

What do some dachas really look like? First of all, this is a place where people have been taking things for years that are no longer needed in the apartment, but it’s a pity to give or throw away, old furniture, household items, out-of-fashion clothes and shoes.

What do people do when they come for the weekend? They change into old and sometimes torn clothes and spend hours trying to redo all agricultural affairs, falling exhausted in front of the TV in the evening, and on Sunday, tired, with overworked hands and sore backs, they go home to go to work in the city on Monday.

The dacha of journalist Evgenia Mikulina.

What should be done to avoid such a development? First of all, it is necessary to free up space from unnecessary junk, collect those things about which you thought about 10 years ago that they might be useful, but they never came in handy, and take them to the nearest garbage dump. In any case, do not throw things into the container, just put them next to it, they will be disassembled in a short time. And you will sleep peacefully knowing that these things will no longer be a dead weight, but will benefit others.

The project of Peter Yushin.

Place vintage vases, photos and souvenirs on the vacated shelves, everything that evokes pleasant memories and emotions. Just don’t clutter up the shelves, let it be a small number of beautiful items. Refresh the textiles on the windows and put new pillows and blankets on the sofas, as well as replace old chandeliers and sconces with more fashionable lamps.

Lampa Design Studio project.

If you are tired of the reddish color of wooden walls — tint everything with white paint — the space will immediately acquire a more noble appearance. And your furniture on a white background will look completely different. And if you don’t like its appearance in the updated interior, you can always paint it too!  

The FullHouseDesign project.

Now about the exterior. In addition to the terrace with a dining table, do you have a place on the plot where you can sit down and enjoy doing nothing? I recommend creating as many such places as possible. You can buy an inexpensive set of garden furniture, benches, or even use old furniture from home. Arrange them so in the place where you can see a beautiful flower garden or maybe even your favorite garden bed. Or maybe, on the contrary, choose some shady corner, and arrange a secret garden for yourself, so that your loved ones can’t find you quickly. Arrange a place for a bonfire — all you need is a couple of low benches and blankets to sit by a live fire in the evening.  And it’s definitely better than watching the news while sitting on the couch.

Elena Shkel’s project.

And most importantly, remember that luxury is not necessarily marble sculptures and gilding, luxury is an opportunity to spend time with loved ones and loved ones, and everyone can definitely afford it.

Photo

Randy Fath/Unsplash

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