How to transform an apartment in a panel house with the help of decorative techniques Design 27.11.2022 Designer Marina Svyatodukh has turned an apartment in a panel near Moscow into a bright space with the atmosphere of an exotic island “somewhere between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean” Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Photo Evgeny Kulibaba GENERAL PARAMETERSProperty type: apartment in a multi-storey building built in 1995 Where is it: Moscow region Square footage: 75 m2 Style: Eclectic The main idea of the project: to create a chamber space with a bright character Color scheme: twilight is somewhere between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean The author of the project: designer Marina Svyatodukh, [email protected] Those who are dissatisfied with their apartment in a panel house, since you can’t move the walls in it and lift the ceilings, should take a closer look at this project — it turns out that everything is possible if the designer and the customer understand each other. Living room. Sofa, Cazarina. Chest of drawers, Hamilton Conte. Chandelier, Any Home. Portal and parquet, Duet Style. Carpet, Art de Vivre. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba The apartment is located in a typical panel house, which stands on the border of the national Park “Moose Island”. The owners love their neighborhood so much that they decided not to move anywhere from here, changing the interior in accordance with their current needs and feelings. Since all possible changes to the standard layout were made many years ago, they set the task for designer Marina Svyatodukh only to “slightly correct the mistakes made at that time” and “create enough storage space”. Living room, fragment. Sofa, Cazarina. Chest of drawers, Hamilton Conte. Chandelier, Any Home. Portal and parquet, Duet Style. Carpet, Art de Vivre. On the wall is a painting by E. Shurova. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Marina made all the adjustments using exclusively decorative techniques. To align the axis of the portals leading to the living room and bedrooms, she sheathed one of them with panels that visually changed the boundaries of the passage to the private area. Sometimes it was enough just to rid the room of obsolete furniture — and it acquired a new look. Living room, fragment. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba “The relatively small room of the sons was filled with air after we removed the two—level teenage bed and moved the wardrobe into the space between the bedrooms,” the designer recalls, “leaving only the most necessary items in the room: comfortable beds, a chest of drawers and a table for classes.” The boys’ room. Beds, Luke Dorelan. Bra, Warren House. The table is made to order according to the sketch of the author of the project. Carpet, Art de Vivre. On the table is the work of E. Shurova. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Everything new, unexpected and non-standard requires some courage from the customer. It’s always easier to stick to gray and beige, but if you want to change, you need to take a step into the unknown. Marina Svyatodukh was very lucky with her customers: these are people who do not recognize stereotypes. “We used sconces instead of ceiling lamps, turned the chandelier upside down, used active colors in objects and violated one of the rules: our interior does not support architecture. But we have created our own story, hidden in a box with secret rooms, in which the character of the owners of this house is expressed,” she says. The boys’ room. Beds, Luke Dorelan. Bra, Warren House. The table is made to order according to the sketch of the author of the project. Carpet, Art de Vivre. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba The interior really has nothing to do with the architecture of the “panel”. The owners of the apartment were not going to reckon with her. “The customer dreamed of seeing stucco in her house, a lot of stucco,” Marina recalls, “this was one of the main wishes that did not tolerate compromises. I reduced the pathos of the forms with a color, a single pattern, did not use an additional cornice in kitchen furniture, offered laconic stone portals, and classical forms were integrated into the interior without destroying its harmony.” Kitchen, Scavolini. Sconces and chandeliers, Any Home. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba The boldness of decisions was restrained only by one thing — the dimensions of the premises, which could not be ignored. Some of the fixtures had to be adapted to low ceilings. “For example, the chandelier with which we decorated the kitchen originally had rays directed upwards,” says Marina. “But since the height of our rooms is 2.65 m, the lamps would have stuck their heads to the ceiling, so the first solution was to change the direction of the light.” After the kitchen project was approved, it became clear that the mezzanine cabinets would not open if candle lamps were installed in the upper tier, and no one wanted to reduce the amount of storage space, and as a result, all the cartridges of the upper tier were silenced with brass washers. Marina is grateful to the masters of the company Any-Home, who did this work jewelry, “and today, looking at this “spider”, no one will think that the chandelier has undergone a number of changes before taking its place in the apartment.” Kitchen, fragment. There is a bar near the window where you can have breakfast or sit at a laptop with a view of the city. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Kitchen, fragment. Bra, Any Home. Table lamp, Banci. On the wall is a painting by E. Shurova. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Almost all the items in this project were custom-made or supplemented with details that add convenience to the owners. In the bedroom, the designer used a deep blue-green color, slightly darker than the color of the sea wave, it helps to create a relaxing atmosphere. In contrast to the main volume, the dressing room was covered with wallpaper with a bright pattern, and the balcony was decorated with embossed handmade ceramic tiles developed together with Eclat Ceramic. Bedroom. Bed, Stella del Mobile. Chest of Drawers, Any Home. Doors and parquet, Duet Style. Carpet, Art de Vivre. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Bedroom. Bed, Stella del Mobile. Bedside tables, chest of drawers and sconces, all — Any Home. Wallpaper in the dressing room, Casamance. Doors and parquet, Duet Style. Carpet, Art de Vivre. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba The window block between the bedroom and the balcony was removed, replacing it with swing doors to the floor, thereby expanding the entrance to the balcony, adding natural light from the street and visually increasing the bedroom space. If you throw a few pillows on the floor, an excellent relaxation area is formed on the balcony. Balcony. There are handmade ceramics on the walls, Eclat Ceramic. On the easel is the work of E. Shurova. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba “It was a new experience for me,” Marina Svyatodukh admits. — If you look at my previous projects, you can see that I am a “Scandinavian”. I love laconic forms, monochrome palette. I am glad that the customer decided on this bold experiment, which shows that it is possible to create a bright, memorable interior in the “panel”.” Bathroom. Furniture, Scavolini. Pendant lamp, Serip. Mirror in a baguette, “Art Frame”. Wallpaper, Mind The Gap. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Entrance area, fragment. Chest of drawers, Bollu. Bra, Warren House. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Entrance area, fragment. From here you can see the door portal, which the designer has paneled to align the axis of the portals leading to the living room and bedrooms. Photo Evgeny Kulibaba Original content from the site