“Stalinka” 102 m2 with modern interior in Alma-Ata Design 11.04.2023 Designer Fariz Mammadov tells how the apartment of the Stalin era received a French “vaccination”, and what came of it Living room, fragment. Sofa, kudiyarovfactory. The kitchen and dining table are custom made. Lamps, Eglo. On the wall are the works of the Kazakh artist Kuralai Meirbekova, whose mood conveys the general idea of the entire interior. Photo Roman Yakunin The author of the project is Fariz Mammadov. Photo Roman Yakunin GENERAL PARAMETERSProperty type: apartment in a 1930s house in the old center of Alma-Ata Square footage: 102 m2 Style: Almaty Scandi-French The main idea of the project: to beat the architectural elements characteristic of Stalinists with a sauce of French-Scandinavian motifs Color scheme: warm color scheme, like a soft morning coffee with milk and cinnamon Author of the project: Fariz Mammadov, https://t.me/fmamedov , T. +7 (777) 296-13-95 The space was made very ergonomic and functional Living room, fragment. Tumba, La Redoute. Vases, H&M Home. Photo Roman Yakunin In the background, a door with a transom is one of the signs of Stalin’s houses. Photo Roman Yakunin Two apartments on the same landing were separated by a load-bearing wall. The family lived in one of the apartments earlier, and the second was bought out to increase the living space. In both rooms there were very small dark rooms, narrow corridors and almost microscopic bathrooms, and in addition — a large number of load-bearing walls, “chopping” space in not the most successful, from the point of view of layout, places. The cherry on the cake is the neighbors’ sewer pipes, which passed well below the level of the finishing ceiling. Living room, fragment. The composition of two vertical mirrors is the idea of the customers. “Having slightly refined the concept, we ordered two tall mirrors in brass frames that decorate the living room area, emphasize the height of the ceilings and seem to multiply the amount of light, reflecting the view from the window,” says the designer. A painting by a local artist @art.by.ranato was picked up in unison with the mirrors. Photo Roman Yakunin However, there were also advantages: non—residential premises were located under both apartments, which made it possible to redevelop, move all functional areas and conditionally divide the apartment into two separate parts – private and public. A large kitchen-living room with a beautiful open balcony was placed in the public one, on which majestic balusters and stucco were restored sewn under drywall and street siding, a place was allocated for an office, a bright guest bathroom and a spacious entrance group. Kitchen, fragment. Kitchen furniture is custom-made locally. Photo Roman Yakunin “We wanted to preserve the atmosphere of the house of the Stalin era with the help of both architectural and decorative techniques — high doors with transoms, arched openings, high ceilings and baseboards, calm colors in the base, furniture with retro flair, paintings and decorative elements with history from customers – all this helped to achieve the desired result”, — says the author of the project. Hallway. Console, Nuances Concept Store. Photo Roman Yakunin In the private part of the apartment, to which the opening made during the reconstruction leads, a place was allocated for a master bedroom with a dressing room, for a children’s room with its own balcony, for a pantry and a utility block and a hall-“casket”, which was completely painted in a deep blue-purple shade. In the same part of the apartment there is also a spacious bathroom with a window to the courtyard. Bedroom, fragment. The bed and bed linen were made to order. Pillow case, Zara Home. Photo Roman Yakunin In general, most of the windows in the apartment face the shady side, so all the interior doors were made with transoms. This not only allows you to let more light into all the passageways, but is also a reference to the Stalinist architecture, for which such additional windows were typical. For the same purpose — to make the apartment lighter — the hall in the private part was painted dark. Now, when you get from a darker space to bright rooms, our brain perceives them in contrast even more spacious and flooded with light. Bedroom, fragment. Console, La Redoute. The chair was made to order. Posters, Erekshe Bureau. Photo Roman Yakunin Most of the cabinet and upholstered furniture was made to order according to the sketches of the author of the project. But not all of it: some items, especially expensive to customers, had to be moved to a new interior and inscribed as if they had always been there. So, for example, an old Ikea sofa was settled in the office, which was covered with a new fabric, and a large wooden chest of drawers took its place in the gloomy realm of the blue hall. The hall is in the private part of the apartment. The chest of drawers and the mirror are the property of the customers. Decor of H&M Home. “The idea of a rich blue-purple shade on the walls was born just out of the need to fit a rather massive and bulky piece of furniture into a modern and light interior,” says Fariz. Photo Roman Yakunin Nursery, fragment. Sofa, kudiyarovfactory. Chest of drawers, La Redoute. Lamp, Zara Home. Photo Roman Yakunin Nursery, fragment. Decor: H&M Home, Zara Home, La Redoute, Nuances Concept Store. Photo Roman Yakunin View from the hallway to the bathroom. Photo Roman Yakunin During the renovation work, as is often the case with apartments in old houses, a variety of surprises were revealed. For example, in the bathroom, at the place where the double sink was originally planned, the chimney was opened, which was sewn behind drywall and was not marked on the plans in any way. “It was impossible to dismantle it, so we had to abandon the double sink, but thanks to this we got a wonderful sky-blue shelving, which became one of my favorite elements in this bathroom,” says the designer. Bathroom, fragment. The blue shelving was made in an old chimney that could not be dismantled. Photo Roman Yakunin Bathroom, fragment. Photo Roman Yakunin Bathroom, fragment. Bookcase, H&M Home. Lamp, Odeon Light. Posters, Erekshe Bureau. Photo Roman Yakunin “In general, the interior turned out to be light, calm and warm, but at the same time, it seems to me, not boring and not monotonous. The space was made very ergonomic and functional. Exactly the way both we and the customers wanted to see him.” Guest bathroom. Photo Roman Yakunin Apartment of 102 sq.m in Alma-Ata. The project of Fariz Mammadov.Tatiana Filippova Original content from the site