In September 2018, we visited our colleague, ELLE Fashion Director Vladimir Galaganov. We remember how it was

The search for a new apartment can turn into a real adventure and stretch for an indefinite period — both if you have no idea what you are looking for, and in the opposite case — when there is a clear understanding, up to the street and the house. The fashion director of ELLE magazine Vadim Galaganov, for example, dreamed of living in the Mira Avenue area.

Fashion director of ELLE magazine Vadim Galaganov. The chest of drawers with oak veneer is made to order in the carpentry workshop “Intar Plus”. On the wall is a portrait of ballet dancer Sergei Polunin, photo by John Rankin, style – Vadim Galaganov.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

“Together with the realtor, we spent more than six months going around a variety of apartments and could not find the one,” he says. — Until we finally arrived here. The ninth floor, Stalinist architecture, a panorama of Moscow is visible from all the windows, friendly neighbors – immediately bribed by the fact that they greeted us at the entrance. Ceilings above 3 m are a condition to decorate the interior in the spirit of Parisian apartments, where you feel the scale and spaciousness.” The previous owners had lived here since 1953, so major repairs were required.

Living room. The sofa, coffee table, chest of drawers and pouf are made to order according to the designer’s sketches. The crystal chandelier was ordered in the Czech Republic. Dazzle carpet, Dovlet House. Accessories, Ralph Lauren Home. On the chest of drawers there are copies of antique heads made by the sculptor Vasily Vershinin.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

On the recommendation of friends, Vadim turned to the decorator Elena Pritula. “Vadim handed me the keys and said that next time he wants to see the finished interior. That’s about how it turned out,” says Elena. — Of course, I showed him samples of finishes and sent him photos of furniture and lamps, but in general we immediately understood each other.”

The condition of the apartment was deplorable: old paint was bubbling on the ceiling, the parquet was swollen. “By the way, some secrets of how to bring housing to collapse were soon revealed,” says Elena. — It turned out that the former owners, according to the good Soviet tradition, boiled laundry in tanks, so much so that steam poured out of the windows, after which they ventilated the room with fresh frosty air. People survived, but the stucco did not.”

A fragment of the living room, in the background — a kitchen with access to the balcony. The rack is made according to the designer’s sketches in the Moscow art casting workshop. The frame is made of brass rods. Kitchen, Nolte Küchen.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

“I’m a perfectionist and I really like white. After all, all the flaws are immediately visible on its background”

Living room. Stucco molding, Peterhof workshop. The sofa, coffee table, chest of drawers are made to order according to the designer’s sketches. On the floor — parquet, the company “Shender Decor”.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

The apartment had two rooms and a kitchen opening into a long corridor. The bathroom and the bathroom were combined with the vestibule into an intricate maze. The old partitions were demolished, the floors were dismantled. “The doorways were moved so that the similarity of the enfilade characteristic of Parisian apartments turned out — now it runs along the windows,” says Elena. Only a small partition was left from the corridor wall, it visually separates it from the living room, to which the kitchen was attached. Part of the corridor was allocated for a dressing room. “We have clearly spelled out how many sections and shelves I need. 18 hangers for outerwear, 19 for suits, 12 for T-shirts, – says Vadim. “Everything was done exactly according to the scheme, so it’s not difficult to maintain order.”

Living room. The coffee table is made to order, the table top is made of Bianco Namibia marble. Vase, tray, Ralph Lauren Home.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

“I want to open the champagne and admire the view of the tower — just not the Eiffel Tower, but Ostankino”

Hallway. The console is made to order, the table top is made of Bianco Namibia marble. A chair, “Katya Gerdt’s Workshop”, in a new upholstery made of Cherie fabric from Dedar. The umbrella stand with a Nero Portoro marble base is made to order.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

It is difficult to imagine a Parisian-style interior without stucco and a fireplace. “We have both,” says Elena. — Since the old stucco was not preserved, we installed new plaster cornices.” The stucco decor and the white color of the walls are also partly a tribute to Parisian interior fashion. “I’m a perfectionist, so I like white,” says Vadim. “After all, all the flaws are immediately visible against this background.”

White was also chosen because it is an ideal background for art. “From the very beginning it was clear that Vadim’s works would also be in the house,” says Elena. — At that moment, the shooting with the enfant terrible of the classical ballet by Sergei Polunin came, which Vadim stylized. The photo was printed on watercolor paper. On it, the textures of the fabrics look velvety, and the colors are deep. When Polunin arrived in Moscow, he signed the photo. The frame perfectly coincided with the mood that I wanted to create in the interior — contemplative and calm. Vadim has plenty of bright colors and drive at work.”

Dressing room. Cabinets are made to order according to the designer’s sketches in the carpentry workshop “Intar Plus”. On the wall is a copy of an engraving by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ink, the work of Evgenia Nosyreva.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

Next to the portrait in the living room, you can notice two sculptures on pedestals – copies of antique heads made by sculptor Vasily Vershinin. He fashioned them out of plaster and toned them to look like stone and bronze. The designer once saw a similar composition on the cover of the English ELLE DECORATION. “This beautiful shooting, subtle and graphic, inspired me,” she says. And so that the classic interior does not turn into a “dusty”, the furniture was selected modern, laconic forms. “Of the authentic French things, there are only two old armchairs here — in the hallway and in the bedroom,” says Vadim. An oak armchair in the style of Louis XVI was covered with a new buckled fabric reminiscent of Chanel tweeds. “Well, how could you do without her in the apartment of a man from the fashion world,” says Elena. “The sculptural draperies of the curtains resemble the trains of dresses.”

A fragment of the hallway. On the wall is a drawing by Larisa Kiryushina.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

The French armchair was covered with a buckled fabric reminiscent of Chanel tweeds

On the wall above the headboard is a drawing by Larisa Kiryushina. Bedside tables are made to order according to the sketches of the designer in the workshop “Intar Plus”. Vase and caskets, Ralph Lauren Home. French armchair, “Katya Gerdt’s Workshop”, in new upholstery from Rubelli. On the wall above the chair is the work of the Berlin artist Ute Ratmann “Dedication to Watteau VI” (Hommage a Watteau VI). Bed linen, atelier Fiori di Venezia. The bedspread is sewn from Christian Fischbacher fabrics. Carpet Shape, Dovlet House.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

The sun comes into the bedroom around noon and stays until the evening, on such days the walls are cast in golden shades. And at night, picturesque multicolored highlights from city lights appear everywhere. “My apartment inspires me a lot,” Vadim continues. — Friends say that, like in Paris, here you want to open champagne and admire the view of the tower — just not the Eiffel Tower, but Ostankino.”

Bathroom. Tile with a pattern of marble Bianco Carrara. Sconce, Astro Lighting. The cabinet under the sink with a countertop made of artificial stone is made according to the designer’s sketches.

Photo

SERGEY KRASYUK

Style

Natalia Onufreychuk

Kananykina Elena

Original content from the site