Was/became: visiting the decorator Katerina Lashmanova

Decorator Ekaterina Lashmanova transformed the house in the Moscow region, which she rents, and using examples of photos “Before” and “After” showed how with the help of decor and bold work with color, you can turn an ordinary interior into a luxurious one

“Good morning! Repainted the walls in the house. How beautiful it is! In a city apartment, I would hardly allow myself to have these colors in such a volume,” Katerina Lashmanova began a story about the redesign of her country house from this post on Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia). It was impossible to tear myself away any further. We followed the migration of furniture from room to room, marveled at how, with the help of color alone, the decorator managed to “push” the walls; with the help of curtains to correct the proportions of rooms; and with the help of mirror inserts to turn blind furniture facades into additional windows with reflected light.

Entrance hall in a country house. The color of the walls is Persian turquoise from Little Greene, Manders company. The table and chandelier are antique.

Photo: Sergey Ananyev

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

ELLE DESORATION: Katerina, what was that? Do you remember your first impression of the house?

Katerina Lashmanova: By the time we arrived, the house had been in disrepair for four years. It was littered with antique furniture so that you just can’t get through. Dusty windows, cobwebbed walls, huge stuffed animals wrapped in film resembled the scenery for a horror movie, and we ourselves felt like the characters of a classic thriller. You know, when a family with children moves into an old house, and it is full of surprises and ghosts! However, I liked the house. I was captivated by the scope, beauty of classical architecture, high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, enfilades of rooms with three-meter double doors, beautiful and rare fittings on windows and doors. To find such a house, and even with permission to create as soon as your heart desires, was a real success. We gladly accepted this gift of fate.

Hallway “Before” and “After”. Existing cherry-colored joinery could not be repainted. They were only supplemented with mirrors pasted on top of panels and cabinet doors.

“We felt like the characters of a classic thriller: when a family with children moves into an old house, and it is full of surprises and ghosts!”

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: NATALIA ONUFREYCHUK

Velvety-black walls and bright accents in the renovated living room.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

The repair was done without alterations. Katerina Lashmanova even kept the color of the doors and windows, changed everything else with minimal decorative techniques.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

How long have you lived in the original interior?

The house was uninhabitable, and we decided to put everything in order in two weeks. An almost unrealistic deadline! During this time, we took out twenty KAMAZ trucks of concrete with sand, garbage and firewood from a plot of forty acres. Pits were leveled, fallen trees were removed, lawns were leveled and planted with grass, trees were trimmed. At the same time, the boiler room was repaired, electrics and plumbing were repaired, all screens and baseboards were installed, both floors were repainted with a total area of 700 m2. They painted and put the house in order for a week, and the second week it was washed. These endless double windows for the finale caused not delight, but horror.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: NATALIA ONUFREYCHUK

You can say that you have turned your house into a platform for design experiments, which you first put on yourself, and then on customers. Or how else did such bright colors arise?

The house itself told us about it, we just tried to hear it. But to begin with, everything was painted in a light color! Let me remind you, it was terribly scary to be in the house. He was all creaking, making noise and living his “ghostly” life. We wanted to make it bright, clean, cozy. And the experiments concerned rather not the design, but the timing. Decisions were made very quickly, and they were implemented even faster. Exactly two weeks later we celebrated a housewarming party!

“Before” and “After”. The former dining room was replaced by a living room, while the former dining room moved into an office with a fireplace.

And then they repainted everything again? 

My restless nature constantly demands changes. If the interior is completely finished, I begin to slowly destroy it in order to create something new later. The constant striving to improve myself and everything around me is probably what drives me.

The small living room attached to the master bedroom is the mistress’s favorite room. “The former entrance hall turned into a cozy space after we painted it in a thick and dense wine color. Green velvet curtains with bells on a crimson lining and olive sofas upholstered in Chinoiserie style brought a relaxed Eastern Victorian flavor to the room.”

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

What did they do with antique furniture? Did she disappear with the ghosts? Almost all the antique furniture was asked to be taken out.

The heavy carved furniture was crushing, and we needed a breath of new life. Therefore, they left only chandeliers and a few old Chinese objects with rich carvings and inlaid with bone and mother-of-pearl. I have a weakness for oriental styles.

Bathroom “Before” and “After”.

What is the peculiarity of decorating a rented home? Are there any restrictions or tricks on how to save money?

The most inexpensive, but effective way of decorating is textiles and repainting the walls. I made a healthy mix of antique, vintage and personal items. I bought the missing items from IKEA. For example, kitchen furniture and appliances, which we will later leave here for good, and carpets. Bought for a specific interior, they are unlikely to be useful in the next life. The only thing that was made to order was kilometers of curtains, they were hung and hung. For the first time, there were too many windows for me, previously there were not enough of them all the time.

The living room at the bedroom “Before” and “After”.

The bathroom was changed without alterations. Curtains, mirrors were added, walls were repainted, furniture was added. The color of the walls was chosen to support the stone initially not the most joyful shade. Pouf and curtains, Loffilab. The display case and lamps are antique. Paint Dock Blue 252 from Little Greene, Manders salons. Cashmere robe, @eleganteinteriorr.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

You are not afraid of black…

The black walls did not appear by chance at all. We have been looking for a long time for a color that could assemble huge rooms and remove the shade of mahogany on windows and doors. Mahogany led to heavy classics, and we needed freshness and lightness. To make these huge rooms cozy, it would take a lot of decorative details, the dark color managed to partially replace them and favorably emphasize what was already there.

Claude chest of drawers by Køpmann.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: NATALIA ONUFREYCHUK

Is there a secret how to use black color correctly?

Black almost always looks very impressive, against its background, objects acquire a more luxurious sound. But you can get tired of his “cozy drama”. To prevent this from happening, there should not be too much black, it should be diluted with joyful shades.

Carpet, IKEA. Sofa, Provasi.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

Do you have a favorite room?

A small living room on the second floor and, of course, a kitchen! Very comfortable and almost perfect for me. This is the heart of the house, the most used room for its intended purpose, the most delicious-smelling and often visited by all family members and guests. Recently, we often design living spaces without dining areas and without dining tables at all. Of course, it depends on the lifestyle of a particular family. My family makes do with a kitchen island like this. Hanging cabinets in the kitchen are needed only as a last resort if there is no place to install a sufficient number of floor cabinets. They are much more convenient to use than mounted ones. But we place kitchen appliances — ovens, microwaves, etc. — at the level of a person’s eyes, so as not to bend over during cooking. And, of course, the kitchen island, it easily replaces the table. We have large companies gathering behind it, despite the fact that there are only three chairs.

The kitchen was transformed by painting in the color “Thai sapphire” and portraits of Indian ascetic sadhus. Kitchen, IKEA. Countertops made of agglomerate, @liakakulia. The chandelier is antique. Photo pictures — Serbian photographer Nikolas Kostic, @nikola036. Thai Sapphire paint from Little Greene, Manders salons.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

The textile decoration of the bedroom, the bed, the banquette and the panels are made to order by Loffilab.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

The bedroom walls are decorated with soft panels with alcantara upholstery.

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

“Bright saturated colors in the house cause admiration for the play of color and light! But only if the sun is shining outside the window”

The black color penetrated even into the bedroom. Here it is combined with a shade of ripe persimmon on soft alcantara wall panels. Textile upholstery of the walls dampens sounds well and makes a private room more intimate. Does the orange color, which is considered to be intrusive, depress you over time? The decorator answers simply: “As soon as it starts to depress, I will write, not yet!”

Photo: SERGEY ANANYEV

Style: Natalia Onufreychuk

Are such saturated, dense colors suitable for everyone?

Bright, saturated colors look great with an abundance of sun. But nature does not often spoil us, so it is better to use soft, enveloping, light shades in apartments that will allow you to relax and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Our house is located among pine trees and fir trees, and these are shades of cinnamon, ochre, all earthy and bark shades, which I supplemented with fresh shades of air and water.

Vintage lamps and objects from the 50s and 70s of the twentieth century create a special atmosphere in the office, and a fresh shade of turquoise invigorates and sets you up for work.