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Making an American home in Moscow, in style
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WHEN businesswoman Karolina Garin looked for an ideal home in Moscow, she opted for a spacious, bright space surrounded by the horizon and nature.
This apartment on the 17th floor of a residential building was perfect, with views over one of the city’s most beautiful icon: the Senate building of the Moscow State University, which was built between 1949 and 1953.
She also has views of a beautiful park.
“I exercised great care when I was choosing architects to work with,” she says. “I looked at the top 10 architectural bureaus in Russia and had meetings with them.
“What I liked most about Oleg Klodt Architecture & Design was their intelligence, background and their professional approach to the design and its completion.”
Garin’s brief: An American loft.
“The result was perfect,” she says. “The most satisfactory aspects are their impeccable taste, the perfect synthesis of cost, quality and design.”
Architect in charge Anna Agapova said: “The owner is a young and strong-willed business lady, who lives at the property with her family.
“She is the owner of one of the largest advertising agencies in Russia. When creating these interiors, we had to reflect her inner strength and character in the design.”
Before starting the renovation, the main issue was the restricted size of the apartment, in which Garin needed to arrange all the zones of strategic importance for her life — the kitchen, lounge, bedrooms for parents and children, a bathroom and several powder rooms, a laundry room and her study.
“It’s surprising that if someone hasn’t actually seen the building or been inside it, they’re hardly believe that this kind of space could be located inside a completely standard modern residential complex in the southwest of Moscow,” she says.
Agapova explains: “The most challenging aspect of the project was in separating the appearance of the interior from the style of the building and district in which it’s located. Yet even so, we managed to achieve it.”
The primary design element in this space is the poured-concrete floor which runs throughout the entire apartment — along with the absence of window curtains, and the decoration of the windows with black Venetian blinds.
“The main approach we took in the design concept was a balance of contrasts. The palette of colors is based on a combination of black, grey and light-grey tones, set off with focuses of brighter shades — yellow, turquoise and orange.”
There is almost no textile used in the decoration. Comfort and softness is instead provided for with soft carpets, which make a harmonious combination with the tactile surfaces.
“The design and shape of furniture pieces decide the way the design will go, in consultation with the client — who chose an American loft style,” Agapova says. “The particular features of this client’s personality are her strength and determination — and the interiors turned out exactly that way.”
For example, the fusion of hard and soft elements, the concrete floor and the soft panels on the walls.
The primary materials are the poured concrete used in the floors. In the bedroom the designer used a lot of mirrors, metal panels, and wooden window-frames, paintwork and photo-wallpaper.
“It all contributes to the atmosphere of this interior in the style of a New York apartment on the 56th floor,” Agapova says.
The minimalist furniture in the living room recalls the swinging 60s, and the decor with bright colors create a special atmosphere.
There is a view to the kitchen from the lounge — transparent chairs have bright-blue upholstery, while the dining table is made from circular sections of plywood with a black top, with a textured metal apron.
The master bedroom is decked with a luxe feel, with panels of distressed glass, which highlight the tall tailor-made headboard, and the wall decorations. The children’s bedroom was specially created for a young girl who is in love with everything British.
It’s based on British motifs and laid out in thematic British colors. To impose the British symbolism, the door to the bedroom imitates the doors of London’s double-decker buses.
The essential part of this apartment’s design is that the different spaces blend into each other, and so the overall feeling is one of holistic integrity. The elegant interior combines the best of Belgian motifs with the style of a New York loft.
Garin considers the highlights are the poured concrete floors, the bare curtain-less windows and the wooden window-blinds.
“They are a company with whom it’s exceptionally easy to work. I didn’t experience any difficulties in either their planning, or their execution of the finished designs.
“I know for sure that when I relocate to New York, Agapova will be the first person I call.”
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