As for interior design, the tastes of the Russian elite go along the imperial luxury traditions. The influential representatives of contemporary design William Sawaya and Paolo Moroni are really upset when customers from Russia want them to design a classic interior.
However, not all designers consider it such a bad thing. Here’s a word from the advocate of classics architect Olga Freyman.
You should choose vibrant interiors open to various changes and additions so that members of the family who have different tastes could co-exist comfortably in one apartment. Neoclassics is a good option. Minimalism requires a definite lifestyle, putting pressure on people. Besides, the minimalistic design will become obsolete just like any other. Also, unlike the neoclassical style, it allows no alterations at all.
The Russian love of luxury can be explained from the historical, cultural and emotional points of view. Today, when the great-power mood is being revived, the striving for everything over-the-top increases.
Demand brings supply: there’s an abundance of exorbitantly expensive gaudy pseudoclassics in the market which is more often than not pure kitsch. However, there are positive trends as well.
Firstly, people started treating their home not only as a place to live with the family, but also as an investment. Secondly, they stopped equalling luxury with brand names. In other words, previously people identified themselves as rich if they were just as good as others, but now everyone wants to be unique. Gradually they begin to understand that the main feature of a luxury home is not antique furniture but a professional design project; without it the interior really doesn’t matter.
That’s why people who are really well-off invite the best world experts. Architects are eager to come to Russia because Russian customers are even more generous than Arab Sheikhs.
Creating an interesting classic interior in Russian circumstances is a very difficult task: the designer should know how to balance taste and flashy luxury. One of the examples of a successful project is an apartment in the backstreet near the Arbat. The owner is a highly educated person who’d been to many museums and gone through many books on the subject before deciding which style of interior to choose. Everything in his apartment is custom-made, from the architectural project to furniture and décor items.
The owner hired European companies specializing in historical furniture relics made using antique technologies. One of the most impressive features of décor in this apartment is the wallpaper which is hand-printed using 18-century boards. The moulds have never been restored and their dents and chips create the feel of historical authenticity. Note that there’s lots of gold in the apartment, but being delicately aged it doesn’t look gaudy. Even in the mirrors the amalgam was substituted with bronze which makes the reflection matte and soft. One of the main achivements of the architect with the layout of this apartment is the additional feeling of space that is created by modeling and multi-level ceilings.
Another apartment down the street was designed for people who spend most of their time in the country. However, they often have to spend a night in Moscow because of the traffic. That’s why the apartment is more of a club for guest parties than a home. The owners wanted this club to have an atmosphere of their favourite city, Rome. Because the capital of Italy is associated first of all with warmth, sun and festive atmosphere, the interior features soft red and brown hues. The walls are decorated with velvet and satin drapings, which creates festive atmosphere.
The living room and hall in the apartment are quite spacious; the bedroom and study, on the contrary, compact. The hall has exits into almost all the rooms. We cunningly hid the many doors behind gold and red wooden panels that cover the walls, too. Besides, the panels act as a perfect background for the print collection.
The architects tried to make the interior both solemn in the imperial style and vibrant in the Italian way. It’s a whimsical mix of empire and baroque, Art Nouveau and classicism. The blend of styles is possible because of the expert space and colour planning. The spirit of the capital of the empire is clearly evident in the interior, be it ancient Rome or today’s Moscow.
The main task of the Ostozhenka project was creating maximum comfort. The interior features lots of antique furniture, arts and crafts and, of course, paintings. This explains the style chosen for the interior design: neoclassicism with some modernism thrown in.
The essential and perpetual element of a cozy atmosphere is a fireplace that is no longer a rare sight in Moscow apartments. It’s quite another matter that not all apartments are suited for building a real fireplace. But the penthouse location of this very home allowed having even 2 antique fireplaces.
When designing the interiors the layout is the most important thing. This way the guests can see the location of all rooms immediately: not because the layout is standard but because it’s logical and convenient.
We have to admit that creating luxury interiors with the use of many hand-treated expensive materials and art of different styles is more difficult that it may seem at first sight. Not everyone has a talent of combining the incongruous. The architect’s objective is making luxury not only look imposing but also tasteful.
Olga Freyman
Photoreport
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