What to do if you don’t want to go back to the dulla rented apartment, to Brezhnev crystals and a Finnish wall? Renovation, of course! That's exactly what the host of the Mayak radio station, Vera Kuzmina, decided, where we visited
“Everything is so green!" — is the first thought that comes to mind when you cross the threshold. Theoretically, in such an environment, the skin of the face should also acquire an olive tint. Nothing of the sort! The common myth is immediately shattered by the reflection in the mirror opposite the front door. The complexion is fresh and summery, as it should be. The tall, smiling hostess who greets us at the entrance herself resembles a cheerful sunny spirit. She runs into the room and points to a cactus on the wall with large drops of rain frozen on the fleshy leaves.
Vera Kuzmina, host of the Mayak radio station:— It all started with this photo. It’s something like photo wallpaper covered with plastic film. First, a cactus grew, and from it — the overall color scheme. When I brought home buckets of paint, I wanted to plunge my arms into them up to my elbows — I was so impatient. Friends and family thought that I would quickly get tired of this bright and distinctive color. But it has been making me happy for two years now. A renewable source of my life energy, a solar battery. radiomayak.ru A cactus battery, or rather. Here it is, “color therapy” in action. Vera didn’t need a designer. She is the author of all the cheerful decorations.
Vera Kuzmina, host of the radio station "Mayak"She was born on Radio Day, May 7. Perhaps it was this lucky May star that brought the young lawyer, a graduate of the Russian State Social University, from the prosecutor's office to the Institute of Television and Radio Broadcasting, and from there straight to Mayak. Vera hosts the show "Vera, Nadezhda, Aleksey" with Aleksey Vesyolkin, "Profiteroles" with Evgeny Stakhovsky and her own program "Addresses of Mercy" with Aleksandr Vetrov. She loves summer; traveling to countries that everyone has heard of, but where no one has been yet; fried rice with egg and ketchup; and, of course, "when there is peace throughout the world." radiomayak.ru Organization of space In fact, these 32 meters of summer inspiration do not belong to Vera. The apartment is rented. Hence the approach to repair work - . But in such a way that you can return home with pleasure - both after a long day at work and after an exotic trip. Vera got her owners “with understanding” - they allowed her to get rid of the old furnishings and do whatever she wanted in the apartment.
Vera Kuzmina, host of the Mayak radio station:
— It was very gloomy and stuffy.The small apartment is filled from wall to wall with objects from the 70s and 80s: a Finnish wall unit, bulky Soviet crystal, a glass "chandelier with pendants", old sagging chairs. There is literally no room to turn around. Mom was the first to break down and said: stop torturing yourself, finally do some renovations! And really, it was such a good idea! I threw everything out, demolished a piece of the wall that separated the tiny kitchen from the hallway, and the mezzanine above it. And finally, I could breathe. radiomayak.ru
It's really easy to breathe in such a spaceGreat. We go out onto the balcony and look outside — in front of us is a yard the size of a football field, completely planted with trees. The light green apartment suits the famous "donut" on Dovzhenko Street very well. They seem to be like-minded people — not so much stylistically as in spirit. At one time, the architect Stamo and engineer Markelov also came up with an impressive, but budget project, monumental proof that, if desired, a "candy" can be made even from a "Khrushchevka". They took advantage of the permissible error in laying the panels of six degrees and thus looped the house. Even now, the building looks unusual and interesting. And in the 70s? It is easy to guess that on the eve of the 1980 Olympics, they planned to build five such houses. But practicality won out — they settled on two. The structures turned out to be bulky, expensive to maintain and not particularly convenient.
Vera Kuzmina, host of the Mayak radio station:— I really like this house, the yard, the greenery around. But, I must admit, it’s a nightmare for renovation. There’s not a single straight wall or right angle here. All the apartments are trapezoidal. That is, to neatly and correctly fit furniture here, you have to sacrifice usable space and build the walls accordingly. Of course, I didn’t do that. That’s why the craftsman who came to install my corner kitchen bought at IKEA suffered for a long time, endlessly calculating and adjusting the countertop and lower cabinets. In the end, everything turned out great. radiomayak.ru
Details In the kitchen, too, everything. Lamp.Cutlery. Pepper mill. Plates. Even the apples in the vase are Simirenko. Most of the accessories were gifts from friends. The hunt for the "right" color eventually turned into an exciting quest for Vera's circle. Then, Vera admits, it "let go" a little. And then a new hero entered the salad scene - a country-style sofa in the color of "printing red", or magenta.
Vera Kuzmina, host of the Mayak radio station:— Here it all started not with the color, but with the shape. I saw a couch with a wooden base from the wonderful Russian company Woodcraft, which reminded me of summer terraces, the south and vacation. And when I realized that it also folds out easily — after all, I need to have a sleeping place for guests! — the issue was finally resolved. Then I chose a color from the catalog — very suitable, right? Well, and then I found pots and other details… radiomayak.ru There is no table as such in the kitchen, so there is quite a lot of free space in the tiny room. A small side table is enough for Vera herself. And for guests, a special folding structure from IKEA is assembled: in between the arrivals of visitors, she “rests” on the balcony. A modest two-burner stove and a small refrigerator — that’s all that is needed here.
Storage Vera Kuzmina, radio host"Mayak": - My friends say that I live in a closet. And it's the absolute truth! At first, I wanted, as is usually done in such cases, to make a large built-in closet with mirrored doors. But I felt sorry for both the space and the feeling of air. So it turned out like this. It's very convenient for choosing clothes in the morning. It encourages you to maintain order - if there were doors, there would be a mess inside. And now I put away everything that catches my eye - and it turns out to maintain a neat appearance without much effort. This system of metal slats is generally a very practical thing: all the compartments and shelves can be easily changed and moved by yourself depending on your needs. radiomayak.ru
An open wardrobe is a key elementdecor of the only room in the apartment. Like a colorful carpet, it breaks up the green monolith of the walls. For convinced "clothes lovers" with a modest living space, this is the only opportunity to get their own at their disposal, and even live in it. For happiness to be complete and final - a full-length mirror. Vera specially ordered it from the Moscow Mirror Factory.
Finishing None of the really expensive onesThere is no finishing material in this green kingdom. Simple doors of domestic production, paintable wallpaper on the walls, light laminate flooring laid directly on the old covering, white paint on the ceiling. Even in the bathroom they managed to do without tiles: they settled on plastic panels with a funny geometric pattern. White and green, of course. At first, Vera tried to find textiles for the windows, but then she abandoned them in favor of light translucent rolls - she was afraid that serious fabric curtains would disturb the amazing lightness and freshness of her home.
So the photos have been taken, the questions have been asked,stories have been told and retold, but we still can't say goodbye to the hostess. Vera is already calling us to come again through the threshold. I thought - how nice it must be to come to such a house in winter: shake the snow off your coat, put your boots and hats out of sight, drink green tea in the cactus room and chat about a vacation in some distant warm country where none of your friends have been yet, but Vera has probably already been.
The following were used to create the interior:
- Mesh flexible storage system - Elfa (Sweden);
- Bed, chairs, floor lamps, carpet, shelf in the hall, armchair in the room, bed linen and kitchen - IKEA (Sweden);
- Sofa - Woodcraft (Russia);
- A large mirror in the bedroom and a mirror in the hallway - "The Moscow Mirror Factory" (Russia);
- Refrigerator Atlant (Russia);
- Cutlery Vialli Design (Italy-Poland).
How to create a bright interior with minimal resources - Roomble recommendations:
Photos by Andrei Cordelanu
