Work as an architect and interior designer inThe city of St. Petersburg is a noble occupation, but rather difficult. It is necessary to take into account the historical value of buildings in which apartments, formerly former communal apartments, are often found. The layout of these dwellings is non-standard, and the particular climate of this area does not in the best way affect the safety of the objects. But designer Ekaterina Chernova managed to create a project that is perfect for a young married couple. See how she was able to emphasize some details: windows and surprisingly beautiful brickwork, which the owners inherited. Katya Chernova graduated with honors from the department of architecture and urban planning of the State University. She did not stop there and entered the St. Petersburg Institute of Painting named after I. Repin. 
And now for about 6 years she has specialized inregistration of country houses, redevelopment of apartments, offices and beauty salons. Katerina began to carry out a new task assigned to her. It was an apartment that was located in an old house with a unique history. It was built by the famous architect Karl Brant in the middle of the XVIII century for personal use. After that, the house was transferred to the dance school of Maria Petipa, and then the public utilities divided the premises into many small separate living rooms. After distribution, a 50-square-old girl with a ceiling of about 3 meters went to a young couple, but the state was just awful and it was impossible to live in it without major repairs. The apartment is on the first floor, and even despite the 4 windows, there is not enough natural light in it. 
Assigned tasks
At first it seemed that the demands put forward toproject for this room, it is impossible to complete. Clients wanted to have a separate bedroom, a comfortable dressing room, an office, a living room in order to organize noisy events, a cozy corner for guests who stayed overnight, a laundry room and an entrance hall.
Remodeling
It is very good that there are no load-bearing walls in the apartment,therefore, all partitions were torn down. It turned out to revise the entire premises to make it the way its customers wanted to see. After much deliberation, we decided to create a second level, you can’t call it a floor, as the height is only about a meter, but that's enough for a sleeping place. Below him was a dressing room. Thanks to the most rational use of this space, we managed to create spacious cabinets and drawers. But outside the wardrobe was equipped with book shelves that accommodate a large library of customers. A table for work set instead of a window sill. As for the kitchen, it is small, but, nevertheless, it managed to accommodate everything you need. The table for dinners was perfectly replaced by a bar counter. With the help of the false columns, it was possible to separate the space at the entrance from the main room, a hanger for clothes was placed behind it. A bathroom was made joint to make room for a little storage space. It housed things that look unpresentable, but are needed in everyday life. 
Style Selection
As Katerina admitted, she became very close bysoul loft idea after watching the movie "Interview", where the apartment of the main character was in this style. The designer believes that the whole space should be as open as possible and is perfect for a young family that has no children. The author likes in one room to combine at first glance completely incompatible details. Thus, in this design there appeared an uneven brick laying, which was painted in a delicate light tone, heavy velvet curtains of rich red color and a large number of glossy surfaces that create a lot of broken reflections. The dark-washed ceramic tile of dark tone harmoniously harmonizes with natural wood flooring, but the bathtub is lined with tiles that imitate a rough metal surface, with a slight hint of a mosaic of golden hue.
Choosing furniture
Because the deadlines were rather tight,I bought most of the furniture for the kitchen at IKEA. All the rest of the furniture was made by a special project from good manufacturers in St. Petersburg. Some details had to be brought to mind by themselves, for example, the tabletop of the coffee table. Now it is lined with mosaics, the color of which is perfectly combined with the other elements of the interior. 
Shades
To make the room seem congested, the wallsdecided to paint in white color, which is perfectly combined with a light floor. The dark color of the bookshelves attracts a look to them, but due to the fact that most of the shelving in the room is open, they do not seem heavy. Some juicy accents have also been added. The harmony of white and black, and some bright shades is a feature of the loft.
Lighting
As for lighting, in the apartment itsaturated. In addition to its main purpose, it should have emphasized zoning. In the kitchen, additional lamps were hung above the bar counter, in the living room there was an amazingly beautiful chandelier. The ladder was equipped with its own lighting, and many spotlights were installed. 
The main techniques to help increase the space
Despite the fact that the apartment was oversaturatedfunctional areas, it was supposed to be light and spacious. The best way to solve this problem was the use of mirrors that help add volume and lightness. Thus, mirrored tiles, door linings and many glossy surfaces appeared in the house. Also throughout the apartment many mirrors of various shapes and sizes were hung: an apron in the kitchen, a wall in the bathroom, decorative items on the false column. 
Complex moments
From the artist Brant clients inheritedamazingly beautiful ceiling stucco, which did not want to touch. But due to the fact that it was necessary to demolish all partitions, it was not possible to save it, so the designers used moldings.
My pride
In the work of any designer, the main thing is to hearclient, try to find out about his priorities and peculiarities of life. You need to know what comfort and convenience mean to him. Only by taking into account all his wishes, it is possible to create a surprisingly pleasant and cozy design. In this case, do not be afraid to offer their new unusual ideas. If they are interesting, customers often accept them. 
Architect Tips
- Never be afraid of experiments, especially with colors and textures. The most incredible combinations in the end can give an incredible effect.
- If you want to create a second tier in your apartment, first make sure that you have enough space for it and it is completely safe.
- Equip, as in this project, the steps of the stairs with an illumination that can work all night.
