How to style an apartment as a loft, but at the same timekeep the coziness and warmth of the interior? As an example, we will show you a cool project, where there are not only brick walls and a fireplace, but also a huge number of unusual solutions. Which ones? You will find out now When a young couple plans to move into their first large apartment after a rented one-room apartment, they, of course, want to do everything perfectly there. The customers of this project wanted to create a comfortable place where they could place a children's room for the future, find space for their book collection, sit together in front of a cozy fireplace with a glass of wine or in the company of close friends. And in order to bring all their ideas about the ideal home to life, they turned to Smolenskayadesign for help, and this is what came of it. Ekaterina Smolenskaya, designer Co-owner and chief designer of Smolenskayadesign. Graduated from the Saratov Art College named after Bogolyubov (environmental design), as well as the fashion school of Alexander Vasiliev. Ekaterina has been in the design industry for over 10 years, and for about 7 years she was involved in textile interior decoration in her own studio, ArtAccent, but gradually she began to feel that textiles were too small for her and moved on to interior design. Several years ago, she joined forces with Andrey Menzhulin, as a result of which the former studio was reorganized into the Smolenskayadesign company with a full cycle of interior design and planning. smolenskayadesign.ru Andrey Menzhulin, project manager Co-owner and project manager of the Smolenskayadesign company. Graduated from MADI (STU), Department of Bridges and Transport Tunnels. He began working as a foreman for a construction team, where he became interested in designing apartments and houses. As Andrey himself says, he was inspired to take up design by the renovation of his own apartment, everything started with cosmetics and ended with redevelopment and a major renovation. That’s how the desire to create actually appeared. smolenskayadesign.ru
Customers' dreams and features of redevelopment
The apartment was sold with an open plan.There was only one load-bearing wall separating the corridor, so everything was done from scratch, of course, taking into account the wet areas. The designers decided to make functional zoning into three main rooms, taking the wishes of the customers as a basis. The young couple wanted to see their interior warm, with vintage notes. According to the layout, there was a request to allocate a bedroom and a future nursery into separate rooms, and leave the living room-dining room-kitchen space open. Also quite unusual for our time was the wish not to make a TV in the living room, but to leave it only in the bedroom, and even then without particularly focusing on "this black spot". The spouses also asked for a library - also, unfortunately, a rarity for today.
Loft with all shades of blue
Together with the customers it was chosen, he is in thatThe design was dictated by the house itself — it is a former administrative building of Stalinist construction, now reconstructed and externally decorated with a slight touch of loft style. The color scheme is partly determined by the chosen style — natural wood, concrete-colored tiles. The designers slightly diluted and refreshed the typical loft finish with a splash of blue, which turned out to be so close to the spouses. They used different saturations of this color, flowing from one room to another: rich blue in the bedroom, celestial airy blue in the nursery and a unifying tone in the living room. Andrey Menzhulin, project manager: — We did the ceiling as simply as possible, since the wishes and the project did not imply any decorations, so we simply painted it. The walls are partially made using decorative plaster technique, and in some places they are faced with brick-like tiles. Unfortunately, it was not possible to scrape the walls down to the brick on this project due to the complete absence of these walls. In the living room-dining room-kitchen + corridor area, it was decided to use porcelain stoneware as a floor covering. Firstly, this is the most wear-and-tear zone, and the customers also expressed a desire to make the flooring as resistant as possible to street shoes, since they do not plan to "take off" guests' shoes at the entrance (even if the guests are not so frequent and numerous). In the bedroom and children's room, a "warmer" and more comfortable flooring was chosen - parquet board. smolenskayadesign.ru
Cozy living area with fireplace
The fireplace and walls became the center of the living area.with a red brick effect. Despite the fact that this is just a bio-fireplace, it looks very decent both from an aesthetic point of view and from the unique enchanting atmosphere of the fire. The fireplace is framed by an impressive bookcase, which occupies the entire space from floor to ceiling, but so that it does not seem too bulky, it was decided to drown it in . Ekaterina Smolenskaya, designer: - Our customers love to read real paper books, so the space of the bookshelves will definitely not be empty. The cabinet is custom-made according to our sketch, including forged elements in the corners of the shelves. A book, hot mulled wine, an unusually soft sofa upholstered in worn leather, a winter evening - I hope we managed to fully implement the customers' wishes regarding the recreation area. smolenskayadesign.ru
The blue kitchen deserves special attentionsolid wood, complemented by metal elements. The work surface is unusual in execution - it is made of cement with a special coating. The hood made of sheet steel looks incredibly impressive, which perfectly supported the spirit of the loft. Despite the vintage look, the technical characteristics of the set meet modern needs. Ekaterina Smolenskaya, designer: - The kitchen set is made by Marchi Group, which specializes in vintage models. I simply fell in love with this piece when I saw it at last year's iSaloni exhibition. It's nice that the customers shared my delight, and now this kitchen will decorate their interior. smolenskayadesign.ru
Cobalt Bedroom
The layout of the room turned out to be quiteelongated, but this is not without reason: the door was specially made in the center so that it visually divides the room into two parts - the bedroom itself and the dressing room area with a large mirror and a dressing table. The dressing room wall is decorated with unusual decor, made of miniature aged mirrors, made according to the sketch of Ekaterina Smolenskaya. There was room next to it for a small bookcase (it is recessed into the wall) - for the most beloved and dear to the heart books.
Andrey Menzhulin, project manager:— The sleeping area is located by the window, and so that on weekends you can get a good night's sleep without worrying about the sun's rays breaking through into the room, the curtains are provided with a special light-proof lining. It was decided to make the headboard of the bed to order from leather similar to the sofa upholstery. There are sconces at the headboard, supporting the shape of the mirror decor of the dressing room. Since the clients asked not to focus too much attention on the TV, the following solution was invented for it — an imitation of a window. When the curtains are open, you can watch TV, and if you close them, then visually we just see a curtained window. smolenskayadesign.ru
With thoughts about the future
After some discussion, it was finally decidedIt was decided to combine the nursery with the general style of the apartment by means of brickwork, but it was softened with white color. In addition to this, the lower part of the wall was covered with furniture so that in the future the child, playing near the walls, would not get hurt (after all, a brick is not a perfectly smooth surface). The designers decided not to clutter the room at this stage, because the future owner will certainly have his own preferences. Also, for the future, a small educational moment was introduced in the form of an alphabet on the wall, which is also a decor. Ekaterina Smolenskaya, designer: - Since the nursery is being made for the future, we did not introduce clear signs of "boy-girl", but tried to make it as neutral in this sense as possible, we allocated two windows for this room so that the child has a lot of daylight. smolenskayadesign.ru
Lighting scenarios
Ceiling lamps are used in all rooms.lamps, the "chandelier in the center" option was chosen only for the children's room. In the living room and kitchen, the ceiling lighting is divided into separate zones: sofa group, dining table, kitchen area, work area; above the bed and in the dressing table area in the bedroom. In the living room, each of the four described zones has additional lighting - working in the kitchen and at the desk, soft lighting as a fireplace and candles in the sofa and dining areas. The bedroom also has a sconce above the bed for reading. In the children's room, there will be additional sockets for redevelopment into a more adult children's room, but for now this is a room "for the future", so they decided not to be clever with the lighting.
Materials, brands and finishes
Living room-kitchen-dining room:
- kitchen set - MarchiGroup;
- sofa - company Libero;
- bookcase is made to order according to the designer's sketch;
- dining table - brand Eichholtz;
- textiles - company Alhambra;
- ceiling lights - Buster + Punch.
Bedroom:
- chest, bedside table - brand Eichholtz;
- textiles - company Alhambra;
- head of the bed made to order according to the designer's sketch;
- ceiling lamp - German manufacturer Favorite;
- dressing table - Tonin Casa factory.
Children's:
- bed - company Feretti;
- sofa - company Gramercy Home;
- cabinets - the company Gramercy Home;
- chest of drawers is made to order according to designer's sketch;
- textiles - company Alhambra;
- ceiling light - brand Normann Copenhagen.
5 tips from Ekaterina Smolenskaya for those who want to style their apartment as a loft:
Loft is a rather eclectic style in itself,because it was initially formed by creative and unusual people. The premises vacated by factories and plants were very cheap, and were occupied mainly by artists - combining an apartment and a studio. At all times, artists were not rich, but they had imagination and ingenuity, so these interiors combined completely different things at first glance - an antique sofa (which could easily have been found in a garbage dump) and factory pipes. Here are some tips to take into account if you want to turn your apartment into a loft:
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