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Before & After: A Russian Flat Honours Valuable Family Memories
This designer took care to recreate parts of this treasured family flat while bringing it into the 21st century
The forebears of this flat’s owner were mining engineers who worked as professors at the Ural State Mining University in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The owners are translators. Although the husband lived most of his adult life elsewhere, he wanted to keep this memento of the lives and lifestyles of generations past. Now the past 60 years of the family’s history have been compressed into this flat.
The entire flat was furnished with items of sentimental value; historical artefacts from various eras and, of course, books. It also contained documents about the owner’s great grandfather, who had been persecuted under Stalin: it was only during the renovation that the owner found out about the 10 years his great grandfather had spent in labour camps.
The view of the dining room from the hallway after the renovation
The owners found designer Svetlana Pakhomova through Houzz. She tried to preserve as much as possible of the familiar layout of the owner’s childhood home, including the colour scheme of the rooms. Some of the historical decor also stayed where it was. The renovation took three months. The revamp left the tired interior of the professorial flat completely transformed.
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The owners found designer Svetlana Pakhomova through Houzz. She tried to preserve as much as possible of the familiar layout of the owner’s childhood home, including the colour scheme of the rooms. Some of the historical decor also stayed where it was. The renovation took three months. The revamp left the tired interior of the professorial flat completely transformed.
Find a local interior designer to help modernise your place
The floorplan including 1) the entrance; 2) toilet; 3) bathroom; 4) kitchen; 5) bedroom; 6) living room; 7) dining room; 8) hallway; 9) storage; 10) walk-in wardrobe.
The layout was left mostly untouched. The rooms have simply swapped functions: the bedroom became the living room, the former nursery is now the dining room, and the original dining room has turned into a bedroom with a separate walk-in wardrobe.
The layout was left mostly untouched. The rooms have simply swapped functions: the bedroom became the living room, the former nursery is now the dining room, and the original dining room has turned into a bedroom with a separate walk-in wardrobe.
Before: The vintage electricity meter with its plugs was perhaps the only interesting object in the entrance when the renovation began. Its decor was outdated and the open wiring didn’t improve the appearance of the walls.
Torso sculpture by Andrei Antonov (1944–2011) copy by the original artist
After: The designer exchanged the linoleum in the entrance for light-grey porcelain stoneware in a carpet pattern, and placed timber flooring in the hallway. The walls are painted in a cool grey tone from floor to ceiling.
Instead of a closet with shelving on top, there is a separate storage room in front of the entrance to the kitchen. It is fitted with a sliding door so that the hallway doors don’t interfere with one another: two swing-out doors opposite lead to the toilet and bathroom.
After: The designer exchanged the linoleum in the entrance for light-grey porcelain stoneware in a carpet pattern, and placed timber flooring in the hallway. The walls are painted in a cool grey tone from floor to ceiling.
Instead of a closet with shelving on top, there is a separate storage room in front of the entrance to the kitchen. It is fitted with a sliding door so that the hallway doors don’t interfere with one another: two swing-out doors opposite lead to the toilet and bathroom.
Before: Prior to the renovation, this room was a bedroom with deep blue walls in a striped pattern. Opposite the door was a bookcase with glass doors from the Stalin era, and a ’60s floor lamp from the GDR, which had a lamp shade on a moveable arm attached to a long stand. Works of art and antiques had adorned the space. However, like the rest of the apartment, the room was overloaded with things.
After: The walls are still the colour the owner remembers from his childhood. However, Pakhomova went for a more saturated blue with no stripes or pattern. The antique bookshelf with its curved sides and the ultra-modern vintage floor lamp stayed in their previous spots.
As this space now serves as the living room, Pakhomova selected a bright-pink sofa to liven up the dignified blue of the walls. She hung a large painting – Kama River by Elena Rufova – overhead. The designer underscored the room’s ’60s feel with a five-arm lighting fixture.
As this space now serves as the living room, Pakhomova selected a bright-pink sofa to liven up the dignified blue of the walls. She hung a large painting – Kama River by Elena Rufova – overhead. The designer underscored the room’s ’60s feel with a five-arm lighting fixture.
Before: The walls of the dining room – which was the nursery prior to the renovation – were an olive-yellow colour, separated from white plaster with a burgundy border. A thick curtain over the doorway – in Russia, a feature associated with old professors’ flats – gave a heavy feel to the space.
Books had been piled up high in the corner of the room, with the 1980 Moscow Olympics bear mascot hanging overhead.
Books had been piled up high in the corner of the room, with the 1980 Moscow Olympics bear mascot hanging overhead.
After: The walls were straightened out with drywall. Pakhomova replaced the olive-yellow with a pleasant Sage paint from Little Greene. As with the other rooms, Pakhamova put in a highly profiled but short cornice.
She discarded the drape that hung over the door, but echoed its burgundy colour in the window dressings. Pakhamova placed a bookshelf, which came with the flat, to the right of the door. Alongside books, it displays Kasli cast-iron figurines from the family’s collection.
She discarded the drape that hung over the door, but echoed its burgundy colour in the window dressings. Pakhamova placed a bookshelf, which came with the flat, to the right of the door. Alongside books, it displays Kasli cast-iron figurines from the family’s collection.
Before: There used to be another door closer to the window in the room: it had led to what was then the blue bedroom – currently, the living room. Pakhomova suggested filling it in.
After: A decorative mantlepiece with a painting overhead has taken the place of the closed-up doorway. This classic technique has livened up the room and broken up the visual dominance of the lacquered wood furniture. A German porcelain ballerina figurine – another heirloom – stands on the mantelpiece.
A contemporary German light brightens up the relaxation area between the mantelpiece and the vintage sofa. There is an additional pendant over the dinner table – a yellow sphere on a long cable. The round dining table and its chairs were a gift from the wife’s parents. The owners brought it with them from their former flat: these pieces fit the olive-coloured dining room perfectly, brightening up the academic surroundings.
The kitchen before the renovation
Kitchen. The kitchen had featured linoleum flooring, white cupboards and neutral walls. There weren’t enough bright accents, especially in comparison to the saturated colours in the other rooms.
Kitchen. The kitchen had featured linoleum flooring, white cupboards and neutral walls. There weren’t enough bright accents, especially in comparison to the saturated colours in the other rooms.
Before: As with the other spaces, everything here was rundown and sooty.
Pakhomova kept the original kitchen layout: the compact work area is still to the left of the window, where the gas pipe is located. The biggest change is the Radicchio paint from Farrow & Ball on the wall. The flooring is a classic tile with black square inserts.
Before: The original splashback was made up of a light-blue square tile. The rest of the walls featured marble-effect wallpaper to the same height as the backsplash. The top of the walls had been finished in white plaster, which had become discoloured over the years.
After: The gas pipes are now hidden, and a glossy metro tile in various shades of bordeaux and light relief has taken the place of the old light-blue tile. Pakhomova had the strip of wall above the cabinets painted the same calm grey as the hallway, so that it wouldn’t be too overwhelming.
Before: Under the windowsill there was a niche in the wall for storing produce. The cast-iron radiator was offset to the right and took up nearly the entire wall to the right of the window.
After: The long radiator was replaced with a narrower model, which freed up wall space and made more room for sitting around the table. Pakhomova fitted the niche under the windowsill with shelves for storing glassware.
To the right of the window is an etching by renowned Russian artist Ernst Neizvestny. Neizvestny had gifted it to another artist, Misha Brusilovsky, who then gave it to the owners of the flat. Its front bears the inscription ‘To Misha, from Ernst. To Brusilovsky from Neizvestny with love, 1968’. Next to it hangs a poster by designers Uri Gordon and Heather Hermit (Irina Goryacheva) entitled My Moscow.
Before: The bathroom had a narrow walkway to the sink, which was fixed opposite the door. The water pipes and a simple plastic siphon were in full view.
After: Pakhomova swapped the location of the basin and the bath. The light-blue square tile was replaced with a neutral white version covering the bathfront and surrounding walls. The remainder of the walls were painted in a saturated green tone inspired by a card table cover.
Pakhomova placed an off-the-shelf vanity with drawers in beneath the sink, topped with a splashback in a white tile. The hexagonal tile echoes the shape of the mirror overhead.
Pakhomova placed an off-the-shelf vanity with drawers in beneath the sink, topped with a splashback in a white tile. The hexagonal tile echoes the shape of the mirror overhead.
Before: Beige, patterned wallpaper, brown furniture and a few framed engravings: this is what this room, at the time used as a living-dining room and now repurposed into a bedroom, looked like before the renovation.
After: Pakhomova divided up the space to make room for a separate walk-in wardrobe. She painted the walls in the bedroom area a golden-curry and turned part of the headboard wall into an accent wall with a flower-print wallpaper.
Before: A low book cabinet had stood to the left of the window. The wall here was a bare. It was a well-lit but unremarkable corner.
After: Pakhomova left the bookcase in the room but moved it to the left, opposite the bed. Next to the window she placed an antique desk, which had belonged to the father of the owner. It was restored, and its top was replaced.
Overhead are two sketches from the Icelandic and Irish Sagas series by Ekaterniburg artist Vitali Volovich (1928–2018). Next to them is a photo of the first owner of this flat – the owner’s great grandmother.
Your turn
What do you love most about this flat? Share your thoughts in the Comments below, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the renovation conversation.
More
Do you love to see different countries’ approaches to heritage homes? See UK Houzz Tour: The Inspired Makeover of a Former Council Home
Overhead are two sketches from the Icelandic and Irish Sagas series by Ekaterniburg artist Vitali Volovich (1928–2018). Next to them is a photo of the first owner of this flat – the owner’s great grandmother.
Your turn
What do you love most about this flat? Share your thoughts in the Comments below, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the renovation conversation.
More
Do you love to see different countries’ approaches to heritage homes? See UK Houzz Tour: The Inspired Makeover of a Former Council Home
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A mature couple
Location: Ekaterinburg, Russia
Size: 90 square metres
Year renovated: 2020
Designer: Svetlana Pakhomova
Stylist: Irina Chertikhina
Sixty years ago, the current owner’s great grandmother exchanged her historical house, which had stood opposite, for this flat. Her house was then demolished when this neighbourhood was rebuilt.