Project Description
The main task was to furnish and decorate the interior injecting personal style to an empty and uncomfortable home.
The apartment is located in a building originally built as a hotel and later converted into a residential complex. The total area of the apartment is 195 sq. meters, the project touched the 75 sq. meters openspace area of the living-dining room-kitchen is. While working on the project, I had to rather focus on decorating the space, without bringing significant changes in the walls layout.
Customers are a dynamic middle-aged couple from Russia. Since color was in the first place for the client, we started electing the high shade by preparing large paint sample panels, and during the week these panels moved around the space according to the light flux from the windows in order to feel the yellow, green, blue tones of each color. Then we added the French paper-backed sisal wallpaper in the dining room. The joints of the wall covering are deliberately noticeable.
Among the undoubted advantages of the apartment are the proximity to the pond and picturesque views. The disadvantages include an unsuccessful arrangement of a structual column in the interior. To disguise it, a double-sided fireplace was built in, forming an area with a daybed, two armchairs and an ottoman. Together with the owner of the apartment, they jokingly nicknamed this area “the smoking lounge, imagining the conversations of the men’s company over a cigar. The funny thing is, nobody smokes in this family.
The fireplace is steam, because according to Swiss regulations, bioethanol fireplaces cannot be installed in apartments without a chimney. More precisely, devices that burn from 0.3 liters of bioethanol per hour, which corresponds to a heat transfer of 2 kW, cannot be used indoors without an exhaust gas removal system.
Some of the furniture has moved from the previous small apartment of the clients, for example, a caramel-colored leather sofa. It was easily adapted into the new interior due to the changed configuration: the pouf, which was used separately, became part of the sofa, increasing the number of seats. The choice of chairs in the dining room turned out to be difficult, and to my surprise, the client herself suggested an unusual design option made of metal mesh, with armrests and a leather seat. According to the architect, the models look especially harmonious against the background of the warm sisal wall covering and a marble table.
The oak dining table has also moved from the previous apartment. It did not correspond to the proportions of the new space, so it was decided to use it in an atypical way. The house now has two dining tables, one of which has become a horizontal library and greets the owners and guests with the layout of photo albums, design books and curious decor items. Old and new objects are united by a calm natural palette. Finishing and accessories add textures: ash oak wood, sisal wallpaper, elegant fabrics for cushions and smooth vegetable silk carpets blend together in a harmonious interior.
