This project is the embodiment of designer Alisa Shabelnikova's dream and a true gift to a creative individual. The story of its creation began even before meeting the clients, when the designer visited Amsterdam. She was captivated by the autumnal charm and elegance of the city, particularly struck by how similar the Dutch climate at that time of year is to Moscow's. The same sky color, little sun, cloudy, but the architecture impresses with its vivid colors, which is very inspiring. "Just a month after this trip, clients came to our studio, whose only wish was for a bright interior. When they sent references, I was amazed because it was exactly what I wanted to do!" Alisa admits.
The apartment is located in an old building, so the original layout was unconventional and even a bit odd: tiny rooms, a huge hall, and an impractical kitchen. Among the advantages are high ceilings and a large number of windows. The apartment's architecture was completely changed, and a 135 m² space was designed to include a combined living and dining area with a kitchen, three bedrooms, and an office. The layout is built on an axial principle: an imaginary line runs through the center of each room, around which furniture is symmetrically arranged. This solution, typical for strict classical interiors, combined with high ceilings, gives the space a calm solemnity.
The interior could be called colorful, as it uses many different shades and patterns, from geometric to depictions of palms with birds. But in reality, it doesn't give such an impression. "The secret is that for this large space, we chose just five main colors: blue, red, white, yellow, and purple, and then worked with their shades, combinations, and saturation levels. Moreover, the colors used are complex: not just blue, but deep blue, almost black, not yellow, but turmeric, not red, but ripe persimmon and a rich coral shade," explains Alisa.
This approach to color scheme sets a special noble tone for the entire interior. The chosen colors look particularly advantageous in the cool Moscow or Amsterdam lighting. For example, the rich purple bedroom, the persimmon-colored office, and the small hallway, created on the principle of a jewelry box, seem different at first glance but are actually interconnected in the finest details by a common concept. The project's particular pride is the living room combined with the kitchen in deep blue. The shade was individually selected for the project so that the wall paint perfectly matched the tone of the kitchen facades. Despite the living room appearing very dark, it feels very comfortable thanks to three windows and harmonious furniture.
"We based it on one color, brought it out in a saturated shade for the walls, and in a lighter tone for the sofa and curtains," Alisa shares. Even the children's rooms for a boy and a girl are executed in the general interior style: unconventional colors, graphic wallpaper patterns, but, unlike other rooms, slightly more diluted and airy shades. In decorating the guest bathroom, a decorative technique of visual camouflage was used. Since it was impossible to physically correct the room's irregular shape with its abundance of corners and protrusions, the walls were wallpapered with a vibrant pattern to hide this flaw. The rich color of the ceiling and all carpentry visually "calms" the busyness of the pattern.
"Thanks to the complete trust of the clients, we created what I dreamed of while walking through the streets of Amsterdam. Almost everything in the interior was made according to individual sketches, with careful selection of colors, finishing materials, and fabrics, to ultimately achieve a perfectly harmonious space. I am sure that it is only this way, with attention to every detail, that dream interiors are created," Alisa concludes.
