Houzz Tour: Family Rallies Around an Industrial-Chic Moscow Pad
Brutalist influences, theatrical lights, personal artwork and home comforts are found in this 2-level apartment
This apartment in Moscow was a labor of love. Plagued by construction setbacks and the attendant budget difficulties, the project took the help and input of the entire extended family and the timely intervention of a design “fairy godmother” to complete. The result is an open and airy place with industrial and Brutalist influences balanced by tactile materials and personal touches.
At first, Churkin tried to manage the work himself. His wife, Anna Gorbatsevich, was pregnant, so she stayed away from the physically demanding steps of finish selection and installation. However, he was soon exhausted. “I’d done five or six renovation projects, so I thought I would be able to handle this one too. But I soon faced some practical problems,” he says. “We hired a designer, but after a while, it became clear that he completely failed to meet deadlines, so we had to let him go.
“At one point, Anna saw I was feeling beaten and suggested we have a talk with a longtime friend of hers, an architect named Annis Lender. Annis turned out to be our fairy godmother: Just a week after our first meeting, she came back with a detailed apartment plan.”
“At one point, Anna saw I was feeling beaten and suggested we have a talk with a longtime friend of hers, an architect named Annis Lender. Annis turned out to be our fairy godmother: Just a week after our first meeting, she came back with a detailed apartment plan.”
It should be noted that after the first designer was let go, the whole family helped out. Churkin’s brother, the head of a construction company, came up with a smart solution — a mezzanine floor for the private spaces. His mom suggested plumbing fixtures and electrical accessories in the prewar British style. Churkin bought gorgeous barn boards, ceramic tiles and a huge batch of clinker (partially vitrified) bricks.
The money for the project was dwindling, but the results were still far from apparent. Lender found herself in a bind. “It was risky to begin work on the apartment when a lot of decisions had already been made and money was running out,” she says. “But we agreed that we would propose a solution for how we might use the eclectic collections of items that had already been bought and then decide how to move forward.”
The money for the project was dwindling, but the results were still far from apparent. Lender found herself in a bind. “It was risky to begin work on the apartment when a lot of decisions had already been made and money was running out,” she says. “But we agreed that we would propose a solution for how we might use the eclectic collections of items that had already been bought and then decide how to move forward.”
First (and most important), they had to agree on how to divide up the space so as to maintain a sense of volume and integrate complete storage systems.
They created a series of metal-encased structures reminiscent of elevator shafts. These connect the two levels of the apartment and contain closets, two bedrooms and the bathrooms.
Thanks to the finish of the glass, it’s impossible look inside them from the living room. This solution maintains an airy feel in the overall space and fills it with a soft, diffused light in the evenings.
They created a series of metal-encased structures reminiscent of elevator shafts. These connect the two levels of the apartment and contain closets, two bedrooms and the bathrooms.
Thanks to the finish of the glass, it’s impossible look inside them from the living room. This solution maintains an airy feel in the overall space and fills it with a soft, diffused light in the evenings.
The tactile quality of the materials was a key factor in the finish selection — that’s why there is plenty of wood. The floor is textured oak (Wood Bee’s King Brown), while the furniture is made mostly from elm. Functional metal equipment with riveted copper details creates the balance.
The fireplace, with its massive chimney (reminiscent of a steamship’s funnel), is not only the central design element of the apartment, but also the heart of the home.
They get regular wood deliveries, though Churkin was ready to go to the countryside to get it on his own if need be. The fireplace is finished with copper plates that have been oxidized and given an attractive turquoise patina.
They get regular wood deliveries, though Churkin was ready to go to the countryside to get it on his own if need be. The fireplace is finished with copper plates that have been oxidized and given an attractive turquoise patina.
The ceiling was only lightly polished and covered with primer. Electrical lines were laid onto it. The lighting system resembles that of a movie theater and can be rearranged into a variety of schemes thanks to track systems with adjustable spotlights, pendant lights and sconces in Mad Max-style.
Bold industrial pendant lights, which were created specially for this apartment, are the main focus of attention here, however. “We wanted to create one large chandelier that would move on an electrically driven beam crane from the multimedia zone to the dining room, but we had to give up on this idea. Instead, we designed two pendant lights made from metal and glass insulators,” says Lender, adding that each weighed about 200 pounds. “To say that hanging them was not easy is an understatement. We had to develop special fastening systems. Interestingly, these fasteners only embellished the lamps, bringing them to the next level.”
Bold industrial pendant lights, which were created specially for this apartment, are the main focus of attention here, however. “We wanted to create one large chandelier that would move on an electrically driven beam crane from the multimedia zone to the dining room, but we had to give up on this idea. Instead, we designed two pendant lights made from metal and glass insulators,” says Lender, adding that each weighed about 200 pounds. “To say that hanging them was not easy is an understatement. We had to develop special fastening systems. Interestingly, these fasteners only embellished the lamps, bringing them to the next level.”
Almost all the wooden furniture in the kitchen-living room was custom-made from Russian wood at the WoodMass factory. The only exception is a large table at the back of the living room next to the sofa area. That tabletop is made of burnt Indonesian acacia.
The roughness of details like the textured wooden facades and the unpolished welding allowed the furniture to be made for 2½ times less than it would’ve cost otherwise.
The roughness of details like the textured wooden facades and the unpolished welding allowed the furniture to be made for 2½ times less than it would’ve cost otherwise.
The huge couch with leather-and-cloth cushions is a reinterpretation of the Auto-Reverse sofa by Arketipo. Additional pillows lie on the floor, serving as comfortable seats for the couple’s many guests. They plan to add a large projection screen and a remote-controlled lifting platform for the projector in the living room.
Browse floor pillows and poufs
Browse floor pillows and poufs
The previous designer drafted the basis for the kitchen design, but it was Lender’s team that fine-tuned its functionality and look. “We inherited a decent idea, but we improved it in the process. In particular, we stretched the kitchen hood to the ceiling by analogy to the fireplace,” Lender says. “We treated the copper facades [with a patina, worked over with a bristled disk] to make them more suited to a living space, and we made part of the concrete countertop into a backsplash in order to protect the textured bricks.”
The owner’s main passions — contemporary art and music — are the key decorative accents in the space. “Whenever I move into a new place, the first thing I do is put my drum set together,” Churkin says. The sound-absorbing properties of the materials in the apartment keep him from disturbing the neighbors.
Art steeped in personal meaning can also be found throughout the home. The portrait of the red-haired woman is by painter Alexander Klimtsov, winner of the Kandinsky Prize, which is given to the best contemporary Russian artists. He gave it to Churkin as a gift.
“It’s nice when you are surrounded by such gifts at home. Works of art are not only valuable, but also remind you of the people who gave them to you,” Gorbatsevich says.
“It’s nice when you are surrounded by such gifts at home. Works of art are not only valuable, but also remind you of the people who gave them to you,” Gorbatsevich says.
This sculpture by Vladimir Anzelma, titled Krylo (Wing), is made of anthracite and quartz crystals. It was a wonderful spontaneous purchase.
“I was working with deliveries of fruit from Spain,” Churkin says. “One day I received an order from the Tagansky district, which happens to be where I went to school. Propelled by nostalgia, I decided to drive the order over myself. It turned out that the destination was a gallery. That was how I got to know the owner and see the exhibition. I just went in for five minutes and came out with the black wing.”
“I was working with deliveries of fruit from Spain,” Churkin says. “One day I received an order from the Tagansky district, which happens to be where I went to school. Propelled by nostalgia, I decided to drive the order over myself. It turned out that the destination was a gallery. That was how I got to know the owner and see the exhibition. I just went in for five minutes and came out with the black wing.”
Silk-screen prints by Elena Kudinova decorate the wall in the hallway and a space on the upper floor. The Olympia typewriter was a gift from Lender.
The mezzanine floor hosts the private areas, complete with a bedroom, a spacious bathroom and a dressing room. The lighter and calmer color scheme here is a contrast to the Brutalist aesthetic of the living room.
The mezzanine floor hosts the private areas, complete with a bedroom, a spacious bathroom and a dressing room. The lighter and calmer color scheme here is a contrast to the Brutalist aesthetic of the living room.
The bedroom furniture came from the Belarusian manufacturer Belfast. It fits in well with the rest of the interior, and its price was a pleasant surprise given the quality. The interior window is childproof, as only the upper panels open.
There are no bright colors or unexpected textures in the bedroom, but a sense of intrigue is maintained by surprising elements like the hanging terrariums with live plants and the light fixtures at the head of the bed, which consist of miniature chandeliers inside glass bulbs.
Find hanging terrariums
Find hanging terrariums
There is no copper in this part of the house. Steel continues the industrial theme instead.
The design of the mezzanine-floor bathroom represents an unexpected cocktail of Mediterranean and Brutalist motifs, like the floor tiles and brickwork, respectively.
“Before Eva’s birth, I knew very little about children and thought that the baby could stay on the first floor, while we could have our bedroom on the second,” Gorbatsevich says. Reality forced them to make adjustments. For now, Eva sleeps with her parents upstairs, and the nursery is being prepared for when she gets older.
On the wall is a cartoon-inspired mural with fun monsters drawn by artist Maxim Hikma. Retro-style light switches and an outlet serve as this monster’s eyes.
On the wall is a cartoon-inspired mural with fun monsters drawn by artist Maxim Hikma. Retro-style light switches and an outlet serve as this monster’s eyes.
Homeowners Gorbatsevich, holding Eva, and Churkin flank Lender.
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Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: Artyom Churkin, a financier; his wife, Anna Gorbatsevich, an editor; and their daughter, Eva
Location: Moscow
Size: About 1,830 square feet (170 square meters) with a ceiling height of 17 feet (5.2 meters) on the main floor and about 8½ feet (2.6 meters) on the mezzanine floor
Designers: Annis Lender, Maxim Venzel and Kirill Fokin of Gemini Guild
When he was looking for a new apartment, Artyom Churkin had a clear idea of what kind of home he wanted to settle down in. “I have traveled a lot, lived in Spain and Budapest for a long time, and moved many times within Moscow as well. All of my apartments had certain zoning restrictions: I felt boxed in, and what I wanted could only be achieved with open space,” the owner says.