Houzz Tour: History Preserved in a Colorful Russian Apartment
A designer found on Houzz re-creates parts of a treasured family home while bringing it into the 21st century
The owner of this apartment inherited it from relatives who were mining engineers and worked as professors at the Ural State Mining University in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The owner and his wife are translators. Although he had lived most of his adult life elsewhere, he wanted to keep this memento of the lives and lifestyles of generations past. A redesign of the apartment by a designer on Houzz has preserved the last 60 years of the family’s history.
The owners found designer Svetlana Pakhomova on Houzz. She tried to preserve as much of the familiar layout and color scheme of the owner’s childhood home as possible. Some of the historic decor also stayed where it was.
The renovation took three months and transformed the apartment. Pictured here is a view of the dining room from the hallway after the renovation.
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The renovation took three months and transformed the apartment. Pictured here is a view of the dining room from the hallway after the renovation.
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The layout was left mostly untouched. The entry is on the left (1). Off the the entry, a hallway (8) leads to the toilet room (2), a storage room (9), the bathroom (3) and the kitchen (4). Some of the rooms have swapped functions: The former nursery is now the dining room (7), the bedroom became the living room (6), and the original dining room has been turned into a bedroom (5) with a walk-in closet (10).
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Before: The vintage electric meter with its plugs was perhaps the only interesting object in the entry when the renovation began. Its decor was outdated and the open wiring didn’t exactly improve the appearance of the walls.
After: The designer exchanged linoleum flooring in the entry for light gray porcelain tile in a carpet pattern and placed wood flooring in the hallway. The walls are painted in a cool gray tone from floor to ceiling.
Down the hall on the right in front of the entrance to the kitchen is a storage room with a sliding door. Two swing-out doors across from it lead to the toilet room and bathroom.
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Down the hall on the right in front of the entrance to the kitchen is a storage room with a sliding door. Two swing-out doors across from it lead to the toilet room and bathroom.
Read more before-and-after stories
Before: This room was a bedroom with deep blue striped walls before the renovation. Across from the door was a bookcase with glass doors from the Stalin era, and a ’60s floor lamp from the GDR, or German Democratic Republic, that had a lamp shade on a movable 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 color 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 walls and the ultra-modern vintage floor lamp stayed in their previous spots.
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As this space now serves as the living room, Pakhomova selected a bright coral pink couch to liven up the dignified blue of the walls. She hung a large painting (Kama River by Elena Rufova). The designer underscored the room’s ’60s feel with a five-arm ceiling fixture.
Before: The walls of the dining room — which was the nursery before the renovation — were an olive-yellow color with a burgundy border. A thick curtain over the doorway — in Russia, a feature associated with professors’ apartments — 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 paint with a more pleasant sage shade. As in the other rooms, Pakhamova put in a short cornice with a high profile.
She got rid of the drapery over the door but echoed its burgundy color in the window dressings. Pakhamova placed a bookshelf, which came with the apartment, to the right of the door. Alongside books, it displays Kasli cast iron figurines from the family collection.
She got rid of the drapery over the door but echoed its burgundy color in the window dressings. Pakhamova placed a bookshelf, which came with the apartment, to the right of the door. Alongside books, it displays Kasli cast iron figurines from the family collection.
Before: There had been another door closer to the window in the room. It led to what was then the blue bedroom and is now the living room. Pakhomova suggested filling it.
After: A decorative mantelpiece with a painting over it has replaced 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 — yet another heirloom — stands on the mantelpiece.
A contemporary German fixture lights up the relaxation area between the mantelpiece and the vintage couch, seen in the next photo. There is an additional pendant over the dinner table — a yellow sphere on a long cable. The round dining table and its bright chairs were a gift from the wife’s parents. The owners brought it with them from their former apartment. The pieces fit the olive-colored dining room perfectly, brightening up the academic surroundings.
Part of the dining table can be seen, along with the vintage sofa.
Before: The kitchen had featured linoleum flooring, white cabinets and neutral walls. There weren’t enough bright accents, especially in comparison with the saturated colors in the other rooms.
Before: As in 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 and Ball on the wall. The flooring is classic tile with black square inserts.
Before: The original backsplash was made up of 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 discolored over the years.
After: The gas pipes are now hidden, and a glossy subway 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 gray as the hallway so it wouldn’t be too overwhelming.
Before: Under the windowsill 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 narrow and tall 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 given it to another artist, Misha Brusilovsky, who then gave it to the owners of the apartment. 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 installed opposite the door. The water pipes were in full view.
After: Pakhomova swapped the positions of the sink and the bathtub. The light blue square tile was replaced with a neutral white version covering the bathtub front and surrounding walls. The rest of the walls were painted in a saturated green tone inspired by a card table cover.
Pakhomova added an off-the-shelf vanity with drawers under the sink, topped with a backsplash in white tile. The hexagonal tile echoes the shape of the mirror overhead.
Pakhomova added an off-the-shelf vanity with drawers under the sink, topped with a backsplash in white tile. The hexagonal tile echoes the shape of the mirror overhead.
Before: This room, with its existing beige patterned wallpaper, brown furniture and a few framed engravings was used as a living-dining room.
After: Pakhomova converted the room into a bedroom, dividing up the space to add a walk-in closet. She painted the walls in the bedroom area a golden curry color. She 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 bit bare. It was a well-lit but unremarkable corner.
After: Pakhomova left the bookcase in the room but moved it to the left, cross from 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 apartment — the owner’s great-grandmother.
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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 apartment — the owner’s great-grandmother.
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Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: A mature couple
Location: Ekaterinburg, Russia
Size: 969 square feet (90 square meters)
Designer: Svetlana Pakhomova
Sixty years ago, the current owner’s great-grandmother exchanged her historic house, which had stood across from it, for this apartment. The house was demolished when the neighborhood was rebuilt.
The apartment was furnished with items of sentimental value, historical artifacts 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 labor camps.