Our heroine Lena thought through the design of the apartment in Stalin on her own. From the “grandmother’s” renovation it turned out to be a stylish, thoughtful and modern space for the whole family – Lena herself, her husband Ivan, son Mikhail and cocker spaniel Robin. Get inspired and prepare to be amazed.
About renovation and planning
I wanted to find a balance between the spirit of the “old apartment” and modern comfort. We refused redevelopment; we came up with the project ourselves. Among the features: in the kitchen, the gas and wet area were initially separated on opposite walls. Everything remains the same.
The kitchen, dining room and hallway were painted the same gray color. True, then it had to be replaced, since the paint was initially chosen, which left a mark even from clean hands. I thought it was boring to paint the walls the same color. This is how a dark gray corridor and kitchen and a light gray living room appeared.
I didn’t do any coloring. I usually rely on logic. For example, the gray color appeared because at a certain moment I realized that I wanted the kitchen set to blend in with the color of the walls. I really like this approach with furniture.
During almost the entire renovation, we discussed whether it was possible or not to lay laminate flooring without thresholds on 80 square meters. m and in which direction to do it, if possible. And if you can’t, too. At that moment, when I opened the door to the laminate layer, there was still no solution. As a result, on the floor we have Tarkett Ballet, the color of Carmen. With chamfer. 33 resistance class. The only suitable substrate for wooden floors is cork, as the technologist at the store where we bought the laminate told us.
In the kitchen and hallway, the seams were treated with sealant to increase moisture resistance.
Gas and water were historically separated on opposite walls. Drawing water onto the wall with gas was somehow strange in its layout. We also didn’t want a gas pipe through the entire kitchen, provided that we were lucky (top floor) and it wasn’t visible. The wall with the slab is load-bearing, which also does not benefit the variety of options.
Is it convenient to live in such a kitchen? If the kitchen is the only place in the house for cooking and eating, then no, it will be inconvenient! In my case, the dining room is reserved for meals, and the kitchen is the room for preparing it. And just in this case, I don’t feel any inconvenience. The tabletop in the middle, at the same level as the others, serves as an intermediate point and smoothes out possible inconvenience.
Of course, ergonomics enthusiasts might have a heart attack. I’m not one of them, but I was also somewhat confused and puzzled over how to make it convenient under the proposed conditions. So far the feeling is that everything worked out.
I don’t even know if it’s worth mentioning that we bought the kitchen and countertops from IKEA. I think everyone found out that way. All this without equipment and pens costs 110,000 rubles. It could have been a little cheaper by eliminating some of the drawers. But I find cabinets terribly inconvenient to use.
Boyard pens for 189₽ each. Width – 231 cm. I had to run around for cheap, cute handles. I’ve seen a lot of bulky ones. I like these because they are light and thin.
Kuppersberg hob and oven. White glass. A gas oven was essential for us; this was the only one that was both beautiful and affordable. The hob went into steam.
In the wet area, I decided to continue the white theme.
GranFest sink made of artificial stone. Finding a white sink turned out to be a difficult task. This is the fourth option, the closest to white. It turns out that even if it says “white,” it’s not a fact that it’s really white.
The space turned out to be very cozy and atmospheric. You just want to gather the whole family around the round table, and vintage furniture adds its own flavor to the interior.
Blue walls in my bedroom are definitely one of the most talked about topics. I don’t remember what guided my choice. Most likely, it was simply necessary to settle on some option, and the obvious solutions were not inspiring.
But I can definitely say that it was an experiment based on intuition. And my favorite: “If you don’t like it/get tired of it, you can always repaint it.” Liked. I’m not tired of it. Moreover, over time, there was a clear feeling that this color was incredibly comfortable to live with.
I like that the color stands out from the general scheme of the apartment. Everything is light gray, dark gray, white, and then suddenly blue. Also with green. It evokes emotions! And, what is important, because… This is not the kind of room you find yourself in all the time; the shades don’t get boring.
Instead of pictures on the walls (although there are two hanging in the bedroom), I have a bright carpet and chandeliers. I seem to be looking for something for the wall above the bed, although internally I keep asking myself: “Do I need this?” I like that there is decor, but it is not in the usual places.
And about the curtains. Thanks to the polyester, which shrank by almost 10 cm after washing (not the first!), which motivated me to replace them with new ones as soon as possible. The fabric for the new curtains, like the one for the dining room, was also bought at a prashka shop and sewed there. The width of one curtain is 3 m, the length is 3.10 m.
The phrase “it seems to be normal” usually means that everything is just not normal. Our seemingly normal nursery was a real skeleton in the closet: access to it was closed not only because of the clutter or the personal space of another person. And mainly because it was uncomfortable there. No one.
First: at first I missed the color of the walls. It is too “aesthetic”, about minimalism. For a nursery, you need a neutral background, against which all the diversity of books and toys will look harmonious. I think these are simple light or dark colors. I already have enough dark ones, so why not light?
Second: storage space. I think each child will have their own depending on their interests. I understood that some of the toys would never be put away and would either remain on the windowsill, on the table and on the floor, or I could try to organize them as much as possible into the BILLY shelving unit from IKEA. They will continue to be visible and easy to access.
Regarding vintage in the nursery, I’ll simply say: aspen trees will not produce oranges. If there are vintage items at home, if going to a flea hunt together is considered normal, if a mother is restoring a buffet in the dining room, then this is a “natural habitat” for the child.
Besides, these are all “grandmother’s” things for us. Mikhail, for example, has only seen them in modern cafes and other public spaces; he does not have such a combination at all. He will consider “grandmother” something completely different.
Result:
Desk, cabinet from IKEA. But I ordered the tabletop separately from beech and covered with wax.
The cabinet is from the 1930s, my inheritance from my grandmother. I restored it myself and modernized it for modern times (the narrow section now has drawers for clothes inside).
The chair is also my inheritance, which I restored myself.
The bathroom is the most problematic place in our renovation. Some of the tiles were re-arranged, the bathtub took forever to be transported and in the end the model was replaced (it arrived defective), I also returned the cabinet because it was chipped. There should have been a radiator in place of the heated towel rail, but the narrowest Purmo with a bottom connection was wide enough to block the passage. As a result, in its place we hung a water heated towel rail, which will work like a battery only during the heating season.
