You won’t believe your eyes.
Tatyana bought an apartment in an old building by a lucky chance (she wanted a new building, but didn’t have enough money). The apartment was received in a ruined state, and new life was breathed into it in just 80 days, and they even created a real hammam. Interesting? Then read on.
We were looking for an apartment at the height of quarantine, and at a good price we came across a Stalin-era, individually built 1956 apartment. This is a beautiful facade building of 8-9 floors with towers of a complex “horseshoe” shape. The house is located in the green zone of the Danilovsky district. We were captivated by the interesting layout and the main feature (we called it Narnia) – a room measuring 8 square meters, which comes as an additional bonus to the apartment. Previously, this was the back door, but now all the residents have a large storage room. Together with it, the total area of the apartment is 88 square meters.
Since a major overhaul was awaiting us, and there was no spare apartment, we rented housing in a neighboring house. Real estate in this area is relatively expensive: we didn’t want to pay for a rented apartment for a long time; it was important to complete the renovation and move within 90 days. Since this is our second apartment, we knew a way to do everything.
We immediately abandoned the brigade – this is important! Crews often miss deadlines, get tired by the finishing stage, and nothing can be done about it, since you are bound by the contract and, most likely, have made an advance payment. Therefore, we practice our own method – we invite a new master to each stage of work.
This path is more difficult, but more profitable and faster. Our method is not suitable for everyone: firstly, you must have time and exercise daily control (in essence, you become a foreman), secondly, you yourself must have a good understanding of repairs, thirdly, you must quickly make decisions and immediately part with workers, if something doesn’t go according to plan. We changed workers almost every week. Our main motto is not a day of downtime! On my blog , I kept a diary from the very first day of the renovation, and you can track all 80 days.
I developed the design project myself. Although I am not a designer by profession, I have been involved in this as a hobby for more than 15 years. I admit, the project was not easy for me and it only worked out the third time, because the shape of the apartment is complex and standard things simply did not fit – I had to look for original solutions.
For example, we have a hidden bookcase behind a mirror panel, a hidden large closet in the bathroom above the sink, a smart cube that houses a laundry area and a refrigerator on the other side. There is also a circular movement in the apartment: our entire home can be walked around in a circle, which is very convenient.
In general, working with the planning and design of the apartment was very pleasant and interesting: we have high three-meter ceilings, large windows, a chic open balcony overlooking the inner green courtyard. I wanted to bring a feeling of modern classics, loft and a touch of France to this apartment. I think everything worked out in the end. We even filmed an advertisement for one famous cheese.
The cost of the entire renovation, including furniture and appliances, cost 3.5 million rubles – this amount was obtained only through useful connections and life hacks. If we had done the renovation without this, the price would have been around 5 million. Here are a few life hacks:
Photos before renovation
