A one-room apartment in Khrushchev is comparable in size to a hotel room. It was important for the designer to create a home interior that reflected the individuality of the customer, and to fit within a small budget. The solution was a simple and laconic interior with bright accents, as well as transformable furniture that changes the functionality of a single room.
To turn an old Khrushchev-era apartment into a modern studio with a convenient layout, the customer invited designer Daria Nazarenko. During the work, the project changed several times – as a result, the final version fully reflects the character of the customer: restrained and strict on the outside, but light and emotional on the inside.
“This is a typical one-room apartment in Khrushchev with an area of 28 square meters. We were lucky: the room is not extended, as usual, deep into the house, but along the facade. Thanks to this, it was possible to place the kitchen-living room in the most illuminated part,” says Daria Nazarenko.
During the redevelopment process, the wall between the kitchen and the room was dismantled and the dressing room was separated by a partition. The bathroom was slightly expanded at the expense of the hallway in order to place a closet with a washing machine in the bathroom.
Washable paint was used to decorate the walls: practical and easy to use. There is a single covering on the floor everywhere – parquet boards made of blocks of different colors, it looks impressive. For the hallway and bathroom, we chose porcelain tiles that imitate marble. To meet a small budget, we relied on the Russian manufacturer Kerama Marazzi.
The highlight of the bathroom and dressing room are the walls made of glass blocks. Translucent “bricks” allow maximum natural light to pass through. “The customer is happy that there is no need to turn on the lights in these rooms again. Taking into account our climate and short daylight hours, this significantly reduces electricity costs ,” says the designer.
The bulk of things were placed in the dressing room. Another large storage system is a wardrobe with a transformable bed. It has ample open shelves and drawers for personal items and decor.
Almost all the furniture, except the island, is built-in. This architectural technique allows you to maximize usable space. “Contrary to fears, built-in furniture does not mean a large financial investment. For this project we used IKEA cabinets. At the planning stage, we took into account the necessary parameters of the furniture and built niches and partitions in accordance with them,” shares Daria Nazarenko.
The interior is based on white and graphite colors. They emphasize the geometry of the interior, but at the same time they are the base, so they cannot get boring. And with them it’s easy to use decor of different shades: for example, in this interior, the accents were an orange kitchen apron , a sofa and an emerald-colored painting.
Some of the furniture for the project was bought from IKEA: cabinets, kitchen units, chest of drawers, coffee table. The most original item in the interior was a transforming module from the Russian brand Olissys, built into a niche. During the day it is a comfortable deep sofa with a spacious storage system, and at night it transforms into a full double bed. An excellent solution for small apartments. Take note.
Photo of the apartment before renovation
