Witness the stunning transformation of a historic apartment in St. Petersburg! Once a dilapidated relic from 1850, this apartment has been beautifully restored. Explore the incredible before-and-after photos in the comments
Economical renovation that looks expensive
This apartment is located in a house built in 1850 and is located in the servants’ wing. It’s scary to imagine how many times it has been repaired since the house was built! Last year, all these layers of decoration were finally removed to furnish an apartment for the family. In one of the rooms, newspapers from 1864 were found under the wallpaper! It was simply impossible to part with such luxury: newspaper sheets were carefully removed from the wall, framed and decorated in the office.
Almost nothing of the elements of historical decoration has been preserved: there were no beautiful details like ceremonial stucco molding here, since servants were housed in the outbuilding. At the same time, the house itself is a cultural heritage site, so redevelopment was prohibited here. Only renovations were allowed, and Olga Smolenskaya took this opportunity to move the kitchen into the combined living-dining area. This is legal, since there is a non-residential premises below.
In the photo: this is what the room with two windows looked like before the renovation
After: The twenty-meter kitchen-living room was decorated in dark colors to… hide the rather low ceiling. “ Its height is 2.8 meters, which is very small for an old building, ” says Olga Smolenskaya. — It is a big misconception to think that a low ceiling needs white. In fact, it becomes taller thanks to the dark shade, as if visually failing . ”
What we saved on: They didn’t remove the old floor, they simply poured the construction mixture on top and leveled it with Knauf sheets . In this way, all problem areas were “ cemented ” so that the floor did not move or creak. PVC tiles with a herringbone parquet effect were used as the finishing coating. Tiles are a very durable and practical material that is placed on an adhesive layer. Laying it is no more difficult than laying linoleum.
The walls were lined with plasterboard mounted with glue, without a frame, so that the area of the room would not be reduced. “ Surprisingly, not all builders know about this method; at first our team did not believe that this was possible. But it turned out fast, convenient and reliable , ” says the designer.
Then the walls were painted and stucco was glued on. The wall behind the sofa was highlighted with a graphic poster: the image was printed on the wallpaper.
The fireplace portal was assembled from boards and wooden moldings and highlighted with white paint. The rosette on the fireplace is the only thing left in the new project from the previous interior. However, it was not possible to preserve it on the ceiling, so they decided to turn the architectural element into decor. The floor lamp was bought at IKEA, but the lampshade was removed from the recognizable model, creating an original minimalist object.
Problem and Solution: The drapery that goes up the wall hides the TV on the bracket. If the screen remained in sight, it would introduce dissonance into the interior with classical details.
In the photo: the dining area in the kitchen before renovation
After: Despite the modest size of the kitchen, it has everything you need – from an oven combined with a microwave to a dishwasher. The facades were made black to “ dissolve ” the kitchen. And instead of a dining table, they built a large counter that could seat six people.
BEDROOM
The principle of decorating the walls in the bedroom is the same as in the living room, but for this room they chose a neutral cream shade.
During the renovation, a niche opened up in the wall that wasn’t even on the plans. It included shelves and a small work desk.
They decided not to close the dressing room in the bedroom in an isolated room, but to zone it with a curtain. It is cheaper to implement, and such a dressing room does not require its own ventilation.
In the photo: this is what the guest bedroom looked like before the renovation
After: They decided to add eco-style accents to the second bedroom – using green color and floral patterns on the curtains. The decoration of this room is the lightest in the entire apartment, since the windows of the room overlook the courtyard-well: with a darker color scheme the room would not have enough insolation.
In the photo: this is what the room in which the office is now located looked like before the renovation
After: The narrow office was visually expanded with the help of painting: the color from the long wall was applied to the ceiling. The chest of drawers was saved from the previous communal interior, but repainted. Framed on the walls are the same newspapers from 1864 that were found under the wallpaper during renovations.
BATHROOM
In the photo: this is what the bathroom looked like before renovation, after dismantling the plumbing
After: To save on finishing costs, the main surfaces were painted, and the tiles were used only in the wet area – against the backdrop of a freestanding bathtub. A washing machine was placed under the countertop, a solid console with two sinks, and the wall was highlighted with mirror tiles.
