Interior design: YODEZEEN
Furnishings: B&B Italia, DeCastelli, Flexform, Gianfranco Ferré, Giorgetti, Ivano Redaelli, Laura Meroni, Minotti, Venicem
Lighting: Cameron Design, Henge, Juniper, Oasis Group
Bathrooms: Gessi
Photo credits: Andrii Shurpenkov
Monumental but also welcoming and homey. The Grand Apartment private residence lives up to its billing, with 343 square meters, entirely redesigned by the studio YODEZEEN, on the fifth floor of one of the first buildings developed on Hrushevsky Street, in Kyiv, known as the “street of government” because it is the location of many ministries. The starting point was to totally rethink the house, dismantling various walls and thus expanding the space while allowing more natural light to enter.
“Half the success of the interior design depends on how lighting is distributed,” says Artem Zverev, co-founder of the firm YODEZEEN, together with Artur Sharf. “Besides the large number of windows, we have boosted the artificial lighting to make the apartment warm and welcoming.” But the architects’ prowess lies in the use of dominant materials like natural stone, metal and wood, “bent to their will” in a process of calm, reassuring and also sophisticated visual continuity, making them seem like a single organism. A complex of extreme elegance, intentional avoiding saturation, where straight lines flow gently into undulated forms. The absence of sharp corners underscores the rounded shapes of the furnishings.
There are two main zones: one more public, the other private. They are separated by a door flush with the wall, which would be hard to glimpse were it not for a handle on the flat surface. Brass stands out in the living area, with a wavy wall composed of multiple parts assembled at the site, together with a solid bookcase; in the main and guest bathrooms, framing the furniture; in the kitchen, in the doors surrounding the marble island; and in the composition of horizontal tubular light created by Henge. In this climate of apparently seamless fluidity, the furnishings – selected from the finest Italian design brands – become “lands” in which to gather.
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Like the Connery sofa by Minotti and the Kalamaja chairs by Gianfranco Ferré in retro style, which together with the dining table, also by Minotti, in Japanese izakaya style, encourage socializing and sharing. This is also true of the passages, such as the entrance, where a small ottoman by Minotti offers a quick seat right in front of the wardrobe; or around the kitchen island, where entertaining is facilitated by high bar stools from B&B Italia. The designers have also selected artworks, including the painting Horse, Evening by the Ukrainian artist Anatoly Kryvolap, one of the leading artists in that country.
