The assignment received by our team was to transform the apartment in the center of Kyiv into the gallerist’s residence. The main actors in the apartment are the owner himself and the works of art that he studies. Our aim was to create a space not surcharged with details which could be a perfect background for expositions and at the same time be comfortable for his stay and rest during his visits to the city.

The apartment being relatively small motivated us to make use of the existing meters very rationally and not to overcomplicate the space with complex design. The windows face the same side, overlooking the historical center streets. The owner does not live in the apartment permanently. That being so his request was to have an appropriate office space as well as a place for rest, a functional kitchen, and a dressing area with a possibility to take care of clothing. An additional separate bath in the master bedroom was also a special detail of his wish list.

The apartment is divided into an entrance, a large, combined living room-kitchen, and a separate bedroom with an open wardrobe section. The sliding bedroom door helps to use the space more efficiently. The bathroom opens both to the hallway and the bedroom. In order not to make the level of ceiling lower the team decided to leave it concrete. For this reason, we did not hide the electrical wiring and changed the positioning of the air conditioner and ventilation system which can be controlled from the dedicated cabinet.

Bathroom walls and floor were coated by micro cement covering which creates the seamless effect. This idea prolongates in the rest of the objects. The wall cabinet with a hidden mirror is covered with the same micro cement, the color of sink made of artificial stone is in harmony with the walls. The shower base is of the same level as the floor. The contrasting elements are shower mixer and faucets which are matt black.

The accent in the whole space is made of wood. We consciously used soft to touch textures of naturally aged wood for the objects the owner interacts with the most. The wooden planks used for the floor once covered the granary walls. That is why you can notice the fragments’different widths and the surfaces’unique texture. The wood, which is about seventy years old was processed in the brushing technique. To accentuate this special texture, we made a color of the wood warmer by combining several tones of light and grey paint and worked the top layer manually.