Project name: House for Celebrating Life
Interior design: Anastasiia Lukashova
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Photo: Andrew Shurpenkov
Area: 400 sq. m
Year: 2023
Project description from design firms Anastasiia Lukashova
Located on the slopes of the historic city of Kyiv the private house was designed for a family with two children of school and preschool age and two cats. The designer faced the task of embodying in the interior the charismatic character of the customer, who likes things that sometimes seem incompatible at first glance. So the project became the embodiment of eclecticism where is a place for bright colors, artistic solutions, glossy classic elements, golden surfaces, animalistic motifs, marble and modern design.
Color and luxury
After living in an apartment for a long time, the clients dreamed of a spacious, light-filled house with many open spaces and large windows. They wanted to celebrate life – brightly and luxuriously in the house. Privacy and coziness was essential, as well as a place for a creative flight of fantasy.
The first floor of the building is divided into left public and right private parts. The meeting place of these parts is a large festive hall with access to the terrace and descent to the basement floor.
The owner travels a lot and is interested in fashion, so the designer was inspired by the world of fashion designer Roberto Cavalli and bright colors reminiscent of trips to exotic countries.
“At first it seemed like an unrealistic task – to combine several different worlds in the interior. On the other hand, it was an interesting challenge, because it was possible to let go the imagination, go beyond the usual and be creative,” shares designer Anastasia Lukashova.
Space and details
The cozy entrance hall is illuminated by artistic sconces from Aromas del campo and ceiling lights from Nuura. A little table from Poltrona Frau adds color. A floor-standing coat hanger with a marble shelf, a trio of round-shaped pivoting mirrors and a banquette were custommade from the designer’s drawings.
The large glass doors with handmade brass handles lead to the festive hall, where a hanging handmade glass installation takes main place. It was developed and implemented by the Expolight team. The programmed light scenarios allow you to change the atmosphere depending on your mood and needs. Metal handrails are made according to the designer’s drawings from steel with titanium nitride coating. Yellow metal continues its story with inserts brass in the mirrors and on the floor. Portals and window sills are decorated with pieces of gold potali, their festivity is supported by sconces from DCW Editions.
The dining room with a fireplace, which leads to two rooms (the dining room and the living room), serves as a continuation of the festive story in the house. The family gathers around a large table from Cattelan Italia, surrounded by soft chairs from Cassina. The highlight of the dining room is a decadent Serip chandelier with metal branches and frosted glass droplets made of multi-colored glass. The customer likes color, so she chose a colored version of the chandelier. One of the walls was decorated with milled panels with metallic painting. Its animalistic pattern is a reference to the aesthetics of Roberto Cavalli, one of the client’s favorite fashion designers. Wall panels hide the entrances to utility rooms.
The dining room and the kitchen are connected with a window, which is a part of the lifting facades made of metal, covering a hidden functional apron on the kitchen side. The kitchen is minimalistic and functional, without hanging cabinets above the work surface. Table tops are made of textured marble.
The bathroom is a special place for the customer, because it is an important ritual and place of relaxation. The Relax Design bathtub itself was placed near the window with a view of the green slopes. The overall mood of the bathroom is languid and relaxing, which is facilitated by several lighting scenarios, from festive with a chandelier from Aromas del campo to nuanced lights and chromotherapy in the shower from Gessi.
Graffiti and a gray-yellow color scheme – was the client’s wish for the design of her eldest son’s room. The wall calligraphy of the Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Stia became the accent of the space. From the artist’s side, the condition was creative freedom, because calligraphy is a meditation for him, in the process of which thoughts are transferred to paper or to the wall, as in this case.
“Looking at the font, you can compose words yourself, as in a rebus or a puzzle. This is the essence of abstract calligraphy – the text is not thrown directly into the viewer’s eyes. Here, first of all, forms and compositions that evoke emotion should be perceived,” Oleksandr Stia says about his own work.
The two-story room is divided into zones – the lower level is for studying, the upper level is for rest. The floors are connected by metal spiral stairs, which were made according to the sketches of the designer.
The designer had the greatest freedom of creativity in the children’s bathroom, where the only condition was: colorful and bright. The walls and floor of the room are decorated with ceramic mosaics with a continuous pattern. The space between the bath and shower and toilet was made of yellow glass blocks. Accent red plumbing fixtures by Fantini and Laufen by Kartell furniture and mirrors complete the room. A variety of light scenarios are provided by Flos pendants, Vibia sconce, spotlights and backlights.
“Children don’t like to wake up in the morning and go to the bathroom. I wanted to change this by creating a bright bathroom that will make you smile every time you go to the bathroom and full fill you with energy,” says designer Anastasia Lukashova.
