March Digest: What Will Remember the First Spring Month

Walks through Moscow and trips abroad, design exhibitions and galleries — professionals manage not only to create inspiring projects but also to seek new impressions, travel the world and follow the most interesting events in the design field. About what impressed them in March, they told Marina Sarkisyan, Daria Elnikova and Lyudmila Danilovich.

Marina Sarkisyan, designer. She has been developing private interior projects since 2005.

Thing of the Month

The Cara chair, which Philip Starck designed for the Kartell brand. Many finishing options: the orange frame and cushion with a print pattern stood out especially. It would fit perfectly into my new project in a gray-beige color scheme.

Cara Chair

Book of March

I reread Laura Esquivel's novel "Chocolate on Hot Tea". The story of love intertwines with recipes from Mexican cuisine. In March, while there is still snow outside the window, I wanted to immerse myself in a warm cozy atmosphere.

Route of the Month

There was a lot of work, and I couldn’t get away. But I did manage to walk around Zamoskvorechye and immerse myself in childhood. My father was a painter and member of the Union of Artists of the USSR and Armenia, and the artistic fund allocated him a studio on Osipenko Street (now Sadovnicheskaya). As a child, I often came there and went on sketching trips with my father to the Big Moscow River Bridge. The walk was inspiring and nostalgic.

Artist of the Month

Working on a project, I discovered Max Kurschner, a Viennese Secession artist. His works are very interesting: from oil paintings to lithographs. The painting "Lady in Yellow Dress," which is a portrait of his wife Marta, made a special impression, and the portrait of Bettina Bauer inspired me to create a new interior.

Lady in Yellow Dress. 1899

Portrait of Bettina Bauer. 1907

Impression of the Month

The Batimat exhibition in Moscow left a mixed impression. There were some interesting concept walls, but not many. I also held free consultations at the exhibition — I liked it, everything went well.

March Article on Our Website

About new lighting. A very inspiring selection.

Daria Elnikova, architect. Art director and head of Daria Elnikova Interiors Studio.

Thing of March

The River table in a new interpretation: with an integrated aquarium and live fish inside. I saw it at the CIFF exhibition in Guangzhou.

Film of the Month

"Surprise" — unexpected plot, development of events and ending. A great film for a weekend day.

Travel of March

China and Hong Kong made an extraordinary impression. It is a completely different world, quite different from ours. As an architect, I was impressed by the diverse skyscrapers, many of which are more than 30 years old but look as if they were built yesterday. Churches and temples are very avant-garde. It feels like local architects of sacred buildings never studied the laws of traditional architecture or heard anything about the golden ratio, and if they did hear about it, they deliberately avoided it.

Exhibition of the Month

The CIFF exhibition in Guangzhou, from which my husband and I just returned a few days ago. The furniture displayed looks at the level of Italian, yet its cost is much more budget-friendly. Of course, it’s not easy to bring it home, but if you want your interior to be a level (or two levels) higher, you can make the effort.

March Article on Our Website

An article about preparing for a move — very useful and relevant.

Lyudmila Danilovich, designer. Designer of residential and public spaces.

Design of the Month

I was very pleased with the new decor collection by American designers HAAS Brothers. Plates, storage containers, tableware, candles and napkin rings took the form of cute monsters.

Book of the Month

"Petson and Findus". Also, a cartoon and a feature film. It turns out there is also a play, but I haven’t seen it yet. Heartwarming and cheerful stories about a talking kitten and his owner — we watch them as a family.

Exhibition of March

Batimat. The stand by Anna Ermann with a teenager’s room stood out. The idea itself, which the designer worked from: the phrase "like a wall of peas". This proves that inspiration can be found anywhere.

Impression of the Month

The intensive course by Mashа Kunyakina "Color Scenario of a Project" at the school "Details". It’s very pleasant to learn knowledge and experience from such people.

March Article on Our Website

An apartment with stained glass windows for a Belgian gallery owner. I particularly liked the stained glass windows in the bedroom and bathroom. A bathroom with a window is great, and with such beautiful ones—double great!