Stalin-era apartment with yellow kitchen: 7 cool designer solutions

This two-room apartment in the style of old Moscow with elements of American style was decorated by Elena Markina. The designer did a reconfiguration, enlarged the foyer and bathroom, got rid of the useless corridor, and also changed the function of the rooms — she swapped the bedroom and living room. We already wrote in detail about this in "Project of the Week".

Here we tell you about the designer's solutions that didn't make it into the article.

Mirror door for the kitchen

As is known, a kitchen with a gas stove must have a door. To comply with the requirements of gas suppliers, Elena Markina installed a sliding mirror door with coplanar opening.

The mirror reflects the windows, visually expanding the space and adding light and air. Note that the mounting mechanism and the rail along which the door moves are invisible. The door seems to float in the air and serves as an additional decorative accent of the interior.

Cold cabinet under the window

In Stalin-era apartments, walls are very thick, and often space under the windowsills is used as a refrigerator. This apartment also had such a setup — in a niche with a door.

The designer valued every centimeter, so she decided to preserve this space. To do this, the depth of the windowsill and the cabinet underneath were increased and enclosed with ventilated facades made from birch wood, painted in the color of the furniture.

Gas pipe in the kitchen

A pipe with an unattractive valve is unlikely to decorate a modern interior, so Elena Markina decided to hide it without violating the requirements of gas suppliers.

First, they repositioned the shut-off valve, raising it to such a height that the valve is inside the suspended cabinet. The gas pipe was covered with a false front made of gypsum board, clad in decorative tiles, and a hidden access panel was provided for the pipe.

One advantage of this solution is that the pipe is only enclosed from the countertop to the suspended cabinets, so their volume is not reduced.

Faux beams and cornices

Load-bearing ceiling beams run through the apartment — inconvenient and unattractive. The designer came up with faux beams that make the ceiling more symmetrical and architecturally correct. In addition, this solution made it possible to create special niches for curtains.

"I emphasized these beams with a decorative cornice. To save on a high cornice, we came up with a combination of a low cornice and molding," Elena Markina says. "We painted it white in the living room and in the color of the walls in the bedroom. This trick also visually raises the ceiling height".

Storage under the bed and sofa

This solution is not new, yet it's not commonly used. The designer provided two spacious sliding drawers under the sofa in the living room and selected beds with lifting mechanisms for mattresses.

Moreover, the mattresses lift towards the headboard, i.e. to a greater height, ensuring convenient access to items.

Posters with a secret

Beautiful posters with original drawings and complex mounted passepartouts serve not only a decorative function in this apartment. For example, the poster in the foyer hides an electrical panel, and behind the bathroom poster is a maintenance access panel for meters and shut-off valves.

Handle for the bathroom door

The shiny handle-rail in the bathroom is also a convenient towel rack — no need to reach across the room for a towel.