9 Design Tips to Make a Typical 'Secondary' Apartment More Luxurious

Designers Nina Abaseeva and Sergey Shepovalin transformed a 34 sq. m single-room apartment in a panel house for the client's mother. The result was above all praise. We show what you can replicate in your own interior.

Hide Protrusions and Niches

The interior will look more harmonious and well-thought-out if the view doesn't hit load-bearing columns or technical boxes. For camouflage, furniture can and should be used.

In this project, the kitchen cabinet was initially planned to be custom-made, so the designers extended it toward the wall protrusion and designed a shallow display cabinet. As a result, this part of the kitchen looks extremely aesthetically pleasing, and only the ceiling cornice reminds about the wall step.

Eliminate Visual Noise

Large monochrome surfaces make an interior more stylish. For cabinetry, use one shade of paint, and choose light-colored countertops without inlays. Avoid colorful tiles in favor of monochrome or large-format ceramic granite mimicking marble. Provide pull-out drawers for tableware, spices, and other small items to keep work surfaces clean at all times. This way, you preserve the feeling of a recent renovation for a long time.

Use Unusual Decor

Imagine if in this kitchen, a standard poster or a classical painting in a gold frame hung above the table — it would have been a completely different effect, agree? But the 'spillage' of plates with patterns in one color palette combined with asymmetrical wall sconces immediately set the mood and hint that every detail was thought through.

Add Decorative Elements to Functional Items

Often, a cabinet is just a storage system for things. But if you want to make the interior more luxurious and elegant, use its full potential. Instead of plain solid facades, order routing and mirrors.

What to do if the budget only allows a standard cabinet from the store? First, you can change the handles and hang luxurious curtain brushes on them. Secondly, even a regular cabinet can look more visually expensive if during the renovation you provide a dropped ceiling for it and choose a cornice.

Place Decor on Top of Prints

There is a stereotype that if wallpaper with a bright pattern or fresco was used on the wall, no additional decor should be placed there. Actually, it's not true: you can place decor! Such multi-layered decoration makes the interior richer and more interesting.

Don't Be Afraid of Old Furniture

Even the most boring or outdated piece of furniture can become an art object if you pick up a brush with paint. For example, here designers painted the old display cabinet in pink. The piece came alive.

Don't Fear Wardrobes

Many designers discourage clients from wardrobes because they're unattractive. But sometimes this sliding door system is optimal for the interior. How to visually improve such a wardrobe? Instead of colored film on the door, use mirror panels — they won't spoil the interior. Choose a frame that matches the rest of the hardware — for example, here they chose gold. And, of course, if possible, hide ceiling attachments behind a cornice.

Remove All Unattractive Items from the Wardrobe

Sometimes the price of beauty and style is the cost of several facades to cover any niche used for household needs. In this apartment, designers removed the washing machine and storage for household chemicals from such a wardrobe. The facades were chosen to match the color so they don't irritate the eyes.

Use Ceiling Cornices in the Bathroom

Add more traditional elements for living rooms to the bathroom. Ceiling cornices won't significantly increase the renovation budget, but they will add style to the interior.