The Semerey apartment, designed by Rina Lovko studio, is a stunning blend of classic-romantic and contemporary minimalism, with an emphasis on vintage ornaments and organic purity. The apartment, located on the 4th floor of a residential house built in 1905 in the historical area of Kyiv, Ukraine underwent a massive renovation to bring it up to modern standards.
The space is defined by abundant linen textures, and is filled with natural light streaming through the windows overlooking a quiet green park. The client, a young woman with a strong vision for aesthetics and a fascination with Paris, wanted to recreate the flair of a vintage apartment without directly copying the “Parisian chic” style.
The renovation process included reinforcing and upgrading the slabs and walls, removing damaged wooden inner walls and upgrading the floor with a welded structure poured with concrete. Unique features such as the cute wall niche above the kitchen sink for storage and decoration were added. Oblong corners for the cornices of the curtains composed with contemporary read of a minimalist design match the aesthetic of the smoothed angles between the ceiling and walls are also unmistakable signature touch for the designer.
The original parquet was disassembled, but a wooden floor was still an essential part of the design. An oak parquet, approximately 100 years old, was restored, assembled in a herringbone pattern, and toned to achieve a particular shade that highlights the naturalness and antiqueness of the floor, leaving its marks of time unaltered.
Overall, the Semerey apartment’s design is a beautiful blend of vintage and contemporary styles, with an emphasis on natural textures, softness and determined details, and an overall airiness and nuanced sophistication. It’s a perfect example of how to create a space that is both beautiful and functional, providing a relaxing and inviting home.
Project info by studio Rina Lovko: The apartment is located on the 4th floor of a residential house, which was built in 1905, in the historical area of Kyiv. The space itself is luminous: all the windows overlook a quiet green park, and the light freely streams through them. Because of the state of the building, a massive renovation of the flat was required. The process of dismantling revealed the rotten slabs and large cracks in the walls, and that flooring replacement is needed.
The Client’s Vision: Our client is a young woman, a fashion insider with a strong vision. This project is all about aesthetics, so it was entirely designed to meet her requirements and standards of beauty. Our client is fascinated with Paris, so our target was to recreate a flair of a vintage apartment. Our solution was not to copy the “Parisian chic” tricks, avoiding the ornamental plaster and other obvious elements of direct quotation of this style. The focus was shifted to natural textures, a combination of softness and determined details, and an overall airiness, and nuanced sophistication instead.
Renovation: The state of the structure of the building made us renovate the apartment, and enhance the slabs and the walls. The old wooden inner walls were damaged by humidity and wood pests, so we had to remove them completely. The original parquet was also disassembled, and the floor was upgraded with a welded structure poured with concrete. Furthermore, we enhanced the balcony, and the walls were strengthened with special ties to pull together the frame.
Design process: We opted for the time-tested scheme of the space arrangement, which is an enfilade. Given that the apartment is one-sided, we decided to design a long and functional hallway, containing an entrance wardrobe, a guest restroom, and a laundry area. The kitchen is located near the living room entrance, and a cabinet with a refrigerator and an oven is a stand-alone element of this space. We managed to eschew the standardized modern solutions for the kitchen area when all the elements are built-in wall units.
The bedroom can be seen through the double door from the living room, and the bedroom and the bathroom are separated with a glass partition. There is always a private zone at the end of an enfilade, and this time the bathroom fulfills this role. Consequently, the whole living area turned out to be bright and roomy, and the enfilade principle makes one area open to another, creating a coherent space. The airiness visually extends the apartment.
The Walls: The walls were painted on top of plaster, with the deep texture being left as it is. The angle between walls and ceiling was smoothed out — this was a popular solution for the old flats in Kyiv.
The Floor: We had to disassemble the original parquet, but a wooden floor still was an essential part of this interior. We found an authentic alternative, namely an oak parquet, which is about 100 years old. We did the restoration part at our facility and assembled the herringbone pattern in the apartment. The toning part was done in the flat right away. Our goal was to achieve a particular shade, and to highlight the naturalness and antiqueness of the parquet, leaving its marks of time — the imperfections — unaltered.
Team: Rina Lovko, Daryna Shpuryk; Location: Kyiv, Ukraine; Total area: 80 sq.m; Implementation: 2022; Photo by Yevhenii Avramenko;
