Linen Sky designer Inga Ivanova in her living room
RUBRIC "ROOM" dedicated to the place in which a person spends most of the time. It can be any space: a huge kitchen in which the hero works and rests, an art gallery that has become a second home, or simply a room in a one-room shop that turns into a bedroom, then an office. The main thing is that here a person is able to concentrate on affairs and not feel like a participant in an endless race. In our new issue - designer Linen Sky Inga Ivanova and her living room.
I first saw this apartment ten years ago, on the first day of the search. She was in a very bad condition, before me no one had lived in it for many years. The whole space was flooded with light despite November, and I remember how I thought: "Like a crystal box." When I found myself in the living room, I gasped: in the windows I could see branches of a tree. I exclaimed: "Tree!" - because of what the realtors are worried: "I do not like it? At night we are sawing, do not worry." The tree is still in place, it has a name, and for me it is the keeper of the house. There is always some kind of activity around him, parties are devoted to him (a tree in the snow - "it should be noted!", Yellow leaves - "come to visit, until you have fallen") and photos.
Most of all I wanted to live in an old house so that there was a lot of air and sun in it, so when I searched for an apartment I did not get hung up on one area. My home is ninety-one years old, and the place where it stands, Prechistenka and its alleys, was a gift. All my anchors are here: Zachatievsky Monastery, the ancient stables of the former Okhotnikovy manor (now there are artists' workshops and life is in full swing) and a mulberry tree in a neighboring yard. In fact, the mulberry should not grow in the Moscow climate, and even our berries ripen on ours. So I accidentally discovered it: walking, I realized that sandals are sticking to sweet asphalt. Not believing, she raised her head and saw that I was standing under a giant mulberry tree.
About space
Home to me is literally a fortress, a place that protects. Here I am happy: I often receive guests, but I can also shut myself up and not go out at all. I will be in any case good, because there is a whole parallel world.
As a rule, guests enter the living room and are amazed: “Well, Paris is here at all!”, “Oh, you have Barcelona here!”, “Like in Amsterdam!”. I laugh and rejoice, because I like the way everyone sees this space in their own way. I wanted the living room to look like a greenhouse, so a mirrored kitchen appeared opposite the window. Now I see branches, green leaves and the sun from anywhere in the room. This is my favorite part of the apartment, a place of power: here I spend parties, read books, do yoga. Here I came up with a clothing brand Linen Sky and continue to create collections.
About the little things and furniture
I love to travel and I love to bring things from trips - however, this does not fit well with my policy of "not littering the space." Fortunately, in the past few years, the focus has shifted to dishes that are easy to beat - so the balance is not disturbed. The main “newcomers” of last year are the Bialetti coffee maker, who came from Rome, and the Kovea gas burner. Everyone thinks that this couple was sold together, but in fact they just found each other. And recently they pulled a third one - a close person, a great coffee connoisseur. Now complete harmony.
I know that now everything can be bought in Moscow, but to get, drag, see the store in the doorway, fall in love, overpay for the advantage, be nervous all the way, have you broken, and then arrange it for a long time in the apartment - for me this is a continuation of the journey. Most of the little things in the house - love at first sight, unplanned purchases, in other words - my valuable subconscious.
Thin copper plates and a floor lamp from Singapore (accompanied by a question on the Eiffel Tower?), An old icon from Zagorsk, a stone “Wheel of Life” from Bangkok (he was brought in a suitcase by a kind person, because she herself would not move from the spot), photo books from Stockholm and New York, horse and dragon from Bali, Christmas tree decorations from Uzbekistan, plates from Jordan, kettle from London - I love everyone!
The protagonist of the room, of course, is a full-wall Asian-style mirror cabinet. In fact, this is a kitchen that looks more like a buffet. In the closet are hidden oven, stove, washing machine, refrigerator, place for dishes, mezzanine and retractable countertops. Interior designer Masha Vatolina, whom we met during the renovation process, drew about ten projects: as soon as we added or removed one shelf - and the design of the facade was falling, we had to redo everything. Eight years have passed since then, everyone was delighted with the kitchen, and with Masha and her family we became friends.
Fun of Verner Panton I loved, in my opinion, always, long before buying an apartment. I just knew that she would be in my house. The chandelier was solemnly hung with a friend on December 31, deciding that we would quickly manage it. At about the fourth hour and ninety-eighth chain with mother-of-pearl plates, our friendship was seriously tested: it was clear that until the end of the process a few more hours, and this did not coincide with our plans for the New Year's night. Nevertheless, everything ended well, the chandelier pleases everyone, and a friend is still proud.
I always wanted a chair in the house. But I didn’t know which one or where to put it, and there wasn’t time to start the search. As a result, the yellow chair materialized itself: appeared in the house for shooting. Previously, there was a TV at this place, which nobody turned on, - they said goodbye to the TV, and the chair remained to live here. Danish vintage armchair Grete Jalk brought from the showroom Midcentury 24/7. Any person who sits in him, improves mood - this is a proven fact.