Houzz Tour: Nordic Minimalism in St. Petersburg
Danish modern furniture, birch plywood and a steam room give this Russian family apartment a touch of Scandinavian style
Евгения Назарова
July 23, 2018
Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four when visiting Russia
Location: Downtown St. Petersburg, Russia
Size: 2,315 square feet (215 square meters)
Architects: Alexander Malinin and Anastasia Sheveleva of INT2architecture
Who lives here: A family of four when visiting Russia
Location: Downtown St. Petersburg, Russia
Size: 2,315 square feet (215 square meters)
Architects: Alexander Malinin and Anastasia Sheveleva of INT2architecture
This apartment, which offers a view of St. Petersburg’s central Griboyedov Canal, is on the top floor of a 200-year-old multifamily house. The building was repeatedly rebuilt, but its most striking features — the high ceilings and the bay windows with a view — endure. Tasked with the latest redesign of this historic space, Alexander Malinin and Anastasia Sheveleva brought in deep colors and contrasting textures, such as wood and cement tiles.
Find an architect on Houzz
Find an architect on Houzz
The space after the old finishes were removed
Before: The apartment consisted of two separate apartments that had been joined with an archway. It was decorated in a style that was popular in Russia in the 1990s.
For this renovation, partitions that weren’t load-bearing were torn down, the plasterboard was removed from the walls, and the floorboards were pulled up. It turned out that the floor levels of the two apartments differed by 4 to 6 inches, so an extra layer was added to one floor to make them level.
Luckily, the house had already undergone a complete overhaul in which the old wooden floor structure was replaced with precast concrete slabs and metal beams. This allowed the team to save a little on the renovation of the floor. The wiring, plumbing, radiator system and windows throughout the apartment also had already been replaced. However, the architects installed turn-and-tilt windows.
Before: The apartment consisted of two separate apartments that had been joined with an archway. It was decorated in a style that was popular in Russia in the 1990s.
For this renovation, partitions that weren’t load-bearing were torn down, the plasterboard was removed from the walls, and the floorboards were pulled up. It turned out that the floor levels of the two apartments differed by 4 to 6 inches, so an extra layer was added to one floor to make them level.
Luckily, the house had already undergone a complete overhaul in which the old wooden floor structure was replaced with precast concrete slabs and metal beams. This allowed the team to save a little on the renovation of the floor. The wiring, plumbing, radiator system and windows throughout the apartment also had already been replaced. However, the architects installed turn-and-tilt windows.
The owners live abroad and come to St. Petersburg from time to time. It was important to them to make this apartment function well for four or five people. The architects designed the layout, pictured, with two bedrooms and en suite bathrooms, an open kitchen-living room, a study, a laundry room and a steam room. The owners asked them to keep the emergency fire exit in the bathroom.
Find an architect for your remodeling project on Houzz
Find an architect for your remodeling project on Houzz
The kitchen-living room is the heart of the apartment. Its focal point is a wood-burning fireplace with a birch plywood finish. Fireplaces in downtown areas of Russia are not common: Although existing fireplaces may continue to be used, new ones can be built only on the top floor of a building, as was the case here.
The old ventilation duct that went from the apartment to the attic was dismantled and replaced with a metal one, allowing the team to save space by making the firebox smaller. The steel firebox has energy-efficient Super-Isol insulation, and the birch plywood finish has a noncombustible coating.
The island, range hood and kitchen countertop are decorated in textured artificial stone.
The old ventilation duct that went from the apartment to the attic was dismantled and replaced with a metal one, allowing the team to save space by making the firebox smaller. The steel firebox has energy-efficient Super-Isol insulation, and the birch plywood finish has a noncombustible coating.
The island, range hood and kitchen countertop are decorated in textured artificial stone.
The apartment has several bay windows. The one in the living room houses a telescope.
Browse single-light copper pendant lights on Houzz
Browse single-light copper pendant lights on Houzz
The entrance to the guest bathroom and steam room nestles in the plywood bookcase in the living room. The steam room is finished in marble slabs, while the dry area’s walls sport birch plywood.
The benches and the floor in the steam room are heated, and there is soft LED lighting under the benches and in the walls.
The kitchen and the hallway to the rest of the home have walnut flooring. They are separated by double-sided closets that house outdoor clothes on the hallway side and appliances on the kitchen side. They are shorter than the ceiling to allow more light to flow through.
The laundry room is off this hallway. The hidden door is covered with wood and flush with the wall.
The laundry room is off this hallway. The hidden door is covered with wood and flush with the wall.
The study is primarily used for informal after-dinner chats. The owners like to listen to music and smoke cigars here. The dark colors make the room feel intimate.
The sofa and armchair in black leather are by Børge Mogensen.
The sofa and armchair in black leather are by Børge Mogensen.
The vintage teak bookcase and the custom sideboard, which features an ethanol fireplace, look great against the deep blue background. Over the sideboard, antlers found on Avito, a Russian online marketplace, are mounted on custom triangular bases.
The copper pendant light is by Örsjö Belysning.
The apartment has two bedrooms. This one features white walls and a gray-green ceiling that visually lowers its tall height.
This room also has a bay window, which was turned into a comfy spot for some alone time.
The en suite bathroom is divided lengthwise into a wet area finished in two-toned porcelain stoneware and a dry area with painted walls. The vanity is a vintage teak sideboard from the ’60s, brought in the U.K. and made to fit. A hole was cut for the sink drainpipe, and the top was covered with colorless wax for waterproofing.
You Can Turn That Into a Bathroom Vanity?
You Can Turn That Into a Bathroom Vanity?
The second bedroom is multifunctional. A rolling partition divides the bedroom from the laundry room.
The area along the windows features a breakfast table and fitness equipment.
A plywood niche adds visual interest.
The second en suite bathroom’s finishes are similar to the first, with some differences in the pattern of the cement floor tiles and the shade of the wall paint. The vanity is, again, a repurposed sideboard.
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@ John: a minimalist designed place is actually a lot easier to keep tidy and clean than a full/cluttered one. Especially if you have have kids -like we do- and entertain a lot, minimalist surfaces are super easy to clean (less accessories and adornments to dust or break!) and well thought storage place (we have custom made cabinets in every room of the house) make it efficient to store things at hand and out of sight. Our home is styled in a similar minimalist way and it's not cold or sterile at all. Natural, good quality materials (wood, wool, stone) and a light color palette make for a perfect background to favor family moments and time with friends to fill the space with laughter, color and fun.
Beautiful but cold and sterile (for my taste). In a place where the winters are long and dark, I simply cannot understand the choice of designing a mostly empty space with mainly white and grey (+ a few subdued cold colors). The wood finishes and furniture are beautiful and I like the fireplace in the middle of the living/dining room, but to me it does make up for the general lack of cosiness of the apartment. Furthermore, the nice architectural details (doors, ceilings etc...) are not even enhanced by the design, which is a pity.