This 420
By Marni Elyse Katz
Photography by Damir Otegen
This playful 420-square-foot project was a bit of an outlier for interior designer Elina Mussakulova. “Usually, our clients aren’t involved in the design, but we worked as a team,” says the cofounder of boutique interiors studio Sdelaemremont.kz. “It was fun!”
The one-bedroom apartment, located in the heart of Almaty, Kazakhstan, belongs to a family of six who live about an hour outside the city. The couple’s three daughters (they also have a young son) attend school nearby and participate in oodles of extracurriculars—math, tennis, and more. “They wanted a stopover where they could hang out and relax for an hour or two between the end of the school day and their activities,” Elina explains.
The bright red bedroom door reinforces the idea of the partition as architecture.
The team completely gutted the unit, which is on the third-floor of a four-story residential building that was constructed in 1966. “We like to work with clients who will rethink the entire space,” Elina notes. “Here, we changed the layout so they could have a proper bedroom and kitchen that would accommodate longer stays.”
The custom credenza and storage cabinet with blue interior float above the floor to impart airiness into the small space. By the same token, the one-armed sofa doesn’t block the living space upon entry. Posters from Oner Dukeni hang over the credenza.
The vintage wardrobe, which stores coats and bedding, was a great $20 flea market find. “We normally travel to Europe or Georgia [to source] unique, high-end pieces,” Elina says.
When it came to devising a scheme, the clients didn’t specify a particular style or suggest particular colors; they simply wanted a lighthearted, laidback look. It was a great match for the firm, whose work combines a sense of joy with an easy elegance that’s unique without being in your face. Elina made the story about color. “If we have flexibility, it’s always about the color,” she says. Painting the walls and ceilings white made the space feel bigger and brighter—the ceilings are just over eight feet high—and established a clean, crisp base. Red, yellow, and powder blue pops and wood tones both light and dark temper the overall effect. “The natural wood floor balances the bold colors,” the designer says.
Rather than spend on cabinetry, Elina closed off a storage space containing metal shelving with a blue and white checkered curtain. The Knit Wit pendant by Iskos-Berlin for Made By Hand hangs above the tulip table, which is surrounded by Ant chairs.
A wavy frameless mirror reflects light from the sliders, which open to a balcony that overlooks the city’s chicest avenue.
The cheery red partition that runs within the cased opening between the living area and dining-kitchen area was the starting point. The feature adds architectural interest to the otherwise plain white box while delineating the two zones—all without blocking light. It’s also a varied textural display. “We searched the market for different types of glass: wavy, rippled, wide ribs, skinny ribs,” Elina says. The haphazard arrangement suggests a sense of age, as though the structure predates the modern home that has grown up around it.
In the bedroom, terra-cotta-colored pillows tone down the pretty pastel bedding and simple wall lights mounted in a diagonal dynamic.
Transoms pull even more light into the bedroom, where a custom blue-and-white chest makes a graphic statement.
By Ludovica Stevan
By Zoë Sessums
By Sara Barragán del Rey
Transoms over the bedroom door and at the top of walls function similarly. “The glazed partition and transoms let light into every part of the apartment, including the bathroom,” the designer says. “We extended doorways to the ceiling to make the spaces seem taller too.”
The kitchen cabinetry is painted the same charcoal color as the ceiling lights. “Yellow baseboards make them feel like they’re floating,” the designer says.
Another notable aspect of the project are its cost-saving measures. The square tiles used for the kitchen backsplash and in the bath started out as large-format tiles. Yes, the tile installer had to cut them, but even so, the total price was less than if they had purchased ready-made ones. “It was the client’s idea; she got creative in decreasing costs,” Elina says.
Paint went a long way in zhuzhing up less than remarkable furnishings and fixtures. Elina painted run-of-the-mill ceiling lights a dark charcoal, then mounted them randomly in pairs throughout the space. The light blue coffee tables and yellow chair were dark wood before the designer got ahold of them. “It was our first time painting new furniture,” Elina says. Other pieces are custom, such as the squiggly blue mirror in the entry and the yellow credenza in the living space. “In Kazakhstan, it’s cheaper to have things made locally than buy them since we’re so remote,” Elina explains.
Elina turned a structural beam between the entry and main living space into a half arch.
By Ludovica Stevan
By Zoë Sessums
By Sara Barragán del Rey
She did, however, suggest that the couple spend on two limited-edition Fritz Hansen Ant chairs. “We tell clients that good chairs make a room feel more expensive,” Elina says. The silhouettes are distinctive, as are the patterns. “The pattern is reminiscent of Kazakhstani ornamentation, though I am not sure if that’s what the Danish designer had in mind.”
Storage boxes, hooks, and a squiggle of a mirror make the tiny entry both practical and fun.
Transoms on two walls draw natural light into the bath, where matte black fixtures become design objects against white-and-blue tiled walls.