Video tour: a 187 m² apartment with a river view and a terrace in the city centre

Video tour of a 187 m² apartment designed by ARTEVRIKA for owners who wanted a home that matched the standing of its location: the city centre, river views, and embankments. Studio co-owner Nadezhda Guseva walks through every zone of the apartment and explains the choices, from the glass kitchen island to the tinted glass partitions in the bathrooms.

Below is the full transcript of the conversation.

The video follows a single route through the apartment: entrance hall and utility room → living room → kitchen → decor and art → dining area and lounge → master bedroom → bathroom → walk-in wardrobe → guest room → guest bedroom and terrace. The text below follows the same order.

About the apartment

Hello! I'm Nadezhda Guseva from the ARTEVRIKA design studio, and today I'm showing you this apartment. It meets every criterion for high-end housing.

First, the location: right in the heart of the city. Second, there are outstanding views of the city's landmark architecture: the bridge, the river and two beautiful embankments. There's also excellent landscaping and well-developed infrastructure.

The apartment is 187 square metres with a cosy terrace. It has a large entrance hall, a utility room and a guest bathroom by the door. The large open-plan space brings together the living room, the kitchen and an enfilade balcony zone holding the dining table, a lounge area and a relaxation area. There is also a master bedroom and a guest bedroom with a terrace and a shower room.

We completed this project in 2019. Here we delivered design, design supervision, furnishing and procurement, and decoration.

Entrance hall and utility room

The utility room is right by the entrance: an ironing board, a dryer, all the cleaning supplies, a washing machine. The climate control system is also located there.

The bathroom is small, but every ergonomic requirement is met: everything fits. One of the design challenges was fitting in a basin, so instead of a full countertop we used a half-countertop, and we found this particular model for it.

Living room

From the hallway we move into the large open-plan space through a wide portal finished in natural veneer.

In designing living rooms we tend not to place a single table but a cluster of small tables, and more could still be added here. One of them is an Italian leather table in a caramel colour, easy to move wherever it's needed.

We run our own design school, ARTEVRIKA, and one of the principles I teach is the focal point of a composition. In this large open-plan space, the focal point is the accent kitchen. All the other furniture is in neutral tones, with small accents from decor, small tables, or unusual pieces.

Kitchen

The main feature of this kitchen is its centred, symmetrical composition. It's a fully functional island, packed with everything you need: cutlery, chopping boards, placemats, trays, dry goods, a first-aid kit, and so on.

Of course, the standout feature of this kitchen's design is the unusual colour of the island. It's made of glass. And you'll notice: the family has lived here for three years, and there isn't a single trace of wear: that's how well this material holds up in daily use.

As for the kitchen materials: the fronts are enamel, the countertop is glass, the sink is stainless steel, plus porcelain stoneware and linear lighting. There are two fridges and two freezers. We always place the bin off to the side rather than under the sink. There's a separate zone for crockery storage and the dishwasher. The ASKO appliances combine an oven and a microwave in one unit, alongside storage for everything the kitchen needs.

Decor and art

We take a very detailed approach to decorating a space, and we're always on the lookout for new makers. In this project, handmade porcelain by Ekaterina Burzhenko, a maker from our region, appears almost everywhere.

I also curate art pieces for interiors myself: paintings, graphic works, sculpture.

Dining area and lounge

In the area created by merging in the balcony, we placed a small, compact dining space. Merging in the balconies gave us three wide openings that create a beautiful rhythm.

This apartment has three huge windows and a beautiful view that changes morning, noon and night: the illuminated bridge, all that architecture. That's why this zone isn't full of colour, it's kept as neutral as possible. It's a space for rest and relaxation: there's room for a yoga mat, for meditating, and for watching the moon at night.

Master bedroom

The relaxation area is separated from the master bedroom by a glass partition. The bedroom is spacious enough to still fit a dressing table, an armchair with a footstool, a shelving unit or a floor lamp. This space has a lot of potential.

There's also a spacious wardrobe and storage system here. To conceal the television, we added anthracite Lacobel panels above and below it. The curtains are a beautiful indigo shade, blackout-lined, with automatic control.

It's worth noting that we worked on this project together with one of my students from the ARTEVRIKA design school.

Bathroom

In 2018 we'd just come back from the Milan furniture fair, full of the latest trends. So naturally we went with a freestanding bath and used the on-trend coloured sanitaryware: an elegant, dusty grey-green shade.

The walls are tiled with Equipe. Where the walls aren't directly exposed to water, they're finished in decorative plaster.

Walk-in wardrobe

From the hall we go into the walk-in wardrobe. In the layout you'll see how neatly we've aligned it on an axis: the guest bedroom on the right, the master bedroom on the left.

The wardrobe system was built by Mr.Doors: an elegant gold-toned frame, tinted glass and lighting. Our favourite Calligaris bench in dense black leather, with handy pockets.

There's also a hidden cabinet in the wardrobe that conceals the electrical panel, and it's easy to use: slide the clothes rail aside and it disappears from view.

Guest room

We move into the guest room, which could become a nursery in the future. It has its own wardrobe and its own shower room with a toilet.

A lot of people are wary of this kind of solution, glass partitions in a bathroom. But in reality, with tinted Stopsol glass, nothing can be seen from outside. And once you turn the light on, the mystery disappears and you get a great-looking space.

The Ceramica Cielo basin echoes the kitchen island: the same complex dusty pink colour, an accent against this room's restrained backdrop. The storage system, and all the accents and accessories, are black. There's a heated towel rail with a handy shelf and a shower with a floor drain. The wardrobe here uses the same type of glass, for the same effect.

Complex design tasks like the wardrobe and the glass shower enclosure were handled brilliantly by PR-Steklo, our regular partner on projects.

Guest bedroom and terrace

This room is beautifully composed in colour: complex teal tones, with the grey undertone also carrying a hint of teal. We used a trick here: a headboard that matches the wall colour, which allows for more freedom and creativity when choosing bed linen. The curtains are a decorative fabric in two shades, blackout-lined, and also motorised.

From the room we step out onto the terrace. Just imagine how great it is, living in the heart of the city, to have a terrace like this where you can spend time with friends.

Materials and brands mentioned in the video

Throughout the tour Nadezhda mentions specific items scattered across different sections; here they're gathered in one place:

• Kitchen island. A glass countertop. According to Nadezhda, three years of use have left no trace of wear on it.
• Kitchen appliances. ASKO: an oven and a microwave combined in one unit.
• Bench in the wardrobe. Calligaris, dense black leather.
• Wardrobe system. Mr.Doors: gold-toned frame, tinted glass, lighting.
• Bathroom tiles. Equipe; decorative plaster on walls with no direct contact with water.
• Guest bathroom basin. Ceramica Cielo, a dusty pink shade echoing the colour of the kitchen island.
• Glass partitions and enclosures. PR-Steklo: tinted stop-sol glass in the bathrooms and wardrobe.
• Decor. Handmade porcelain by Ekaterina Burzhenko.

Services on this project

In the video, Nadezhda lists what the studio delivered on this apartment: an interior design project, design supervision, furnishing and procurement and decoration and styling.

What to read next

The full case study with photos of every zone is on the portfolio page “Interior design of the apartment”. The video tour above expands on the case study with Nadezhda's own behind-the-scenes commentary on the choices.