Nina Antonova, Interior design/stylist

This project was a renovation aimed at attracting a professional tenant with an increase of yield. All within the parameters of the projected budget, $6000 to $7000. Completion deadline for improvements was to be one month after purchase.

This deadline was met along with the initial budget estimate being adhered to: the final result, an increase in rental yield of 60%, a delighted client and happy, satisfied tenants!

The main challenge in this studio apartment for rent was to allocate zones for living room, bedroom and dining room, as well as to provide enough space for storage - all on the area of 33 square meters.To achieve this, the bed was placed on a podium with pull-out drawers, and large built-in wardrobes were made to the left of the bed, which visually do not over clump the space. The playful color-scheme chosen for the interior was a special request of the client who decided to slightly deviate from the traditional nordic color palette usual for Scandinavian style. The project budget and deadlines were very tight, but many interior items were cherry picked on a flea market, the kitchen cabinets were chosen in Ikea, and the old tiles in the bathroom were simply painted over.

The main task in this one bedroom apartment of 52 square meters was to re-decorate it to make it suitable for rent as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. The apartment is located on the outskirts of Moscow in a typical soviet panel house of the 1970s, so it is interesting how it was possible to slightly expand the space and "raise" the ceilings using the visual effect of thin graphical lines repeated both in furniture and in decor. Warm yellow and pink accents complement this light scandinavian interior.

A small city apartment for a young woman located near the trendy Patriarch's Ponds district.
The 36 square metre rented apartment is set on the top floor of a pre-revolutionary building,
once the tallest residential building in Moscow. Although original elements of historical
decoration were lost during the previous renovations, it was important to keep the original
layout as far as was possible. The goal of the project is to rationally use every metre of a small space and create, with minimal effort, an expressive but calm interior that does not distract attention from dizzying views of the center of Moscow.

A bright, modern studio apartment of 58 square metres located in the new brick-monolith block of flats in Zelenograd, the green district of the suburbs of Moscow. The project is made for an active single woman who works in finance and is keen on plant growing and travelling.

A Moscow apartment for a young entrepreneur and traveller located in the Nirenzee house, also known as the "House of Bachelors", which was built in 1912. The apartment is just 45 square metres. It boasts preserved details such as wooden moldings on the walls, the original window frame and fittings, the parquet and the initial door to the bathroom. A small kitchen is installed in the corridor, as initially the apartments in this house had none. The eclectic style of the interior is influenced by the Haussmann-style apartments of Paris, mid-century modern aesthetics, the inclinations of the proprietor who is fond of the Caucasus region and Soviet design.

The task of the project is to gradually modernize the inherited apartment (54 square metres) in a typical panel "Soviet" house built in 1972 on the outskirts of Moscow. The apartment owners are inspired by the bright mid-century modern aesthetics and the Scandinavian eclectic style in general within which it is possible to carefully incorporate elements of the "Soviet" past of an old family home and transform into a new interior.

I have been focused on interior design for more than 5 years. After graduating from the Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation, I worked in banking on projects in several countries – Malaysia, Greece, UK – and so kept moving from one rented apartment to another. In my attempts to make temporary housing feel like my own place, I looked at preserving its originality whilst taking into account the environment. I have a passion for thinking through design and decorating spaces. Over time, as my hobby gradually became the main concern and occupation of my working life, I completed several design intensives: I have expanded my professional outlook at the British Higher School of Art and Design and with the online programmes of the NYC Parsons School of Design. However, most knowledge and skills have been acquired with the work on my projects. Still the process of gaining knowledge and self-improvement is endless.

It is always not easy to put a label on your own style, but I feel inspired to work on creating eclectic, live interiors – with a drama created by muted colors and graphic lines, a mix of vintage and new, designer and day-to-day objects, accentuated by plants and art. Ultimately houses that aspire to reflect the soul of the place and its inhabitants.