Larisa Verbitskaya: “Renovation went through three stages – rehearsal, dress rehearsal and premiere”

— LarisaWhat was the reason for the desire to change housing?

The daughter has grown up. It’s time to live apart. That’s how this apartment came about. My husband and I bought it for ourselves. And our most important condition was the opportunity to make the entire layout of the rooms and utility rooms ourselves. I really dislike typical buildings, when it is known in advance that you will have a kitchen of eight meters, a bathroom of three … I was looking for a suitable option for a long time and finally found an amazing house called “Pyramid”. This skyscraper was designed by an Italian architect. I, like, probably, any Muscovite, yearn for southern landscapes. I thought that an apartment in this house, with a huge open balcony, would remind me of Crimea, where I was born. The apartment was not divided into rooms, it was just an empty space with concrete walls. Pipes protruded from the floor in the bathroom area. So I could design all the rooms as I saw fit.

– As far as I understand, according to the plan, it was a studio apartment?

– Right. If you notice, there is a very small window in the living room. And there is a lot of light. This is because the architect designed the apartment in such a way that the light from the rooms penetrates into the living room and kitchen area. My favorite place in the house is a warm veranda where you can drink tea. Initially, it was a technical balcony, open to the winds and various debris that fell from above. We decided to glaze it so that it would be warm in this area and it would become part of the apartment. In addition to double windows, there are heated floors, so even in severe frost it is very warm on the veranda. Panoramic windows are so pleasing to the eye! And how my flowers like it! Geranium blooms all year round, it has enough light.

— I was surprised by the lack of batteries in the apartment. Is the room heated only by underfloor heating?

– Not. The batteries are just well hidden. See this openwork lattice in the floor? This is the battery. We have hidden the entire heating system under the floor. Heat escapes through these grids, which can be removed and vacuumed inside if desired. This is my son’s design. When he was doing repairs at his house, he came up with such a system. And I became his first client. And I was also lucky with the architect – she quickly developed the entire project.

If we talk about the style of the house, I wanted the whole apartment to be in white tones and in a classic, calm style with a minimal set of furniture. Then the question arose: where to store a lot of things – from clothes and women’s accessories to books and household items like a mop? And the architect and I found a way out – we made all the cabinets built-in.

— I really liked the closet where there is an ironing board. So convenient!

“I don’t even know what I would do without him. This utility mini-room helps me a lot. We did not succeed in a full-fledged dressing room, so we settled on this option. Everything is designed so that you do not need to get and lay out the ironing board. Opened the closet doors – and you can iron. Another successful solution is my small boudoir. Initially, there was a niche in the concrete structure of the house in this place. Either a closet or a computer desk suggested itself there. I thought that I always had a problem where to store cosmetics and various accessories: belts, hairpins, jewelry … In general, all women’s things. In the previous apartment, I kept everything in the closet where there was linen. Very uncomfortable. So the idea to make a women’s boudoir arose. I really like that even if this area is a mess, you can just close the doors and no one will know my little female secret. (Laughs.)

– Did you also make the bathroom “for yourself”?

– Yes. I immediately decided to make it the second female zone. So that it was not a typical bathroom with a heated towel rail and a “moidodyr”, but a room. It was important for me that in the bathroom I could sit in a comfortable chair, style my hair, make a face mask, take care of my body. And all this away from men’s eyes, in complete comfort and silence. Men love the result, they are impatient. I also thought about wardrobes. There are never too many of them in the bathroom. After all, modern cosmetics is a lot of bubbles, bottles, tubes. Ointment for the left nail, for the right elbow. (Laughs) All this needs to be stored somewhere.

– The overall impression of the style of your apartment is minimalism. Even in the kitchen there are no sophisticated combines, multicookers …

– In my life there was everything: both combines, and multicookers, and double boilers. Experience has shown that such a number of devices is simply not needed. Plus, they take up a lot of space. I responsibly treated the choice of a stove – multifunctional, with clever electronics. I also bought a blender. I love to cook, but only when cooking takes no more than 15 minutes. My husband has been wondering all my life how I manage to cook both the first, and the second, and the third in such a record short time. The whole secret is that I create simple food from simple products.

Are there male zones in the house?

— But how! This is my husband’s office. It is distinguished from the rest of the interior by dark solid furniture. It is immediately clear that this is a male space. There is an absolutely wonderful sofa on which you immediately want to sit down, read a book, watch a movie, discuss the news. Yes, just close the doors and talk to a friend who has come alone.

How did this wonderful project come to life? Usually this is the most difficult stage associated with hassle …

“That’s right, it wasn’t boring. The workers could not cope with anything the first time. Whatever they did: whether they laid marble in the living room, tile on the balcony, whether they installed plumbing – they did everything exactly three times. First there was a rehearsal, then a run-through, and then the premiere. Considering that I ordered many materials from other countries… I was very sorry for Italian marble, which is mined in a cave, then cut into thin slabs, carefully polished… Each such tile was delivered wrapped in foam rubber, in special containers. Twice it was laid crookedly, twice it was torn off …

And the incredibly beautiful Italian clay tiles, with which I decided to pave the open balcony! Initially, it was planned that a powerful waterproofing would be made under it, tiles would be laid under a slope … In winter, it turned out that the workers had not done any of the above. It started to snow, we melted it with a warm floor. Once, when I entered the apartment, I found a large puddle in the living room. Terrified, she rushed to clean up …

This happened because water got under the tiles and seeped out from under the balcony door into the apartment. During the winter, the floor on the balcony completely fell into disrepair. But most of all, I felt sorry for the round sink, which I ordered in France – it was actually a garden fountain, which I liked because of its original shape. We waited for him for about six months. Finally, the cherished box was carefully delivered to the apartment. I immediately gave the command to install it. And what? I arrive – the workers are standing, they are upset. Fragments from the fountain lie on the floor. Moreover, they did not admit that they had broken it, they convinced me that the sink had come in this form. Of course, the repair company reimbursed me financially for all the shortcomings, marriage and losses. But I lost the most precious thing – time.

– Did you have such problems with furniture?

– There were problems, but compared to everything else, they seem like a trifle. It turned out funny with the sofa that stands in the living room. I made it to order, and the furniture makers missed the size a little. Made it eight centimeters longer. And these unfortunate eight centimeters became critical. The sofa was assembled right in the room, and when finished, I found that he settled in my house forever, as he was impossible to bear. When the sofa gets tired and I decide to change it, I will have to chop it into pieces right in the room. (Laughs.)

From the furniture, I am especially pleased with the bed. I wanted it to be as simple as possible and as if it were hanging in the air. The bedroom has a very beautiful parquet, I wanted it to be visible. Found this in England. The secret of this bed is in the multilayer mattress – very comfortable and cozy. The only problem that exists and will be is that you don’t want to get out of it in the morning, it’s so good there. But as a result, even when I host several exhausting television broadcasts in a row, when I have to sleep for two or three hours, I get up rested.

– In your new apartment, everything is thought out to the smallest detail. How long did the restructuring take?

– Exactly three years. Now I know: if you want to make a good repair, be patient.