Every design project tells a story, and this fashionable flat in Kyiv, Ukraine is no different. A client fascinated with Paris wished to reproduce the look of a classical apartment in the City of Light. Rina Lovko Design Studio, also based in Kyiv, took on the challenge using a thoughtful approach to the aesthetic while taking great care not to copy obvious design elements like ornamental plaster and ubiquitous images of the Eiffel Tower. The result is an airy, luminous space where nuanced detailing lends an ethereal feeling. Here, Lovko discusses how an all-encompassing restoration led to a serene living space that Coco Chanel or Edith Piaf would have happily called home.
Gwen Donovan: This renovation was a huge undertaking with lots of structural repairs; take us back to the apartment’s original condition and how you gave it new life.
Rina Lovko: The apartment is located on the fourth floor of a residential house that was built in 1905 in the historical area of Kyiv. The process of dismantling it revealed rotten slabs, large cracks in the walls, and flooring in need of replacement, all of which we repaired. Old wooden inner walls were damaged by humidity and wood pests, so we had to remove them completely. Original parquet was also disassembled, and the floor was upgraded with a welded structure poured with concrete. Furthermore, we enhanced the balcony, and the walls were strengthened with special ties to pull together the frame.
GD: What was your client’s design goal for this apartment?
RL: Our client is fascinated with Paris, so our target was to recreate the flair of a vintage apartment. She is a young woman who is a fashion insider with a strong vision. The window in the bathroom was one of her special requests, so she does her morning beauty routine with a view.
GD: Was the interior design a collaborative experience with your client?
RL: Yes, the crucial task for an architect is to find a client’s individuality and inspiration for change by means of dialogue. That is why this project, and all Rina Lovko Studio interior projects, are created exclusively by prior order for a specific customer, to give future owners a unique experience and better quality of life. For me, every project is like a relationship. Is there any point in wasting time on meaningless relationships that will give you nothing and teach you nothing? The global meaning for me is to create. To create spaces where people will be happy, to make projects that will leave a mark.
GD: What inspired you to become an interior designer?
RL: At the age of five, I decided that I would become an interior designer. I remember when I went to bed and couldn’t sleep, I would imagine what kind of renovation I could do in my room. At the age of 11, I made such a renovation: my mother and I went to the wallpaper market, and I chose yellow and orange wallpaper. The windows of my room faced south. It was the smallest and best room in our apartment in Kyiv.
GD: What characterizes your designs?
RL: Rina Lovko Studio represents elegant interiors, not oversaturated with redundant details. Our bespoke interior projects are distinguished by their minimalism, fluidity of lines and forms, and a delicate color palette inspired by nature. The powerful method of creative interpretation includes close attention to detail, quality, and the characteristics of materials. These are the keys to creating harmonious and functional spaces where simple and complex elements are balanced.
Photography by Yevhenii Avramenko.
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