Design Project with Selection

Minimalism with a hint of dark chocolate

A 58 m² open-plan two-room apartment in Moscow for a couple. Warm, dramatic and very cosy minimalism: dark chocolate, café au lait and cool grey stone, with touches of burgundy adding character.

Property type: Two-room apartment
City: Moscow, Russia
Area: 58 m²
Year: 2022
Work carried out: Design Project with Selection

Kitchen-living room · visualisation

About the project

Idea and solutions

Palette

Dark chocolate

Café au lait

Beige-grey

Grey stone

Burgundy

Copper

Clients’ goals and wishes

The couple asked for an apartment that was warm and dramatic but free of visual noise: minimalism — yes; hospital sterility and showroom coldness — no. No white (except perhaps the ceiling): the base is matt dark chocolate and café au lait that feel pleasant to the touch. One rich colour — burgundy, in no more than two or three spots. In the kitchen, a must-have bar counter for coffee and working from home and a classic dining set for evenings with friends and family.

Starting point

A 58 m² open-plan apartment without clear zoning — an open space that had to be divided into zones for the life of two adults working from home.

Design solution

In the kitchen-living room a stone bar counter sits next to a classic dining set. The bedroom is in rich chocolate shades with bright accent lights. The study is a calm beige-grey “zen zone” with a proper workspace and a sofa for relaxing. A separate walk-in wardrobe holds floor-to-ceiling storage and the washer and dryer — no need to carry laundry around the apartment.

Accents

Burgundy greets you at the door: the back panel of the hallway coat rack and the soft seat — “like a sip of full-bodied red wine after a hectic day”. The same colour is repeated in the dining chair upholstery. Unusual chandeliers in each zone work as art objects.

Materials

Matt, non-glossy surfaces in chocolate and café-au-lait shades, warm wood-effect fronts, decorative slats, marble-effect stone on the bar counter and in the hallway. In the bathroom — large-format cool-grey-stone-effect porcelain tiles contrasting with milk-chocolate furniture fronts; copper and glass in the light fittings.

Interior