- Interior
OBRIY.Architects is a Ukrainian architecture studio with international experience. The team works on a variety of projects such as residential architecture, private interior design and commercial projects. Recently they completed the project Portal, a modern flat in the centre of Kiev.
The guidelines for the design were an optimal use of natural light, an open plan and visual simplicity. In order not to interrupt the horizontal lines of the windows, the interior architects made a wooden cupboard that runs along the entire wall. This cupboard hides the heating elements underneath the windows and creates unity. The walls between each window are covered with the same wood and decorated with shelves. As a result, the kitchen, dining room and living room are continuous and coherent.
A play between wood and stone, light and heavy, floating and fixed.
The floor is made of grey concrete and a number of plastered walls serve as accent walls. The colour palette in Portal is very modest with only beige, white and grey tones. This, in combination with the sharp lines, gives the apartment a monolithic, static atmosphere. Wooden furniture and hidden light elements, which emphasise the floating feature of a number of objects, such as the worktop and bed, soften the heavy, stone appearance. It is this play between wood and stone, light and heavy, floating and fixed, that makes the apartment visually interesting. 
A number of striking elements are the herb garden, the lamps and the modular sofa. The steel herb garden is located in the kitchen between the sink and kitchen island. Because of the lighting, the plants seem to stand in some sort of a silver, shiny altar. The chandelier and black coloured lamps, designed by the Australian designer Ameé Allsop, are repeated in the black window frames. Finally, the modular sofa by Paola Lenti offers an organic seating area that can be adapted to the ever-changing needs of the resident. OBRIY.Architects created unity in this apartment by using different materials in monochrome colours and subtlety.
Image courtesy of OBRIY.Architects