Design, the Science of Art

I have been working in interior design for about eight years — since finishing my master’s degree in architecture. I also worked as an urban architect, but interior design is the field where I can fully realise my abilities, my sense of the aesthetic and my creative approach. I worked in several design studios and alongside designers in Novosibirsk: first on public interiors — mostly coffee houses, bars and lounges — and then I became interested in residential work as well. It was excellent professional experience, but in time I understood that I wanted to create projects on my own. So four years ago I began working with my own clients, who usually come to me by recommendation, both from Novosibirsk and from other Russian cities.

At the moment I am working on a range of residential and public spaces. One of the more interesting completed projects was the design of the children’s centre “Tilly Villy” in the Evropeisky Bereg district. Since December I have also been working on the layout and design of the second floor of the Leroy Merlin building on Berdskoye Highway, where we are designing the offices, the break areas, the conference room, the canteen and the staff gym. This year I also plan to work with clients in Sochi and Moscow.

Like any system of communication, design has its own vocabulary, and it can say a great deal about its owner — their way of life, their preferences, the horizons of their thinking. My task is to bring the client’s many ideas together into one coherent concept while keeping the space workable. To sense a client’s character and their wishes, a designer becomes almost a psychologist and a friend. That relationship is the basis for creating the singular, personal space one wants to return to again and again.

When I design, it matters to me that every client feels entirely comfortable in the new interior and takes pleasure in being there. At our first meeting I go through all the wishes in detail and ask the client to fill in a questionnaire I developed myself. Sometimes we meet directly on site, where I take all the necessary measurements. After a detailed discussion the work begins, divided into several stages: the plan, the visual part of the concept, the technical documentation, the selection of lighting and furniture, and of the materials for finishing walls and floors. The final stage is site supervision, which is what allows the project to be built as it was conceived.

On average the whole design project takes one and a half to two months, depending on the size of the space. If they wish, the client can take an active part in choosing everything that goes into the interior. I should add that we have our own workshop producing exclusive furniture elements and wall decor in metal and various woods, which lets us make many bespoke pieces for our projects. Trust between designer and client always matters enormously — we must be equal partners.

Taking in all the client’s wishes, tastes and enthusiasms, I pass them through the prism of my own professional vision, taste and experience. This is how the art of design comes into being, with harmony, comfort and beauty at the base of the composition.