Commissioned to design a peaceful haven for a family to retreat from their cosmopolitan lifestyle, Kiev-based architecture and interior design practice Men Bureau have created a clean and minimal home that centres around natural materials and textural elements.
The apartment, located in the Rybalsky residential complex in the Podol district of Kiev, is situated above a commercial area, which provided an opportunity to use the space more creatively. Dividing the entire space into two blocks, Men Bureau created a private part that includes a children's room and a master-bedroom with a bathroom, and a shared part with a spacious kitchen-living room, a bathroom and a workplace. Designed to accommodate the needs of the family and everyday life, all of the main rooms are connected to one another through a neutral colour palette, warm materials and textural elements.
"To visually connect the premises into one whole, we used a single palette of materials - birch plywood, microcement, Japanese KitKat tiles and Caribbean Calcite marble. We balanced the cool tones of micro-cement in all rooms with the warm textures of plaster and wood."— Men Bureau
To achieve flexibility and avoid unnecessary division of the already compact apartment, almost all of the walls have been removed, creating an open plan layout with one central module defining the main living space. This module consists of a functional kitchen, dining area, compact workplace and a spacious living room. The new footprint allows for the space to have several functions without any needless clutter.
The rooms flow to courtyards with an abundance of greenery and the light-filled children’s room looks out to a picturesque view of the Dnieper. One of the main changes implemented within the project was the unification of three small bathrooms into two spacious ones. A reconfiguration that has increased the amount of natural light entering the main living space, the addition of glass partitions work to control the amount of natural light that fills the bedroom.
True to their signature approach, Men Bureau have given careful consideration to the curation of furniture and lighting. For RYP apartment they have included noted design brands such as &Tradition, Belid, DCW éditions, Verpan, Zanotta, RBW and Menu, as well as Ukrainian ones, like Zegen and Interia. Key pieces include the Fritz Hansen Series 7 dining chairs, Co lounge chair by Norm Architects for Menu and the Apollo 180 floor lamp by Pholc, paired with bespoke pieces custom designed by Men Bureau.
In the bathroom, a restrained palette includes soothing shades of grey, while Japanese KitKat mosaic tiles provide a graphic touch. The new layout is now perfectly suited to a modern lifestyle.
