From the archives: Alexandra Vertinskaya's apartment
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11 Dec 2022
Uzbek fabrics and Venetian mirrors, family antiques and Berlin architecture — the interior of Alexandra Vertinskaya's apartment reflects the past and present of the famous family
One of the rooms in the apartment is allocated for a workshop.
Photo
Simon Upton
Alexandra Vertinskaya is an artist, decorator, heiress of the famous artistic dynasty. Her grandfather is the legendary singer and poet Alexander Vertinsky, grandmother Lydia is known for the role of the insidious Anidag from the Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors.
Photo
Simon Upton
The curtain is opening! It is in this way that this apartment gets from the front marble hall to the living room. A dog of the Schipperke breed jumps on the velvet sofas like a wind-up toy. "Don't pay attention to the size! Schipperke is a real shepherd dog, only in miniature," says the artist and decorator Alexandra Vertinskaya with mock seriousness. No one doubted — everything in this house is real.
Alexandra abandoned the doors between the living room and the hallway and made a velvet curtain. The ceiling lamps, partly vintage, partly an enlarged copy of objects from the 1950s, were brought from Italy. Brass and marble table, 1953, also bought in Italy.
Photo
Simon Upton
"I don't like when there are extra doors in the house that violate freedom of movement"
Canteen. Dining table, Giorgetti. Alexandra drew sketches for ceiling stucco with a laconic geometric pattern under the impression of old Berlin houses.
Photo
Simon Upton
Antiques were inherited, paints and easels are always in work, on the floor in the bathrooms — a century-old granite. "At first I wanted, like everyone else, to put a broom tile, but it was not available," recalls Alexandra. — And since I'm used to doing everything quickly, I flew to Luka and bought granite, which had been lying on the floor in some Italian house for 120 years before, and two weeks later - at my feet. By the way, it turned out to be cheaper than cement tiles in Moscow."
During a trip to Uzbekistan, the decorator found the only factory where ikat fabrics are still hand-woven from colored silk threads. "Fascinating action! I couldn't even dream of better curtains for my interior."
Photo
Simon Upton
Alexandra and her husband Emelyan Zakharov, co-owner of the Triumph Gallery, bought an apartment in Zachatievsky Lane a few years ago. The layout was ordered by the architectural bureau "Akant". "We discussed zoning together, in particular the need to ensure the isolation of the children's half so that noisy guests would not interfere with the daughters," says the decorator. — Special niches were provided for "especially important" antique buffets at the project stage. The living room and dining room were initially located in a single space, but then dividing walls were added so that there was a place to hang paintings."
Photo
SIMON UPTON
The decorator wanted to make the kitchen warm, wooden, and at the same time minimalist. Kitchen, Nolte, apron lined with metal. On the floor there is a mosaic of cement tiles made in Russia by Viva & Hitit.
Photo
Simon Upton
Hall. The Venetian mirror of the XVIII century is a family heirloom. Vintage chandelier bought in Italy. Antique banquette by architect A.N. Voronikhin. On the wall is the work of Alexandra Vertinskaya. Technical light, Centrsvet.
Photo
Simon Upton
"We have an incredible number of paintings. We had to build additional walls for them"
The metal beetle is the work of Igor Makarevich and Elena Elagina.
Photo
Simon Upton
Alexandra loves the period of the Russian "manor" Empire, but against the dominance of antiques in the house. "Old Moscow interiors are always eclectic," she believes. — Karelian birch dressers have traditionally been friends with Chinese vases, polished Finnish walls with African masks. Remember, at one time they were hanging in almost every "decent" apartment? And a manor card table could easily stand next to it. And this "porridge-malasha" creates the same Moscow comfort.
Guest bathroom. The walls throughout the apartment are covered with paints, Little Greene.
Photo
Simon Upton
Antiques are good in the form of accents. But all things— what we sit on, lie on, what we eat— must be durable and comfortable, and therefore modern." Among the most beloved old things is a portrait by Venetsianov, presented by his grandmother, on which the artist depicted his daughter Alexandra. And an old Venetian mirror. "As long as I can remember, we've always had it," says the hostess. — Dad bought the mirror (architect Ilya Bylinkin).
Of course, in Moscow — we got abroad with him much later. It was Sienna. Being there for the first time, my father, thanks to his education, was perfectly oriented in the city, and he could tell a life-long story about every house!"
The eldest daughter's room. Karelian birch furniture was inherited by the owners. Oak parquet, Finex, made to order. "In search of an apartment, we went around dozens of old Moscow communal apartments,— recalls Alexandra. — As a result, we decided to settle in a modern house, but walks in communal apartments were not in vain. In one of them I looked at the pattern of the wooden floor, which I reproduced here."
Photo
Simon Upton
"Historically, the Moscow style of the interior is always eclectic"
Gallery of family portraits in the master bedroom.
Photo
Simon Upton
Alexandra is a professional artist, a graduate of the Surikov Institute of the workshop of Tahir Salakhov. "I love color, I like Venetian palazzi, whose owners are not afraid to use fuchsia, canary yellow, herbaceous green - these incredible colors are especially beautiful against the background of gray cracked plaster," says Alexandra. — However, a harmonious interior, in my opinion, is always a continuation of architecture. Since I live in a modern house, I made the interior light and light.
The master bedroom. The carved columns of the bed, Giorgetti, according to the hostess, serve as an ideal basis for hanging outfits when you need to quickly decide what to wear. Curtains made of Uzbek ikat are made to order according to ancient technology.
Photo
Simon Upton
"The things we sit and sleep on should be comfortable, which means modern"
Dressing room in front of the bedroom. The pendant lights were brought from Holland.
Photo
Simon Upton
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SIMON UPTON
Creating a calm background for my bright carpets and furniture, I completely abandoned white in favor of complex shades of gray-pink, gray-lavender and graphite. I came here at different times of the day and checked how they looked. I don't understand how you can choose a color based on samples on paper. This is complete nonsense! If you want to understand something about color, you need to paint on the walls, on the ceilings, and in different places. Near the window and in a dark corner with electric light, it will look different.
Photo
SIMON UPTON
"I completely abandoned white in favor of complex shades of gray-pink, gray-lavender and graphite"
Photo
SIMON UPTON
The most insidious was the color of the walls in the living room — a couple of hours ago it was blue, and now lilac-pink. It changes like an aquamarine stone. Do you know, it has the property of changing the shade depending on the weather? But the real riot of colors is ikat fabrics, which I fell in love with during a trip to Uzbekistan. To begin with, I made myself caftans, and then — curtains! These bright flashes of the Asian sun became the perfect completion of the Moscow interior. For some it's eclecticism, but for me it is life."
Photo
SIMON UPTON
