An interior by Natela Mankaeva –
The moment I walked into this apartment, I understood that a quiet, pastel palette would not suit it, that these walls needed strong colour. Colour would create the connection between contemporary aesthetics and a historical space.
Naturally, I placed no limits on myself in choosing the colours. It felt entirely natural to use the richest possible combinations: pomegranate, lemon, turquoise and terracotta, in broad, bold strokes as well as in the details.
My husband and I have gathered the memories of all our travels into this one space: out of two sculptures of girls that we found at the antiques market in Rome we made the fireplace surround, this funny, slightly mad duck mirror was brought from Düsseldorf, rugs from Armenia, chased copperware from Iran, tableware and textiles bought in Paris, Moroccan tiles…
All of it, vintage and contemporary objects alike, paintings and books, creates the layered quality of our home, a living organism that is constantly being enriched with new details.
At the same time, we tried to keep the old soul of the house. We restored the heavy plaster mouldings on the ceiling. The doors, with their wide frames, were commissioned after a model from the architecture of the period, and we chose cement tiles with authentic patterns.
For me, this interior is a balance between the rational and the emotional, between contemporary means and tradition. In the end, the space came out whole and alive, the kind of place where you want to stay and share your time with the people dearest to you.
