In front of the bay window, a reading corner is set up. Muted and warm colors dominate. Wall lamp W3 (Anglepoise).
Pasha Lutov & Dima Dychek
Stone and wood
The starting point for the house decoration? A single-piece, hand-carved stone bathtub, which the owner immediately fell in love with. It was decided: the interior would be imperfect, would abolish symmetry… and white would be prohibited! The decoration therefore favored wood in all its aspects and materials: natural, oiled, blond, gray, with cracks, knots, all different veins, in parquet, in paneling, or even burnt larch wood with a black, raw, unique texture or “gont” wooden tiles, a traditional technique used in the Carpathians for roofs. In total, Oleksandra Vdovychenko combined seven wood textures including oak veneer for the kitchen fronts. She made this wood interact with black ceramic tiles on the floor and natural stone in the bathrooms, sometimes even gouged stone. In the master bedroom, instead of a bedside table, a 300-kilo natural stone and, instead of curtains, potted plants… The walls are covered in concrete-effect plaster or, in the guest room, rock-effect plaster. The only colour that does not belong to the chromatic range of wood tones is green, which can be found in the guest bathroom in the form of a quartzite sink, ceramic tiles and a glass sink by Antonio Lupi.
The concrete-like coating of the walls diffuses the light in the clarity of the bay window. The doors are full height and discreetly integrated, like the switches in contemporary matte black E2 (Gira). The lighting is provided by black spotlights, just as contemporary.
Pasha Lutov & Dima Dychek
In unison with the forest
To reinforce the sensations of solidity and comfort, the architect multiplies the warm textured surfaces intended to age nobly, becoming more beautiful and imperfect with time. “We chose materials that age beautifully and will not lose their nobility even after being subjected to the claws of dogs. We can say that the house was first made for the dogs and their whims… before the owner.” Thus, a large sofa takes up all its space in the living room because Elia prefers to sleep there while, next to it, a suspended seat is made especially for Jasmine, Lyalya prefers the windowsill and Alpha has the right to a separate cradle with a small closed door because she is afraid of noise. Beyond being “animal friendly”, the house carries high the idea of continuity of nature and the forest even in its walls. Bringing natural materials to life inside, it shows that old age, imperfections and roughness are acceptable, better, their beauty only seems more noble. The old and cracked wood of 100 years old sees its life extended; a large stone can take on different functions, such as that of a side table or a stepladder. “The outside world can be bright, stormy, artificial and manufactured, but at home we need to rest in peace and feel nature, lying in our bed or just walking on the parquet floor.”
Above the solid oak table Kolo (Maiimo), black aluminum and gray aluminum suspensions Cast (Audo Copenhagen).
Pasha Lutov & Dima Dychek
From the open living room, the glass entrance door brings in its exterior light. The living room parquet floor and its nuances (Wood Studio) blend with large anthracite ceramic tiles.
Pasha Lutov & Dima Dychek
The force of nature
If there is a lot of wood on the outside of the house as well as inside – a lot of stone too – natural light is not forgotten. “As an architect, my favourite room is the studio because the sun is beautiful in the afternoon. It creates shadows on the large work table along the window. In this room, a wooden and metal staircase leads to the attic. The sunlight falls from the attic and brings out the scents of the different types of wood. It is the perfect place for creative work.” Between dream and reality, Oleksandra Vdovychenko has created a unique house, with an atmosphere as brutalist as it is naturalist, designed to evolve and improve over time. The biggest challenge of the project remains the ongoing war in the country, which caused delays in the delivery of materials and in the implementation of certain stages of work. But the technical challenges were not insignificant, such as moving the 250 kg stone bathtub upstairs, or the 300 kg stone washbasin top, also 2.50 metres long, which required no fewer than twelve people to install in the bathroom. “Overall, the project stands out for its heavy objects, because in addition to the bathtub and the washbasin, we used many blocks of natural stone in this interior design.” Did you say brutalist?
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