Soft ’n’ Rough
Photography: Liza Kulenenok
Styling: Yulia Mamedava
My name is Vlad Kudin, and I’m excited to present my first project — the interior of my own apartment. My wife and I love hosting friends, cooking for them, listening to vinyl, and enjoying a glass of wine together.
The 110 m² apartment is located on the top floor of a newly built residential complex on the outskirts of Minsk. When choosing the property, we placed great importance on high ceilings and an open layout. The goal was to create a simple, ascetic, timeless interior that genuinely reflects my taste and style. Bright accents and decorative patterns were absolutely out of the question.
After the partition walls were built, the layout consisted of a kitchen combined with the living room, a study that can later transform into a children’s room, a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, a laundry room, and a guest bathroom.
Strict architectural lines and the raw, unfinished concrete ceiling are softened by natural-toned gypsum plaster walls, Belarusian linen, and undyed cotton textiles. Monolithic cubic forms of the concrete kitchen and the pedestals for audio equipment balance with the free, rounded shapes of the dining table, chairs, and coffee table, creating a cozy and harmonious space.
The near absence of artwork — aside from a nude figure painted directly on the bedroom wall by Belarusian artist Lena Gil — keeps the interior clean, uncluttered, ascetic, and truly minimalist.
Soft grey exposed wiring on the ceiling, combined with track and linear lighting, helped maintain a calm, desaturated palette, avoiding strong focal points and ensuring a pure, unobtrusive atmosphere.
Listening to music is one of our favorite pastimes. A soft carpet, thick cotton curtains, and a massive sofa — together with the well-planned placement of the audio system — allowed us to avoid acoustic panels in a space that originally had significant echo.
The kitchen was another important challenge, as we love cooking and entertaining. I designed a large monolithic concrete countertop that transitions smoothly into an island. It was difficult to find craftsmen capable of producing such a seamless piece, but after a long search a local concrete manufacturer executed it perfectly.
I poured enormous enthusiasm into creating a unified space where the bright, open living room, dining area, and kitchen come together for parties, music, gatherings with friends, and cooking.
Materials played a crucial role: the warm-toned natural concrete ceiling, calm grey microcement floors, natural-colored gypsum plaster, light concrete kitchen, oak dining table, raw cotton curtains, Belarusian linen upholstery on the sofa, and paper light fixtures collectively define the character of this interior.
Although many designers and architects say creating a home for yourself is much harder than designing for a client, I truly enjoyed the process. I didn’t use 3D visualizations — only drawings and my imagination. I often visited the empty apartment to visualize the ideas on-site. Some concepts felt risky, but everything turned out exactly the way I intended.
This apartment has become not only my home, but also an embodiment of my ideas and aesthetic principles.
Custom elements:
– Kitchen and all built-in cabinetry — designed by me
– Concrete washbasin — designed by me
– Bed — designed by me
– Sofa upholstered in Belarusian linen — designed by me
– Speaker stands — designed by me
Furniture & lighting:
– Pendant above dining table: Vitra Akari
– Floor lamp: Artemide
– Bedroom pendant: HAY
– Bedside sconces: Artemide
– Mirror lights: Faro Barcelona
– Oak dining table — made by a Belarusian carpenter from my modified drawings, a tribute to Charlotte Perriand
– White chair: Vitra
– Wooden stump: Ilya Zaretski
– Audio system: Spendor
– Turntable: Clearaudio Innovation
