Why are brands at all significant in this niche? The value of the brand lies in the fact that in this way the company offers the designer not just an individual item of interior, but a complex vision and its own philosophy, to which entire lines and collections obey. Since the design project begins with a visual concept, it is much more convenient for the designer to work with tools that fit into it not only with a series of isolated visual features, but also with the essence of semantic and stylistic interpretation. Brands with a long history and a corresponding reputation are distinguished by a unique design style and quality of execution - these properties are, of course, important in the implementation of author's projects.
When choosing furniture and decor, the designer and customer also have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the samples offline. The atmosphere of comfort in the interior grows from the little things, and then at the stage of developing the design project, it is definitely worth paying attention to them. It is difficult to imagine a home "from" and "to" furnished with objects of the same brand - one way or another, in different functional areas of the author's projects, not only stylistic techniques are intertwined, but also manufacturers of various interior elements. In order to get to know and choose each of them in person, it would be worth organizing a whole design pilgrimage for half a day to their brand stores (which are probably not all in the city). However, with the appearance of multi-brand salons, this became optional.
Project 900 could be called one of these salons, but the definition "design space" would be more honest and closer to the truth. Its approach and content distinguish it from an ordinary showroom. Project 900 is a place where not only individual things are important, but also their visual and practical relationship in the living space. Here there is an opportunity to get to know the furniture and decor items, and together with the specialists of the salon, along the way, develop a unique and complex solution for filling the interior. However, the philosophy of this space is not based on names and price tags — it consists in translating the ideas of their creators and contemporary trends into the context of author's projects through design objects.
Within the walls of Project 900, brands are presented as an instrument of lifestyle formation, and at the same time, a culture of balanced and conceptual filling of the living environment. We will consider some of them in more detail, along the way trying to investigate and disassemble the very concept of comfort in a modern living space.
Walter Knoll — furniture with a pedigree
One of the brands represented in the design space of Project 900 is Walter Knoll. The company was born in the second half of the 20th century. under the leadership of Vilhelm Knoll and specialized in original leather products. Then, at the end of the XNUMXs. In the XNUMXth century, his son, Walter Knoll, separated from the family business and founded his own company. The Walter Knoll company entered the arena of world design with armchairs. At the same time, for many years, the designers of the brand developed the concept of an ideal chair, perfecting the design and working on the execution. Today, it is safe to say that they have achieved their goal: Walter Knoll armchairs and sofas are synonymous with comfort and style in their segment. However, now the brand also develops complex and multifaceted solutions for furnishing and decorating living spaces. On the way to its formation and expansion, the company managed to work in collaborations with such iconic designers and architects as Mies van der Rohe and Norman Foster. Also, the heads of the company inherited the Bauhaus philosophy, which was clearly expressed in the collections of that time.
Jaan Living sofa and Joco Stone tables by Walter Knoll. Source: Salon Project 900
Today, Walter Knoll is a well-known brand that designers around the world turn to for modern, stylish and comprehensive solutions for their design projects.
"The Walter Knoll company has an excellent pedigree. This is a valuable experience, which they very successfully transformed into quality. I really appreciate them for the comfort they give soft furniture, as well as for the concise design and materials they choose for their collections! Walter Knoll manages to create unique models, and in future interiors they turn into things that you don't want to part with!" — this is how Viktoria Alekhina, the founder and leading architect of Alekhina Architects office, characterizes the brand.
Victoria Alekhina is the founder and leading architect of Alekhina Architects
Metamorphoses of living spaces
Trends in the design of residential interiors have never been static - that's what they are. Spaces are becoming more and more variable and, what is important, "readable" from the point of view of the customer's habit and preference being recognizable in them. In modern projects, a global fusion of styles and techniques is clearly visible. With the development of communications, trends and individual innovative approaches in working with living spaces flow from continent to continent, forming a global view of this branch of interior design — seemingly common, but at the same time infinitely diverse.
Aisuu chairs and Moualla Table by Walter Knoll. Source: Salon Project 900
"The pace of life has become faster. Global digitization rules the world. Trends as such do not exist," Viktor Kudin and Olga Ryabova, chief architects of the creative architectural workshop KUDIN, note.
Olga Ryabova is the chief architect of the KUDIN Creative Architectural Workshop
Viktor Kudin is the chief architect of the KUDIN Creative Architectural Workshop
"If we talk about stylistic trends in the interior, it is now clearly evident that people travel more — and, as a result, see more, including observing the experience of Europe, which lives according to the principle of less is more. I think that because of this, competent minimal is especially popular now," Yuliy Cherevko, the chief architect of the interior design studio PAINTIT, also comments.
Yuliy Cherevko is the chief architect of the PAINTIT architectural workshop
Olga Novikova, architect-designer, co-founder and head of the Martin's studio, also expresses her own point of view on this question:
— "More and more often we meet people who have fundamentally revised their personal approach to private interiors. So, loft, fusion, and art deco were replaced by more eco-friendly, ascetic and restrained interiors. This is not even minimalism in its pure form - rather, it is a philosophy that more and more people are coming to. If speaking objectively, I mean interiors in which freedom, space and function are at the forefront. Such interiors look like a mix of Scandinavian style and minimalism.
Olga Novikova is an architect-designer, co-founder and head of the Martin's studio
In the hands of a modern customer today, there are many times more visual landmarks and interior references than ever before. Many designers note that they often come to them with a bunch of saved pictures from the same Pinterest, but they have no idea how these separately taken techniques and decor items will fit into their personal home. Today, the designer's job is to work out, in addition to the classic introductions obtained from a dialogue with the customer about his preferences, habits and lifestyle, all the ideas that this customer has noticed. The final goal of this study is to connect the details that are possible to realize with the housing concept that most organically fits the unique life of an individual person. Thus, what is accepted as trends on the Internet, in design practice is often no more than an optional selection of methods applicable in the creation of one or another project. After all, comfort in a modern home is primarily about personalization."
Floor lamp Mito Largo, Occhio; Votteler Chair, Grand Suite sofa, Joco Stone and Oota tables by Walter Knoll. Source: Salon Project 900
Trends in design practice are no more than an optional selection of techniques applicable to this or that project. After all, comfort is primarily about personalization
Victoria Alekhina comments on it as follows:
"If we talk about the author's interior, the designer builds his unique vision in it, a combination of objects, textures, etc. It is no longer relevant here to talk about the popularity of this or that style apart from the author, since the author in this case is the source of the same unique style in the interior In the future, of course, certain combinations of solutions may go into circulation in different versions and configurations - then the conversation about popularity begins. Any artist in the process of becoming strives to find his own handwriting, to make it his own distinguishing trait. It is the same story with interior design: experience is gradually layered on a personal vision of residential projects, resulting in the formation of a certain unified philosophy, from which the designer is guided in the future when developing visual concepts. So some architects and even entire studios come to their own unique styles.
Denis Sokolov, designer of SVOYA studio
Denis Sokolov, designer of SVOYA studio, describes his own experience in this field as follows:
"At SVOYA studio, we prefer to call the style in which we work New Ukrainian Design. We do not create projects in any specific style, but instead create our own style. The most interesting thing is that in each new interior there is a new, unique style in its own way. But together they form the same New Ukrainian Design. We do not particularly like the idea of modernization of authentic Ukrainian motifs. We live in the time in which we live, and we come into contact with modern materials. That is why New".
Rolf Benz is a style independent of contexts
In itself, the design of modern housing today is impressively variable, and therefore, among the criteria for choosing furniture in such interiors, versatility gains special importance. A truly high-quality and stylish design is one that can fit into many individual projects with the author's style and color interpretation of interiors with equal success. And the brand, which knows how to make furniture with such a design, has been holding its name and position on the market for almost 60 years. This is the Rolf Benz company. Today it is one of the leading German manufacturers of upholstered furniture.
The 60s were a crazy decade: a man flew into space, the world saw the Porsche 911, new materials entered the arena of design, pop culture conquered the minds of a new generation, making everything around bright, fluid, unpredictable in its visual and semantic interpretation. And while the Danish designer Werner Panton was still developing his iconic Panton Chair, one upholsterer from Nagold founded his own furniture company under his own name. The upholsterer's name was Rolf Benz. The brand was immediately remembered for its bold approach to the development of upholstered furniture. During its existence, it has established itself as a company whose furniture is synonymous with quality, style and, of course, comfort.
Volo sofa and Rolf Benz 923 bookcase from Rolf Benz. Source: Salon Project 900
The philosophy of Rolf Benz is based on the fact that every piece of furniture should be designed as a self-sufficient environment for relaxation. The emphasis on personalization prompted the designers to also develop a series of modular sofas-transformers, which are perfectly adapted to various scenarios and moods of the owners. A wide selection of possible upholstery made of the highest quality materials allows you to make any design idea not only real, but also durable.
"Rolf Benz is characterized by modern forms that are absolutely ergonomic and comfortable. In my opinion, this is a brand that sets fashion. They are not afraid to experiment with new solutions, but they do it without forgetting the individual approach and, of course, the high quality of natural materials, which is especially important to me," says architect Ekaterina Vasilyeva about her experience working with this brand.
Kateryna Vasilyeva, architect
The fact that samples of their furniture are placed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York can be considered a clear and very eloquent confirmation that Rolf Benz designers managed to create a certain standard of timeless classics.
New times — new life
Priorities in housing arrangement depend on the general rhythm of life, on human values. Modern design projects are noticeably different from those of 10 years ago - this is due to the fact that, in a sense, generations have changed, and the customer has become much younger. If earlier his average age was close to 40 years old, now it fluctuates in the region of 30-35. These are people who have encountered a typical Soviet building and, in contrast to it, perceive modern interior solutions with great interest.
"The worldview of the client has changed noticeably. There are many young people, including from the IT industry. And they are somehow more open to the world. They travel more, trust the designer more as a specialist. This client understands that everyone should do their own thing," Denis Sokolov shares his observations.
Alma sofas, Rolf Benz. Source: Salon Project 900
Contemporary design of living spaces has no limits. Literally does not have. Barrier-free studio premises, mixing of functional spots with each other are features that characterize projects in this niche today. One or another zone no longer has a clear framework in terms of how it should look and where it is located. People work remotely, eat at their workplace, read in the bathroom, do yoga on the balcony, in short, they rearrange the space for themselves and their somewhat unique everyday life.
Ekaterina Vasilyeva comments on this change as follows:
"Requests are now being formed with a greater emphasis on personal comfort, as many processes have become inextricably linked with "home" walls - study, work, even leisure. Due to this, clients began to be more thorough even when choosing the color of the same walls, realizing that they will spend a lot of time at home. This literally confirms the fact that people began to think not about how to make housing more trendy and fashionable, but about what is convenient, what suits a particular person. I am in favor of an individual approach, because this trend only pleases me.
The barrier-free organization of the living space also performs a communicative function. For example, if a family of 3-4 people lives in the apartment, and everyone has a separate room, but also in the layout there is a combined kitchen-living room, then this area becomes for the family a kind of semantic node of all the scenarios that move and interact within the walls of this apartment. TEAM 7 — real kitchens made of real wood
TEAM 7 – real kitchens from real wood
Continuing the theme of studio spaces — designer kitchens supplemented with an island appeared in the middle of the last century, but this trend reached Ukraine only recently. In the context of a combined kitchen-living room, an island with an attached dining area (be it a full-fledged table or just a bar) at the junction of two completely different functional spots is a solution that can not only emphasize the visual style of the design project and make the working area in the kitchen more ergonomic than account for the formation of the working triangle, but also conditionally smooths out the seemingly sharp transition from the cooking zone to the rest zone. The kitchen and the dining area adjacent to it are almost the only place where all family members get together every day. High-quality author's design not only creates comfortable conditions for such "rituals", but also improves the functional filling of such places.
Kitchen Loft, Team 7. Source: Salon Project 900
The Austrian company TEAM 7 has been engaged in the production of designer furniture and, in particular, kitchens since 1959. For more than 60 years of work, the brand has not moved away from its original philosophy and market position — TEAM 7 kitchens are made of 100% natural wood. The company's masters treat the surface of their products with organic oil — such a choice of materials allows you to guarantee the quality and durability of the selected furniture. The philosophy of the brand today keeps pace with the growing popularity of the eco-movement in interior design. The wood has antistatic properties, which contributes to the natural reduction of the amount of household dust. It also helps regulate humidity, thereby maintaining a healthy and pleasant microclimate in the room. A tree that is regularly cared for with natural oil retains its beauty for many years.
The TEAM 7 model range presents both classic solutions of kitchen sets and options supplemented with niches for rest or storage. The natural pattern of wood, the combination of its matte texture and natural shades with glass and the highest quality fittings — every detail of TEAM 7 kitchens and furniture confirms the well-deserved name of the brand on the market and emphasizes the awe-inspiring attitude to details even when working with complex projects.
Dmitry Sivak is the founder of the Sivak+Partners studio
"Today's luxury is not an expensive sofa and marble, but a smart space with air purification, proper ventilation and natural materials. An expensive-looking interior in the baroque style, in which dust gradually settles on plaster curls over time, looks ridiculous today in comparison with a simple, albeit somewhat ascetic interior, filled with modern technology and ecological materials," emphasizes designer Dmitry Sivak, founder of the Sivak studio +Partners.
Such different "light"
Comfort in modern housing is directly related to the cozy atmosphere, which largely depends on the lighting scenarios. Recently, their work in interiors has been given a much more significant role than before. Accent light has a huge impact on the perception of one's own home. Storage systems, rest and sleep areas, a workplace, even additional lighting in the bathroom - such additions to the "main", upper world can fundamentally change the visual concept of a design project.
ADDIT sofas and tables Rolf Benz 915, Rolf Benz. Source: Salon Project 900
"It is generally accepted that ceiling light in the form of a central chandelier or spots scattered across the ceiling is the most mandatory type of lighting in a project. However, it is important not to forget about the lower light in residential interiors. I mean floor lamps, bedside and table lamps, sconces. Sometimes the central ceiling light loses its relevance if the above-mentioned lighting elements are correctly selected and distributed across functional zones. And of course, don't forget about the lighting of the work surfaces of the kitchen and wardrobe," says Olga Novikova.
However, at the stage of working out the lighting scenarios, the designer needs to reveal the full potential of his empathy towards the customer in order to ultimately achieve the desired result. Accentuation of individual zones with additional light is an extremely individual process, the implementation of which requires an understanding of the habits, preferences and special wishes of the future owners.
"Light and lighting always play one of the most significant roles in interior space. There is no concept of must have in the selection of lighting devices. There is a subtle and individual approach to this instrument," Olga Ryabova and Viktor Kudin note.
Denys Sokolov supplements this thought in a little more detail:
"We really began to pay more attention to lighting - to the point that we attract special designers from around the world for complex and responsible projects. Because there is a lot of important specifics. In residential interiors, we try to provide different lighting scenarios. After all, everything here depends on the client's way of life - it is impossible to design in a template way. You need to feel how a person behaves at home, how he spends his leisure time: he likes an active lifestyle and parties, or vice versa - he prefers quiet and peaceful evenings. This directly depends on what kind of light we will use in the project - warm, local and muffled, or bright and scattered."
Occhio is a bright idea of innovation
The leader of the German market in the niche of premium lighting, as well as one of the most iconic brands in the world design arena — the Occhio brand, founded in the 90s. Axel Maze. Today, the company is famous for its innovative approach to the development of new models and collections of lamps, as well as a variety of modular systems that differ in adaptability to any individual conditions of residential interiors.
Occhio modular systems are an ideal solution for interior problems, in which a comprehensive approach and competently coordinated work of all light sources is necessary for the organization of lighting scenarios. With the help of contactless control, as well as a wide range of options for adjusting the brightness and temperature of lighting, the brand combines in its products an impeccably concise design with a philosophy of individualism. With such illumination, the customer himself is free to change and adjust the light filling of the house depending on the mood, time of day, leisure chosen for the evening and many other factors.
Floor lamp Mito Largo, Occhio; Walter Knoll 375 armchairs, Joco Stone and Joco tables from Walter Knoll. Source: Salon Project 900
The quality of Occhio lighting itself deserves special attention, which thanks to the brand's innovative technologies ensures maximum color rendering and visual purity of illuminated interiors. In an author's interior, visibility of every detail, clarity of contours and correctly selected lighting are important, allowing you to feel comfortable in the living space even in the dark.
Modern technology is one that understands its owner, adapts to it and gives the opportunity to feel like the creator of the atmosphere in your own home. At Occhio, this trend is monitored and invested in new collections, maintaining the benchmark quality of execution in every detail.
"The light in the interior is a very important element: it is possible to highlight the object correctly, and to cross out the entire original concept, unsystematically sketching a bunch of lamps in the room. At this stage of work with a design project, experience is certainly important, an understanding of how light works in the interior is important. In essence, world design is a separate niche. More and more often, people want to implement a "smart home" system in their homes, one of the elements of which is the management of world scenarios," Yuliy Cherevko comments on the importance of such innovations.
"Talking" things
Decor in modern housing is also one of the important components of comfort. However, it has been many years since it is not like a collection of jade elephants, which are then very lazily lifted from the shelf one by one to wipe the dust from under them. Today, in the context of the design of living spaces, decor is a selection of elements that make the interior unique, lived-in, uniquely "yours". After all, carrying bags with things over the threshold of a new home, the first thing you want is to make yourself the first coffee in a new place and drink it from your favorite cup. On the one hand, the tradition of "gathering" lives on, but in its place, the modern world cultivates a culture of attention to oneself, to one's own moments of joy. Therefore, the decorative filling of interiors does not disappear - it only changes in favor of more carefully and carefully selected items.
Patcha carpets, cc-tapis. Design — Patricia Urquiola. Source: Salon Project 900
"I love the careful and balanced inclusion of decor that reflects the lifestyle and hobbies of the owners. Decorative elements can be a vintage witch bought at a flea market, or one large canvas painted by an unknown author. The main thing is not to "suffocate" the interior with such techniques, but to complement it," shares Olga Novikova.
The designer can partially take on the task of decoratively filling the living space when developing a design project. However, in this case it is necessary to be, perhaps, even more attentive to the wishes and halftones of the customer's character, because the decor, as already mentioned above, is something especially personal and personal. The semantic connection of such interior elements with the owner's preferences should be one hundred percent. It is worth noting that designers sometimes also mean more general aspects of working with a project by decorating a home.
"Comfort as such is, of course, connected, among other things, with decor and the place of decor in the interior. And by decor, I mean a harmonious and functional filling of the interior, an aesthetically equipped space in which things "live" and have a functional meaning for the residents," Ekaterina Vasilyeva clarifies.
Often the decorative niche of the design project is occupied by objects of art, art objects of various kinds. Similar decisions are made when working with customers for whom comfort consists not only of ergonomic design solutions and aesthetics of space, but also visual aesthetics in its private, objective manifestations. Yes, such decor elements may not have any applied function, but they are inextricably linked with the atmosphere created in the project, or in a specific area.
"The role of decor will always be the same - to create a feeling of happiness wherever you are! I am happy to see how people began to turn to art more often. For me, decorating is the stage of a design project that has the greatest cultural and meaningful content. All that is left out of this filling is only decoration and falsehood. And yes - never deny yourself fresh flowers in the house!" Viktoria Alekhina adds.
cc-tapis is at the intersection of design and art
The cc-tapis company was founded in 2001, and in 20 years of its existence it has already managed to gain a reputation as a brand whose products do not so much carry a practical function as they are full-fledged, effective and fascinating art objects. You don't always want to lay the handmade carpets from this manufacturer on the floor - you want to hang them on the walls, blurring the line between their original, seemingly utilitarian purpose and aesthetics, which claim to be more like an object of love.
Founded in France by the spouses Fabrizio Cantona and Nelsia Shamzadeh, the company moved to Milan in the tenth year of its existence and settled there. cc-tapis is a flawless combination of unique design, contrasting textures and shades with uncompromising quality and loyalty to traditions. All carpets of the brand are woven by hand by Tibetan masters in Nepal. The materials are exclusively natural - cotton, Himalayan wool, silk, linen and aloe fiber processed by special technology. Also, only natural dyes are used in the production of carpets. Operating with bright pictorial tools, cc-tapis designers balance on the thin, barely perceptible edge of modern aesthetics and flashy, extravagant kitsch.
"In interior decoration, we always gladly welcome art. Especially when this art has not only a decorative character, but also carries some meaning. We try less and less to use decor for decor's sake. We really like to use cc-tapis carpets in SVOYA studio projects. This is the case when an interior item works as an art object. I believe that this brand took a qualitative leap after they attracted such giants of design as Patricia Urquiola, Jean-Marie Massad and Sabine Marcelis. It was cc-tapis that influenced the breakdown in the very vision of the product. They proved that there are no limits," shares Denis Sokolov.
The modern understanding of comfort is still at the stage of formation and, perhaps, this dynamic of development will hardly ever reach a static and unambiguous result, which is even good. After all, this is the very essence of the designer's understanding of living spaces - they change to match their owners. Priorities in some common life issues and views of the world are changing, tools for working with living interiors are changing — some trends are dying, some are taking their place and growing. The attitude of the customer to his own home changes, the degree of interest in what and how he will be surrounded, and as a result, the communication with the designer changes.
"The quality of the client has really changed. As a result, the quality of the design. The design became less distorted by the client's prism. Among the changes, here is what else I can highlight: we have become more fond of what we do. We have become even more fond of people who are connected with what we do. Yes, they just started to love more," reflects Denys Sokolov.
It is unlikely that minimalism and concise functionality of spaces are the very boundary of "ideal housing" that will hold everyone back. It cannot even be said that this is completely true now. However, the important fact is that the customer stopped associating comfort with fancy and stylistic ripples in the interior — they were replaced by eco-friendly consumption, understanding of the value and necessity of certain things. The interiors have become visually cleaner, more individual. And yes, it is really more comfortable.
"I completely forgot what a pain it is to choose a huge crystal chandelier. And I'm very happy about it," Dmytro Sivak sums it up jokingly.
The participation of brands in the formation of such interiors is of particular importance today. Thanks to them, the design project from the general picture of the author's vision turns into a complete composition of philosophies, which are translated not only by the space as such, but also by its details. Against the background of these trends, the 900 project is not just a place where brands are gathered. The showroom, located in Kyiv, in the "Domosfera" shopping center at 101 Stolychnoe Shosse, is a multifaceted conceptual location in which, through the interaction of separate objects, general cultural patterns of the design of living spaces can be seen.
/The material is published on the pages #33 of volume PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA/
