Olena Fateeva and her burgundy. Sadolin: Careful, painted!

Elena Fateeva's interiors differ in density. She boldly combines shades, building combinations as if painting pictures. Apparently, this lightness gives Elena a background in graphic design. One of her high-profile projects is an apartment in Odessa with an area of ​​17,3 square meters. m. After the media success of the tiny living space, Olena secured the role of "designer of small apartments". Although the closest wording to her is "a designer who knows how to work competently with space." Today, Elena is interested in energy-efficient houses with green roofs, as well as urban planning as a tool to improve the quality of life in her native Kyiv.

 

Color of Santa Claus suit

As children, we always prepared New Year's plays. Several families gathered for a home holiday. Together with my brothers and sisters, we acted out a skit from the New Year's edition of "Well, wait!", where a hare walked in a Santa Claus costume. I was the hare. When an adult invited Santa Claus came, I studied him from the point of view of the theater kitchen: what the suit was made of, how the beard was made, what the make-up was.

My parents supported me in all my hobbies. For example, I came home and said: "Mom, I will be a climber! I signed up for the section." "Wonderful!", my mother answered, and I was taken to this section, or I went there myself. Then I announced that I still wanted to be an artist. "Wonderful!", and parents supported this new desire. They simply asked what was required from them so that I could implement it. It was an atmosphere of love and complete understanding.

"I planned the infrastructure of the plasticine city on the windowsill, based on the needs of its inhabitants"

I have been studying urban planning for some time now. I told my mother about it, and she says: "But you've been doing this since early childhood!". And indeed, I remembered how I used to sculpt cities from plasticine. I placed them on a wide windowsill, a huge window was given to me for this purpose. I planned the infrastructure based on the needs of the people who inhabited my city. These people lived, loved each other, gave birth to other people. They needed maternity homes and kindergartens. I thought all this out and sculpted it so that my city on the windowsill was comfortable.

 

The color of the sunset

When I come to Copenhagen, Paris or any other city where there is a river, I try to sit on the bank to see the sunsets over the river. Sunset is a special time for me, a beautiful moment of summing up and rejoicing over the day.

This year, even before the quarantine, we managed to go to South America. The Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia conquered me so much that I didn't even start writing a post about it. Some things are so impressive that you want to keep them to yourself. I saw the glacier from the plane, and then we swam to it several times by boat. It is a huge block of ice that cracks, creaks and moves - a layer of frozen age-old information. Every day, the glacier slides into the ocean by two meters. And high in the mountains it freezes again, even faster than it slips. When I saw the photos, I couldn't believe that such a blue color could exist, I thought it was photoshop. It turned out that he is even brighter live.

"Inspiration for me is a new experience"

Inspiration for me is a new experience. Experience of communication with people, interaction with nature. There are moments I will never forget. I remember returning to Kyiv after a period of living in Dubai. My mother and I were walking along the bank of the Dnieper to Gorbachykha, and I saw incredibly beautiful clouds over Kyiv. Thick, soft, with shapes that you can guess. They are like this every year in May - at the beginning of June.

 

Red rag for a bull

I am saddened by the fakeness, the Instagrammability, the embellished life, passed through the filters. It has become more difficult to find the present in the world. Many people try to achieve and experience something that does not really exist. Whole images, brands are created, a pseudo-reality with its pseudo-specialists emerges.

"I believe that the world is coming to the point where you will be asked about your deeds and results"

Moreover, pseudo-designers or pseudo-decorators are the least evil. But psychologists, coaches or doctors, whose advice many people trust, can do harm. Of course, there are pros among them, but it is not easy to distinguish one from the other. Today it is very important to give the right assessment and the right name to everything you see. It is necessary to understand and understand.

I believe that the world is gradually coming to the point where you are being asked about your deeds and results. Perhaps the coronavirus helped us rethink all of this more deeply.

 

The icing on the cake

The area where I live is planted in such a way that there is shade everywhere. It is good for people and hydrangeas, but not for the garden. The only sunny place is the roof of the garage. From the remains of bricks that were in the household, I arranged several flower beds on it. We raised there a special soil for roofs.

It all started with two beds, now there are four. Through research, I came to the fact that all kinds of greens and salads grow perfectly on the roof in the spring, and in the summer - strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, zucchini, carrots, and beets. Somehow it turned out to grow watermelon and cantaloupe. There, peony bushes grow in tubs. It turned out that you can provide yourself with most vegetables. At the scale of one roof, it's easy and fun.

It was really an experiment, a kind of prototype. Today, I am interested in designing energy-saving, well-thought-out houses that are rational in terms of size, operation, and function. There is a feeling that history with the lockdown may repeat itself. Houses in this period acquire a special meaning. Therefore, I will create housing with a garden and a small town on the roof.

 

Red Book

I grew up on the left bank and I love it very much. In my childhood, the coastline with sandy beaches started from Bereznyaki and ended behind Troeshchyna. Currently, this territory is partially built up, but the tract of Horbachikha remains - a peninsula opposite Dolobetsky and Trukhanovo islands.

Gorbachikha is adjacent to the Rusaniv Gardens and is almost 100 hectares of coastline. This place has never been inhabited, so it has preserved its historical landscape and unique biodiversity. There is a whole list of Red Book animals and plants: beavers, otters, rare species of turtles, relict ferns. In autumn, Gorbachikha turns into a festival of colors. Several varieties of wild grapes grow there. And here you go, looking at these vines with burgundy leaves of unimaginable shades, with blue berries against the background of yellow poplar leaves. It is a stunning spectacle that lasts for two or three weeks.

Now everyone knows about the Horbachi tract: from environmental organizations in London and Copenhagen to members of the Council of Europe

Gorbachikha is the only floodplain forest on the left bank. That is, in case of a strong flood, which happens in Kyiv once every 30-50 years, this territory, as well as part of the islands on the Dnieper, are flooded. This saves Podil, Obolon, Osokorka and Koncha-Zaspa from flooding. In the current General Plan of Kyiv, the Horbachi tract is included in the protected landscape zones. In 1994, the territory was reserved for the creation of a nature reserve.

For me, the story of the struggle against the construction of Gorbachykha began two years ago with a call from friends who said that it was urgent to run and do something, because trees were being cut down. The plan for the first felling included 7 trees. Then we started to act: we found out the legal way to restore justice. Public hearings were held in the Dnipro district, where 400 people supported the decision to create the "Gorbachiha" nature reserve.

Then, in accordance with European standards, we drew up a rationale for why it is necessary to create a nature reserve and submitted it to the city administration. In the first reading, the deputies voted "for". But for more than a year, the matter has not moved.

For two years now, I have been making every effort to draw attention to this topic. Now everyone knows about Horbachykha: from environmental organizations in London and Copenhagen to deputies of the Council of Europe, where we created a commission on Ukraine's violation of the Berne Convention. This is a convention on the protection of wild flora and fauna. Ukraine ratified it, and therefore, we undertook to preserve rare species and make the places where they live into reserves.

The solution to the problem should be the creation of the "Gorbachykh" reserve and the large "Dnipro Islands" national park. This is my global goal.

 

Imperial burgundy

My first interiors were quite graphic. With the correct shape, complemented by one or two colors. "Code Green" became a turning point seven years ago. It was in this project that I stopped treating the interior as a graphic. He became a painter.

The fact is that before all my objects were filled with light. When you have a lot of light, there is a certain freedom, whatever you do will be good. And "Code Green" is a rather dark apartment on the fourth floor. Her windows face south, but there is one "but". Quite close to the windows stands another house of a hideous green shade. When I entered the apartment, green reflections were on everything: on me, on my face, on my red shoes.

If we cannot stop something, we must strengthen it. The green interior became a logical decision. To warm it up, I introduced a red sofa and red elements into the space. So that there was no sharp contrast, I added transitional colors that worked as a stretch in the painting. Since then, I have been collecting interiors as paintings.

Burgundy gives the interior depth and multi-layered sensations

Each object already has its own color from the beginning. It is determined by the landscape outside the window and the light that enters the windows. In the new project, which is located on Vozdvizhenka, I used a whole set of shades, choosing from those that can be seen outside the window. Opposite is the green wall of the Kyiv hills, its colors change throughout the year. The project reflected both the red autumn leaves and the gray-blue haze of the winter forest.

I like to work with burgundy. As a dense and complex color, it requires careful treatment. In my interiors, burgundy appears when I need to add warmth to a dark space or a cold color scheme. Burgundy gives the interior depth and multi-layered sensations, it needs the same complex color-companion. If you don't know which one to choose, look to nature. With burgundy, all the red-golden colors of autumn and sunset shades are combined. In the "Bordeaux" project, this color appeared precisely because of the red rays of the setting sun that flooded the room.

 

Red wine

The satisfaction of every breath and every day is my concept of life. I only do what brings me joy or what I can't help but do. Because the point of entry into life and the point of exit may be defined. And we can influence the trajectory of our movement from point A to point B. That's why I prefer to do it in the company of people I love and dear to me, with wine, sunrises and sunsets.

"The interiors I create are aimed at pleasure"

The interiors I make are also aimed at pleasure. Enjoyment of space, color, atmosphere, new experience. I think about making people feel good and not want to leave home. Now, during the quarantine, family and a comfortable home space have become especially important.

 

Text: Nadia Sheykina