Designer Kirill Istomin

Photo: Mikhail Stepanov, Kirill Ovchinnikov.Designer decorator Graduate of the famous ParsonsSchool of Design Kirill Istomin began his career at the leading decorating firm of New York, Parish – Hadley (Brooke Astor, Oscar de la Renta, the Rockefeller family and Jacqueline Kennedy clients). It was the work with the patriarch of American design Albert Hadley that finally formed Istomin as a professional. After 10 years of work in the United States, Istomin founded Kirill Istomin Interior Design & Decoration, a company specializing in interior design and decor. The author's furniture Istomin is made in the USA, England, Italy, France and Russia. Based on his drawings, collections of wallpaper and fabrics have been released. His projects have been awarded prestigious international awards. Publisher Rizzoli International Publications (USA) has released a decorator's reference book with his illustrations - The Pocket Decorator. SERIOUSLY! “If you notice, everything is quite simple in this project,” Kirill begins to comment on his work, while I am surprised at the pilasters of monolithic (!) Onyx, luxurious lacquered doors with brass inserts (today brass is increasingly imitated with gold paint) and a gigantic chandelier that “falls” from an incredible height surrounded by incredible stucco molding with a crystal cascade ... “You are kidding! That's what I didn’t notice here, it's simplicity! ”EVERYTHING IS VERY SIMPLE“ There are a lot of right angles and few curved lines in this interior, everything in it is very strict and concise, the ceiling can boast with complex geometry, ”the decorator continues. - This interior is status, luxurious, but not flashy. He is male, that is very restrained, stingy, but at the same time embodied in rich materials. Take, for example, a floor of Belgian marble. The value of this breed is not in the beautiful pattern of veins, but in the fact that they are not there. This is an absolutely black stone, polished to the state of a mirror. The floor he has laid out looks like a bottomless “ink sea” in which the reflection of the ceiling and stained-glass windows sinks. ” Kirill Istomin

Photo 1. The hall is decorated with 14 pilasters from monolithic green onyx. Since the office is located on the top floor, a crane was used to install them. The floor is made of black marble and honey onyx inlaid with brass. The table and doors are made according to the sketches of Istomin.
Photo 2. The walls of the octagonal reception hall are decorated with Venetian plaster. The basis of the light stained glass windows with a metal grille formed the ornaments of Edgar Brandt.
Photo 3. Reception. The cascade ceiling design was inspired by the pavilion of Edgar Brandt at an exhibition in Paris, 1925. The 1950's armchair is covered in leather by Maison Fey. Next - its exact copy. Vintage lamps from Sapho Gallery, New York. Rosewood table, Istomin design.
Photo 4. Dining. The chairs are covered with silk from Prelle, design of the 1920s. The marble fireplace was inspired by the Emile-Jacques Roulmann fireplace, shown at an exhibition in Paris, 1925. Bra, Istomin design. Venetian mirror from John Himmel. Crystal, Baccarat. Silverware, Christofle. Service, Bernadotte.
Photo 5. Chest, Istomin design, with silver handles from Sarie Rare, Paris.

I LOOK AT YOU, AS IN THE MIRROR "In general, in thisThe project is very important reflection game. The abundance of mirrors and polished surfaces creates spatial breakthroughs, increases the size of the premises, makes them ceremonial. The effect of "mirror" is enhanced by paired decor elements - for example, panels of 1920 hanging opposite each other. The geometric configuration of the ceiling is “reflected” in the pattern of brass inlay on the stone floor. Agree, it is spectacular. " Still would. Of course, I agree. WHAT IS IT? Representative office with a total area of 700 square meters. m includes: reception, meeting rooms, dining room, offices and private apartments. Implemented in Moscow for 14 months, including design. The numbers are record! WHAT WAS IT? “The initial data are as follows: the last floor of a modern office building with panoramic windows,” Kirill begins to list, “the height of the ceilings is two-sixty.” - "How are two sixty?" Yes, you're kidding! You have only one chandelier - under three meters. And, frankly speaking, I did not notice the panoramic glazing, ”I slip in again. “As for the ceiling, we managed to“ get through ”to the roof and build a“ nadzheta ”. Thus, ceremonial ceilings with cascading stucco appeared here (behind it, by the way, the wildest number of communications was hidden, to each element of which it was necessary to provide free access). But the most difficult thing was to turn asymmetrical rooms into symmetrical rooms, as the general style of the interior required. It was for this purpose that the panoramic windows had to be partially covered with false walls, due to which the solid glass surface turned into a number of traditional windows. This decision was not reflected on the facade. From the side of the street, everyone hides the curtains. ”

Photo 1. Hall rotunda. The sofa upholstered by Clarence House is made according to the sketches of Istomin. On the ceiling - golden handmade wallpaper; on the wall is a fragment of French fabric from the 1930s.
Photo 2. Bra, Lambert, 1925, France.
Photo 3. Curtains and armchairs, designed by Kirill Istomin, covered with silk damask, designed by Emile-Jacques Roulmann for Prelle, 1920. Floor Lamp, Edgar Brandt Design, 1930s, France. Chess gilded table from Tis-serant, Paris.
Photo 4. Sinks and sconces in the toilet room, Devon & Devon; mirrors in black lacquered frames are made according to sketches by Kirill Istomin; Ralph Lauren wallpaper.
Photo 5. Sink made to order in New York. Antique Bras - Genet et Michon, 1940s, France. The ceiling is covered with handmade gilded wallpaper. Brass floor inserts echo the ceiling relief.

SPECIAL EFFECTS! Similar special effects here - the sea. Take at least a dining room. Its interior will confuse anyone. Against the habit there are two tables. Reflected in the two mirror walls at the ends, they multiply to infinity. And that is not all. Behind one of the curtains, not a window unexpectedly opens, but ... a home theater screen. The interroom door, pasted over with Chinese handmade Chinese wallpaper, practically merges with the wall, decorated in exactly the same way. Already the head is spinning! For the thrill of feeling, all that is missing is a fountain-prank, as in Peterhof. However, such fun is not in the style of Istomin. QUALITY The quality of work is fantastic. In the waiting room there is a pair of leather chairs. One of them is antique, the second is its exact copy. It is made in such a way that only Kirill himself can distinguish the original from imitation. I, at least, failed. Dignified old age Aged mirrors are also easily confused with antique ones. They, by the way, are brought from New York. Why from there? Is it really impossible to order in Moscow? “It’s impossible,” Istomin suddenly says very harshly. “In Russia, aged mirrors are not being made now.” That is, they do, but not in the right way. Here amalgam of the finished mirror is aged. And in America, at first glass is aged (it is treated with a special solution) and after that it is applied to amalgam. This is a diametrically opposite approach and, as a result, a diametrically opposite result. ”

Photo 1. A remake of the Emil-Jacques Rulman chandelier, 1928
Photo 2. Fragment of a panel of the 1920s, Paris.
Photo 3. Fluorescent lamps are hidden behind a fake light lantern.
Photo 4. Pair elements support the theme of reflections.
Photo 5. The French sconces of the 1930s were specially gilded. The chair is upholstered in velvet from Christo-pher Hyland.

STYLE The project is made in the style of Art Deco. Moreover, this is not stylization, but strict adherence to the canons and hard work with primary sources. For example, the curtains in the office are sewn of silk damask, woven according to the sketches of the famous Art Deco master Emile-Jacques Roulmann. Chairs in the dining room are covered with silk from Prelle (a picture of the 1920s was found in the archive). Black lacquered doors are a variation on the work of the architect Albert Speer. The design of the plaster ceiling with stylized lotus flowers brings to mind the pavilion of Edgar Brandt, which thundered at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1925. In the office - a rare subscription copy of the lamp of the same Edgar Brandt. The list of rare books can go on and on. “By the way, the simplest part of the work was the selection of antiques,” concludes Istomin. “True, we had to gild some lamps, others to silver, others to restore, but this is not difficult.” In this office, everything is quite simple. You noticed? ABOUT STYLE The project is made in the style of Art Deco (French. art deco) - trends in the art of the 1920-1940s. The official date of birth is 1925, when the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Industrial Products was held in Paris. Distinctive features: ethnic and geometric patterns, expensive materials (ivory, crocodile leather, brass, silver, rare wood and stone, enamel), zigzag, stepped shapes, chevron and piano key motifs. It is believed that the luxury of Art Deco is a reaction to the deprivations caused by the First World War. However, Art Deco was flourishing in America, which did not know the war. In the USSR, this style in its purest form never existed, we had Stalin, or a “new Empire.” You will learn how to braid