On the finish of 2022 Kasim Baimukhametov was residing in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest metropolis, when he bumped into an issue skilled by many: the lease was sky excessive.
“I made a decision to purchase my own residence as a result of rental costs have gone up,” mentioned Mr Baimukhametov, 38, who works as a undertaking supervisor in enterprise and know-how. “The universe was giving me indicators.”
As a substitute of paying lease, he determined it was higher to put money into actual property. Not needing a lot area, he began on the lookout for studios and located a 388-square-foot new development for 31.5 million KZT ($60,000). It closed in February 2023.
“If I really feel small,” he admitted. “However it was a very good worth, in a very good metropolis middle location.”
The field of an area had a low ceiling, small home windows and was mainly faceless, however that did not hassle Mr. Baimukhametov. “It was fully empty, which made it excellent for me,” he mentioned. “I wished to have a design to my liking and that manner we would not must do any demolition work.”
For assist turning it right into a customized residence, he enlisted Fariz Mamedov, 27, the founding father of FM interiors and an acquaintance of his whom he had adopted on Instagram. Mr. Baimukhametov had seen the younger designer enthusiastically renovating his personal residence and wished to work with somebody who would convey an analogous vitality to his residence.
After visiting the empty residence, Mr. Mamedov returned with drawings for at least six completely different choices for arranging the area. “I selected the primary,” mentioned Mr. Baimukhametov. “We had been in sync. I wanted 4 areas – for a kitchen, a lounge, a rest room and a small sleeping space – and that was already within the first drawing.”
After all, it was not merely a matter of dividing the area into separate features. Each Mr. Baimukhametov and Mr. Mamedov wished to offer severe type to the residence.
“My coronary heart gravitates towards Scandinavian design,” Mr. Mamedov mentioned in Russian, with Mr. Baimukhametov translating on his behalf.
Mr Baimukhametov is a fan of Japanese design, which has many parallels with Scandinavian design, together with an emphasis on clear sculptural types. “That is the place we matched up,” he mentioned.
Mr. Mamedov mentioned that the place they differ is of their ideas on colour. Particularly, Mr. Baimukhametov started the design course of with a relaxed colour palette of muted impartial shades in thoughts, whereas Mr. Mammadov wished to blow up the house with eye-catching hues.
In the long run, Mr. Mammadov gained. Because the undertaking progressed, “mainly each concept he proposed, I authorized,” Mr. Baimukhametov mentioned.
To create separate areas, Mr. Mammadov erected partitions round a nook bed room, which is entered by means of an arched door from the lounge that may be coated with curtains for privateness. One of many partitions is thick sufficient to accommodate a wardrobe within the sleeping space and a wardrobe subsequent to the entrance door on the alternative facet.
Within the rest room, Mr. Mamedov added one other arched opening between the bathroom and the tub. In each the entry corridor and kitchen, he put in mirrored doorways to assist replicate daylight and provides the areas extra visible depth.
However it was using colour that grew to become Mr. Mammadov’s strongest visible trick. Selecting sculptural furnishings in daring hues, he aimed to create an atmosphere the place Mr. Baimukhametov’s visitors could be so engrossed within the objects that they’d nearly neglect the Lilliputian dimensions of the area.
“I used iconic furnishings from Scandinavia to attract consideration to those items,” Mr Mamedov mentioned. “So visitors will not deal with the scale of the residence itself, however on particular person parts.”
These items embody the intense yellow Ekstrem lounge chair in the lounge by Norwegian designer Terje Ekstrøm, which appears prefer it’s fabricated from woven tubes.
Between the kitchen and the lounge, a compact spherical eating desk with a high comprised of recycled plastic bottle caps is lit by a Hive pendant lamp by Verner Panton and fitted with mismatched chairs by Fritz Hansen and Hay in yellow, pink and pale blue. There’s additionally the Troupe rug by Jaime Hayon for Nanimarquina, which depicts otherworldly characters in a riot of colour.
After development started in Might 2023, the messy job was accomplished in September and the furnishings continued to move in till January 2024. The full price, together with furnishings, was about 27 million Kazakh tenge ($51,500).
In comparison with his outdated rental residence, Mr. Baimukhametov’s compact new house is a major way of life improve. “I adore it,” he mentioned. “Generally I simply stand there and I am like, ‘Is that my residence?’ I can not consider it as a result of it is all I wished.”
