September 24, 2025 | DESIGN & INTERIORS
JAPANESE CALM, MODERN EDGE
words Alp Tekin
photos Elizaveta Gurovskaya
interior design Ekaterina Subbotina / Ekaterina Subbotina Interiors
stylist Svetlana Nosova
For designer Ekaterina Subbotina, some projects come together with unexpected ease. “I immediately loved this one,” she says. “The clients reached out via social media asking for stylistic updates to a finished design by another studio. Workers were practically at the doorstep, ready to begin. My biggest success was convincing them to change the layout entirely. In less than a week, we reimagined the plan and started construction—without 3D visuals, only a few collages.”
MODERN LINES, VINTAGE SOUL
Set in one of Moscow’s historic neighborhoods, the apartment belongs to a young couple passionate about design and travel, with years spent living in Japan. Subbotina’s concept brings together clean modernism with vintage icons and subtle Japanese references. “Some pieces seemed to find us on their own,” she notes. A red leather chair by Pierre Guariche from the Space Age era, lighting by Isamu Noguchi and Louis Poulsen, and film photography shot by the homeowner in Japan all add layers of intimacy and timelessness.
The palette leans into milky white, warm golden wood, and a few sharp black accents—anchored by a confident red highlight. Most surfaces are clad in alder veneer. “This warm wood texture with its delicate, almost invisible flecks keeps the interior from feeling flat,” says Subbotina. Her favorite detail: a large wooden portal framing the living room window, doubling as a functional ledge and an architectural gesture that draws the eye toward Moscow’s skyline.
SMARTER SPACE
The apartment’s original developer plan wasted 13 square meters on corridors—an enormous compromise in a 65-square-meter home. Subbotina reorganized the layout, eliminating one corridor and integrating it into the living and dining areas. The kitchen was tucked into a niche, while the bedroom was divided into a workspace and sleeping zone with a tall sliding door. “When it’s open during the day, only the office is visible from the living room, making the apartment feel lighter and more expansive,” she explains.
CRAFTED AND COLLECTED
Every detail was considered. The kitchen, bathroom furniture, and built-ins were custom-made by Chilis Studio to Subbotina’s sketches, paired with a solid oak countertop from Woodcraft Studio. Mirrors and children’s furniture came from Coma Coma, sofas and beds from Idealbeds, while vintage finds—from a Marcel Breuer chair to a Luna chair by Pierre Guariche—were sourced from Beke Gallery.
“We wanted a space that feels alive—minimal but never sterile, personal yet timeless,” Subbotina says. With warm wood, vintage accents, and a few bold highlights, this Moscow apartment captures a refined sense of calm with an edge.
