FROM RUSSIA
WITH STYLE
INTERIOR DESIGN: KIRILL ISTOMIN
TEXT: LAURA MAUK
PHOTOGRAPHY: WILL WEBSTER
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“NOWADAYS, A LOT OF PEOPLE CALL THEMSELVES
‘interior designers,’ but I really like the old-fashioned word
‘decorator,’” says Kirill Istomin, the legendary Moscow-born
and -based, well, decorator, who began his illustrious design
career at the age of 18 working in New York at Parish-Hadley,
the esteemed firm that devised interiors for Jacqueline Kennedy,
Oscar de la Renta and the Rockefeller family. “Design is not about
concept,” Istomin says. “It’s about making rooms beautiful.”
Typically, Istomin beautifies rooms with artful layers of bright
color and fanciful forms. But for an apartment located in the
center of Moscow, the decorator conceived beauty using
a neutral palette, rich texture and graphic lines. “It’s a city
apartment, so the idea was to create something very urban,”
says Istomin, who previously designed a connecting unit directly
below this one for the same clients. “The apartment downstairs
has a lot of color and is very playful,” he says. “They wanted
something more sophisticated upstairs. And I was interested in
doing something different. Having the Parish-Hadley background,
this design is rather modern for me.” While the more recent design
is obviously informed by modernism, there are bold, geometric
motifs that are distinctly Art Deco in style. And even though
Istomin was not directly influenced by Moscow’s city landscape,
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one cannot help but note that the dynamism that fills the
apartment is as wondrous as the scenery that envelops it:
The Moskva River flows nearby, and not faraway is the
Novodevichy Convent—a compound constructed in the 16th
and 17th centuries that features stately towers punctuated by
silver and gold onion domes.
For however varied Istomin’s inspiration is, the materials
palette he selected for the apartment is as marvelously
complex. “When you work with a modern design vocabulary,
layers of different textures make it rich,” he says. “There’s a lot of
wood and stone here. Some of my favorite pieces include the
sconces on the staircase wall. They’re French from the 1970s
and the inserts are amethyst.” For the entry at the top of the
staircase, Istomin custom-designed a sculptural chandelier with
dozens of white rock crystals framed by bronze rectangles. The
robust fixture hangs near a wall covered with panels of Italian
parquetry and a 1930s French bronze sculpture by Ferdinand
Parpan, titled L’Accordéoniste. “The walls of the powder
room are inlaid with wood to simulate 1940s straw marquetry
in the style of Jean-Michel Frank,” notes Istomin, who wrapped
the walls of the corridor that leads to the master bedroom in
linen woven with metallic thread by Kelly Wearstler. “There’s
a spectacular mirror that also hangs in that corridor,” Istomin
adds. “It’s encrusted with pyrite and was created by Chanel
artisans from Maison Goossens in the 1970s.”
purchased from Christie’s, is a series of triangles and semicircles
Istomin expertly layered soft materials, too, for the
that informed his design for the rest of the space. “The stools
residence. He upholstered the living room sofa with striped
are covered in tapestry fabric from Clarence House,” says
fabric from Manuel Canovas and covered some of the sofa
Istomin, who chose the print because it echoes the imagery of
pillows with silk velvet by Ralph Lauren Home. The living room
the Lichtenstein painting. Large rectangular sconces designed
also showcases Scalamandré velvet on a pair of club chairs,
by Hervé Van der Straeten adorn the powder room walls, and
the rug is a 1930s silk design by Syrie Maugham from Studio Four
modernist bucket chairs from Ralph Pucci offset a custom
NYC, and J. Robert Scott sheers adorn the windows. Istomin
Lucite-and-wood rectangular desk in the office area.
covered the walls in the master suite with silk from Larsen and
upholstered the headboard and the footboard of the bed
with linen from Schumacher.
At first glance, Istomin’s design for this Moscow apartment
looks unlike any other interior he has imagined. But after closer
examination, the decorator’s penchant for history and exquisite
The silhouettes and patterns of many of the furnishings
layers is as apparent as ever. “I’m very much interested in the
create a linear display that keeps the eye constantly engaged.
history of interior design, from the 18th century to now,” Istomin
“I wanted to be respectful of 20th-century design,” Istomin says.
says. “I participate in a lot of auctions and I love antiques and
“There are a lot of angles. But there are some organic shapes
vintage pieces. But whether it’s color combinations or texture
and curves to make it livable.” The hand-forged iron stair rail,
or form, if a room is not beautiful, it doesn’t matter how much
like the print of the parquetry wall in the entry and the bronze
history an object has. When you pass a room, there should be
rectangles of the rock crystal chandelier, presents an intricate
something to remember. Not many people like the word ‘pretty,’
arrangement of straight lines and right angles. The guest
but there’s nothing wrong with being pretty.”
room’s Roy Lichtenstein artwork, a painting on zinc that Istomin
917 453 5233, kirillistomin.com
Kirill Istomin,
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