Cover The kitchen and dining area in this Ukraine home features a light tone-on-tone material palette
The kitchen and dining area in this Ukraine home features a light tone-on-tone material palette
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The Poroda House by Makhno Studio blends classic and contemporary influences to reinterpret the golden age of cinema inside the home with all the sophistication and none of the pomp of this bygone era
A typical vision for a home for media personalities might bring to mind images of grandeur, ostentatiousness and extravagance befitting the often larger-than-life characters of its owners.
Taking a slightly different route and flipping the preconceived notion of glitz and glamour on its head, contemporary architectural practice Makhno Studio adopted a more timeless and sophisticated approach to designing interior spaces for a young family of ambitious media mavens, focusing instead on crafting an abode that could seamlessly accommodate the diverse lifestyles of its occupants under a unified theme.
“Our clients are a family that are at the same time media personalities, ambitious business partners, young parents, sophisticated creators, hospitable hosts and connoisseurs of personal space,” says Serhii Makhno, founder of Makhno Studio. “All these aspects of life had to find their place in the new home and materialise in the form of functional spaces for both family relaxation and professional activities.”
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The dining and living areas are demarcated by different floor finishes
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The two-storey house in Kyiv, Ukraine is described by Makhno as combining “the sophistication of a palace, reliability of a fortress and comfort of a home”. In terms of space planning, the design requirements had to seamlessly integrate various functions contained within different zones in the home.
Given this, the ground floor of the house was dedicated to spacious common areas such as a large living room with a kitchen, a cinema room and other social spaces, while the second floor was designed to house the private zones such as the master bedroom, children’s room, study, guest room and dressing rooms, ensuring privacy while maintaining connectivity throughout the home.
With a consistent material palette, textures and patterns revealed in different ways, whether through veined marble, three-dimensional bathroom wall tiles, fabric panels or accent lighting, Makhno integrated diverse influences ranging from ancient Roman to early 20th-century luxury styles that expressed the clients’ range of lifestyle interests.
Starting from the entry, the artistic touch and deliberate curation of selected art objects referencing different periods are integrated seamlessly into the design of the interiors.
The pantry and kitchen island make for a cosy, informal dining space
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The courtyard entrance is a bright hallway with a porcelain stoneware floor, a huge mirror, and a custom stone countertop on metal supports. On the same floor, the living features a similar design language. An overhanging stone protrusion holds a bio fireplace and a built-in TV, with a niche for ceramic art carved into its side.
The stoneware partition separates the living room from the kitchen, which is delineated by a change of wooden plank flooring to porcelain tiles. This is complemented by a porcelain tile island and a similar “wet niche”. The island and the niche are matched by a custom white stone dining table, designer chairs and a large, luxurious Khmara lamp floating overhead.
Rounding off the ground floor, a must for every cinephile—a cinema room—features finishes in darker tones coupled with soft furnishings that blend into the surroundings, creating a luxurious cinematic oasis with soundproofing and advanced technology that caters to the owners’ passion for creating video content and family entertainment.
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Above The study features a darker material palette
Above Rough-hewn stone brings an edge to the interior
The study features a darker material palette
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“All these spaces and elements feature subtle lighting in calm colours throughout to create and enhance a cosy interpretation of a classic ‘golden era’ cinema home, but in a modern, minimalist way,” notes Makhno.
Led by a stately staircase decorated with copper profiles and veneer panels on the walls, the owners can escape into their own personal haven on the second floor. Makhno and his team divided the clients’ master bedroom into three zones. The recreation area features a custom boucle sofa, veneer and artistic plaster on the walls, and panoramic windows with access to the terrace.
The bathroom, delineated by a full-height smart-glass partition, is decorated with porcelain stoneware panels and Mountain ceramic tiles from Makhno Studio.
“Within these spaces, the touches of early 20th-century luxury style come through in all metal plumbing and accessories that have copper plating, which adds a classic context, from ancient Rome to the modern old-money style,” adds Makhno. Continuing the theme, the make-up area, located at the end of the bedroom and decorated with a veneer table top, combines loose rounded furniture and a ‘Roman’ mirror with golden lighting.
The master bedroom features a low-slung upholstered bed frame set against the bathroom’s glass partition
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Reminiscent of the colour palette of the cinema room, the guest bedroom is clad in grey fabric panels to offset the vibrancy of the usually sunny space when the automatic curtains are drawn back. Here, Makhno and his team matched the colour of the fabric-covered wardrobe and the custom chairs to the bedroom’s soft furnishings for a monotone, understated feel that brings to focus the only contrasting element in the room—the designer ceramic Pita lamp.
Balancing influences from different eras against a contemporary backdrop of minimalist luxury, Makhno Studio created a home in which modern classics reimagine traditional meanings in new ways. Artistic solutions are incorporated into every aspect of the design, transforming everyday spaces into showcases of creativity and craftsmanship.
Whether through meticulously crafted stone walls, thoughtfully placed art accents or the seamless fusion of classic and contemporary styles, the Poroda House offers an immersive experience in which simplicity simultaneously conceals and reveals intricate artistry.
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Above The smart-glass wall can be frosted for privacy if needed
Above The pastel-toned nursery follows the aesthetics of the rest of the home
The smart-glass wall can be frosted for privacy if needed
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Credits
Images: Courtesy of Makhno Studio
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