ARMCHAIR TOURIST
OUR VIRTUAL DESIGN ODYSSEY TAKES US TO THE FORMER RUSSIAN CAPITAL WITH A GLITTERING IMPERIALIST PAST AND A VERY MODERN PRESENT
Traces of its Tsarist past are everywhere in this great Russian city, from the neoclassical palaces and baroque cathedrals, to the canals and bridges that interlace its plazas and broad streets. Created from scratch by Peter the Great in 1703, it was intended as his ‘ Window to Europe’, and as Russia’s first modern city. French and Italian influences abound in the neoclassical buildings designed by European architects at Peter’s behest, but so does the Russian impulse for ornamentation. The capital may have moved to Moscow after the Revolution but St Petersburg remains a modern metropolis. Apartments have elegant European proportions but are furnished with characteristic Russian opulence. Painted furniture, velvet upholstery and judicious use of gold nod to the Romanov legacy but these days are tempered with modern lighting and a sombre colour palette.
To bring a little of contemporary St Petersburg into your home, introduce a few glittering things but don’t overdo it. These days the city is more about understated luxury than full-on Baroque.