How Alexandra Tolstoy made a rental house her own | House & Garden
Вставка
- Опубліковано 1 лип 2021
- Behind the neat red-brick façade of a classic Victorian terrace in London are interiors with a fairy-tale charm. As these combine English chintz and romantic-era Russian details with a gallery of wonders, it will not surprise regular readers of House & Garden - or her many Instagram followers - to learn that it is the latest home of the writer, explorer and polymath of style Alexandra Tolstoy and her three children, Aliosha, Ivan and Marusya.
What is surprising, given the layers of ornamentation, is that Alexandra decorated the house in just 10 days, following eviction from her previous home in Chelsea, after the Russian government claimed it against alleged debts owed by Alexandra’s ex and the father of her children, the oligarch Sergei Pugachev.
She has conjured magic from mettle, giving a masterclass in starting again, downsizing and decorating within the limits of a rental contract, while creating a beguiling home for her children full of treasures valued for reasons that do not relate to their cost. The best houses reflect the lives of those who live there; this is one of them.
Click here to read the full story: www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gall...
Subscribe to House & Garden ►► po.st/SubscribeHouseandGarden
CONNECT WITH HOUSE & GARDEN
Web: po.st/HouseandGarden
Twitter: po.st/TwitterHouseandGarden
Facebook: po.st/FacebookHouseandGarden
Instagram: po.st/InstagramHouseandGarden
Pinterest: po.st/PinterestHouseandGarden
Newsletter: po.st/NewsletterHouseandGarden
ABOUT HOUSE & GARDEN
House & Garden has, for 70 years, set the gold
standard in design and decoration for the home.
House & Garden covers “the well-lived life”. As well
as covering the most beautiful homes and gardens,
House & Garden extensively features travel, wine &
food, lifestyle and shopping.
[Title]
/ house&garden - Розваги
I love seeing people LIVING in their houses, filling it with the colours and patterns they love, surrounding themselves with objects that have a past and a story… This home isn’t done to anyone’s taste but her own. So refreshing!
Me too
Есть старинные иконы и посуда винтажная
She bought that dwelling on the money of her lover Пугачев who robbed Russia and its citizens thanks to his ties to the Russian President. She's his mistress. Her house is full of tasteless trash. Heavily overloaded. Seems she has nothing to do in her life.
@@es78xx except going straight into big box stores and …
In an age of minimalism and bland decor, it is a breath of fresh air to see how exquisitely bohemian Alexandra's house looks with all the sublime patterns and colours. I love the look of antique Victorian crazy quilt on the bed at 11:00.
Yes I feel the same way. My friends n family say my house is too much it I love this look.
Paper Darts, while reading your comment, I was keenly aware of the word “bland.” I haven’t really liked the current home trends, and this single word, made me realize why! It’s like eating plain oatmeal. Yuck!
@@gaslitworldf.melissab2897 have improved somewhat after years of beige and white, then grey and white minimalism. But Boho seems to mean beige, for the most part, and seems to be highly featured now. I love color and a truly eclectic mix of items, what I call “Haute Bohemian,” and this house certainly fits nicely into that category.
The kitchen is minimal
areeeet soft shite
finally a house that resembles the person who lives in it. truly personal and mesmerising
@emma Have a look at the real Alexandra Tolstoy in her other home in Chelsea London before her husband was done with stealing from Russia. We have a woman here that has done a 360 in style and attitude. Very interesting. All is not what it seems.
@@headron66 At last... A realistic comment. All is not what it seems. They play a game, most probably, he and her gangster hubby, to try and hold on to the ill gotten gains.
As the daughter of arty and intellectual Ukrainian immigrants to California, this is basically a version of our own home. It’s all a mad but somehow harmonious mishmash of Mexican folk art, Persian rugs, Russian iconography, Dutch tiles, nineteenth century California plein air landscapes, Chinese jade, carved wooden tables, lacquer boxes, medieval instruments, Hmong tapestries, Turkish copper ware, Swedish embroidered towels, towering plants, African masks, Quaker quilts, Indian textiles, thrift store Buddhas, matryoshka (nesting) dolls, Hopi Kachinas, Japanese prints, abstract paintings, bronze sculptures, tall oak bookshelves filled with art, lit, poetry and philosophy tomes, east-facing decorative corners crammed with gilded Madonnas, golden samovars, dried willow sprigs and hollowed-out painted pysanky eggs left over from all-night Easter vigils of years past. The kitchen shelves overflow with brightly painted roosters of every folk tradition imaginable. Color and a wild eruption of patterns dominate. Slavs just can’t help themselves.
gorgeous comment
I absolutely loved reading this comment. It’s like being taken on a journey. Thank you for sharing.
Id live to see this.....pictures?
so you don't have Uzbek plates?
Дом -коттедж Александры Толстой -это такая шкатулка, наполненная предметами разных эпох. Но выглядит очень мило и не как в музее. У вас однобокое представление о славянах, как-раз таки у славян минимализм и является основой культуры. Русский минимализм в Европе продвигает Гарри Нуриев, посмотрите его работы.
She inspired me so I woke up with the sun in my eyes and turned the head of my bed into the windows and completely changed the mood of the room and my husband says it’s magical.
I am Russian, but live in England. Alexandra’s house is absolutely stunning. There are many real beautiful Russian things. Amazing! 🌎Thanks a lot for this interesting video! 🌺
Похоже на музей, жить в музее непросто
Liubasha , чудесный комментарии 🤗
@@prime-time5 она, скорее всего, там и не живет
@@ilonar8060 Hate to barge into the Russian interaction, but she does actually live in this house _as you can see by how worn out the kitchen floor is, which she herself pointed to in this video. She's turned her country house into a rental. So she has no where else to live at the moment (aside from her parent's house of course, which is no solution for an adult woman with three children). She's shared in an interview recently that she's living off this small inheritance from a step grandfather (or some such,) and I'm assuming also from the rental money that she gets from renting out her country house. Alexandra is okay, but she's no longer swimming in money. Pugachev, the father of her children, has lost everything aside from this castle where he's living in France, and last I heard doesn't send her any money. A real man would sell the castle to help provide for his own children, but well people. My father never had any castle and yet my siblings and I were never in lack of anything. Recently I even found out (not through him of course) that he has even starved so that we could eat, when we were very little and my parents were very poor. And that is what a man and a father look like. Alexandra is an incredibly brave woman and she will forever have the admiration and respect of her children, the same I don't think will be said of their male progenitor.
@@selmahare I am Russian and I agree with your every word
Alexandra Tolstoy's home is beautiful with her personal touches.
This house is gorgeously authentic. So refreshing to see a house like this.
It is not house. It is museum.
@@gulnaragulnara4240 No, it’s very much a lived-in house, filled with beautiful things. Museums aren’t lived in like this.
It costs a fortune to be able to be this "authentic". Also you need to hire a cleaner to dust every little tchotchke. This person is not having to do any of that. The textiles budget alone in this house is probably my annual rent. I am happy for her but wealth is why a person can live in a place like this. Many authentic and artistic people in the world. Most don't have this cash.
Gorgeous home that is obviously filled with love. It's like a giant cuddle.
bit dusty though, not reckon?
@@tyra925 not really, but what's a home without a bit of dust anyway
I love that everything is interesting and has a story and is used. It looks like a house to live in and enjoy as opposed to a house that you have to slave away wiping every blemish and hiding everything behind fitted cupboards
I Love Alexandra's house it's like a personal museum very bohemian, colorful and she has beautiful style, I love it !!
My goodness...the warmth, the colour, the designs, the beauty. Alexandra your home is absolutely stunning. Thank you for sharing it with us xx
This has to be my favorite home
I'm sooo in love with this no rule style. I live in a small unit and on entering it is as rules dictate... you will see my living and dining. My bedroom is in a separate room out of mind out of sight. I'm actually contemplating changing that. I am seriously thinking of putting my bed in the main room with a screen and going crazy in the bedroom by transforming it into my living and dining. I love her style and rebellion. In love with it actually.
I think that's a marvelous idea.
I have a bed in the living room and the bedroom. I love having the freedom to choose.
Go for it. I'm about to turn my tiny bedroom into a library and put my bed into the main room, which is 3 times bigger. There will still be plenty of room for a dining area and a seating area.
I was thinking of doing the same but with my bedroom as a library/craft room 😊
I love this. Wonderfully refreshing and authentic. So much nicer than the cold, dreary, soul-sucking minimalism that continues to be touted by the design media.
Did the story of the photographer bother anyone else?
explain, please
@@timsfchristopher6131
I hope you're kidding🤗
@@rachelhendrickson7555 No, I'm not kidding; please explain.
all of the comments are complimentary. As one commenter said "swooning". Are you seeing something (or looking for something) that the majority of us are just missing?
Thank you! I thot I was the only one.
@@timsfchristopher6131 I absolutely loved this vid. Unfortunately something negative wouldn't leave me alone. It was when she described the process of the photographer who took the pics of the kids. Rewatch it. 🤷 If this isn't enough of an explanation I have nothing more to say to you.
I just love her design sense, combined with her lack of rules philosophy.
After seeing a ton of minimalist design on UA-cam this is so fantastic!!! Lovely, absolutely lovely!!
This home is prime for rainy lazy days! ☕📕 I absolutely love the colors and textures!
If I could show someone my ideal home style I would show them Alexandras.It's hard to put into words but it just makes you feel comfortable.Love it!
This house is like being in a fairytale! I love everything!
I love her home, it’s just so harmonious and interesting.
Even Alexandra's name is remarkable. interesting collection of religious icon art. a quilted chair cushion! Marvelous!
I love the way she describes the kitchen floor, 'the story of our lives".
That was an amazing feat. Find a rented house, move out of your own home at zero notice, gather up your kids and belongings and just go. But to turn a rented house into such a beautiful home in literally days, that takes some doing. Kudos to you.
I'd take with a pinch of salt
I just love EVERYTHING about this house,the decor the colours it just overflows with warmth and love. I would simply love to live there. Alexandra is such a warm and cosy person.. from France 🇫🇷
All l can say is that she's is amazing and just fabulous just loved this video... loved her home just amazing design ...
I love her principle when it comes to house decoration. Such a practical person!She really appreciates and pay the highest respect to her own culture and values all the old furnitures and blends them very well together. Such a great home she has there. Love it!
It’s amazing how much a house can take in. Lots of beautiful pieces and history.. colors and materials.
Definitely feels like a home.
Gorgeous. I especially love the paint colours on the walls and the Swedish armoire in the dining room.
I love her decor. My mother’s living room and bedroom is so similar, full of history, warmth, love and eccentricity. :)
This has got to be the most real and relatable video of this series ever. Talking about downsizing, renting and minimalism and the joy of it all. Amazing work.
I absolutely love her sensability, this is gorgeous. Everything about it is wonder-full.
An absolutely beautiful lived in comfy home. I love how nothing matches. I love all the different colours & designs. Alexandra has great taste & she knows how to put things together. ♥️💖💚🧚🏼♀️
I wish this home tour was at least an hour long 😂,...Absolutely stunning home , like a piece of art so unique 💕
You and me both.
It's so refreshing to see a small pretty rental house. Most interviews seem to be with owners of giant houses.
I appreciate that this lady knows what she loves, curates what she loves, does so confidently and cavalierly.
I agree-that is SUPER WEIRD. As a mother myself I would never leave someone alone with my kids……
She is such a breath of fresh air . Love her style !
Absolutely stunning home, love everything. Very much my style and colours.
This is the best one in the series, and I've watched quite a few. She is lovely and and whimsical and her touch is everywhere. Love it!
Thank you for sharing this with us. It makes me happy to hear how you decided what to use in each room. The tenacity with which you move forward for your family is inspiring.
Love your attitude, and the blue-black color! 💙🖤
Surround yourself by things you love..... best to make a house a home ..... trends end: your memories are forever.
Love the consistent color palette and taste. Lovely.
Love this. What a fabulous mix of interesting items and colors and textures! My favorite is the peeling wood floor that reflects the family that lives there. Only an interesting human being could inhabit a space made like that. I sometimes wonder who are the people are who live in plain, dull white boxes? In homes that look like they were stamped out with a conventional trendy rubber stamp? It's a joy to see a home like this one.
I just adore everything about this house. Also, really appreciate her philosophy about decorating.
Beautiful 🏡 home...lot of color and that touched of things we conserve with special 💞... blessings
I love the colors and how things work together. It's refreshing to see a home that's not over-designed, but made to reflect the taste of the occupant.
Oh to live life surrounded by things that bring good memories of places and people, a home where nothing is too precious. I also love my custom made sofa - it’s teal/sky blue covered and brings me joy whenever I look at it. I’m definitely taking it into my old age home……
Watching this decor is such a freeing experience. I just loved seeing all of these decorating conventions broken: the dollhouse in the bedroom, table lamp on the kitchen counter, a small papasan chair in the bathroom, Christmas decoration used all year round. I found this to be such a freeing experience, free to express myself, free to decorate as I please, free to be totally unconventional. So, often, quite unconsciously, I am striving to fit some mould, some "rule," forgetting that this is my house and I can decorate it any way I want to, not in a bizarre way, but in a personal, fun way. What pleases me. I don't have to abide by anyone else's conventions. So often I feel pressured to fit in with the newest decor style.
It's nice to be reminded that I don't need nor have to fit into any decor style, that I am free to be creative, to comply only with my own style.
Thank you
I love everything about this house. Simply beautiful and so stunning!!
Love her place! She certainly made it her own with fantastic objects, fabrics and style.
Color, layers, warmth. Love it. And the kitchen is a dream.
I love it! The colors, the mixture of cultures, materials. It's stunning 💖
Absolutely stunning. A true artist's home.
I love her style. No rules is the best
watching for the second time all her decor is so beautiful everything is so visually pleasing
I can't stop watching this video, I go back to it all the time. She is amazing! I wish she was my friend.
Astonishing! This layered look took 10 days.
Especially seeing as the average renter would NO chance of doing this. Its call priviledge
A mother agrees to have her children photographed naked and is not allowed in the room - UM WOW - that's very shocking! 😮
A room is what you make it- whether dining becomes sitting room or vice versa. Love her honest style
I loved this house and I collect oddities and amazing treasures just like her plus my color scheme is very similar! It was warm and inviting and had a Victorian world traveler feel to it like an expatriate vibe would!
your house sounds just as manky
I haven't seen such an exquisite house for a long time. She has sublime taste.
I agree with you in every since about fitted kitchens and using the space as you see it fit and your son was very wise with the dining room in the large room with the window to the front and the cosy Snug lounge room
@leonie. My sentiments exactly about fitted kitchens and bedrooms, especially bedrooms. I prefer to use the space as I see fit.
I absolutely love her style, her colors, and her attitude, especially!
I love everything about Alexandra's house! The colours are textures are both vivid and relaxing. I agree totally about the kitchen, I prefer and unfitted kitchen. A beautiful home!
Love everything about her home. Such an inspiration. 🙌💞
I’m so glad you made and shared this, I come back to it again and again.
A warm and cozy home! Thanks for sharing.
I love the presenter, the house, the art and furniture, etc! Having just moved into a rental house with green walls and my old stuff, I am inspired to cover as many of the walls with art as I can! Some of my own art bores me but it’s better than green walls!
My ‘mom alarm’ went off over the photographer, but I think those of you on the other side of the Atlantic are in a better position to comment.
Mom´s are the same , all over the world! 🌍 I think it’s a normal reaction to get alarmed of that photographer.
Naked and alone with the photographer, nyet, especially a sibling of that particular one. But her home is perfection!
Swooning! ♥️ Over some truly beautiful fabrics..
Your home is lovely. So much history! The textiles are just stunning❤❤
Love, love, love your style.Making use of every space. I love your paint colours and your determination to do things your way. This is totally the way I think about home decor.
Как я неравнодушна к таким домам, которые наполнены любимыми хозяйкой предметами! В них живет ее сердечная память. Живите, дорогая, долго и счастливо в своем волшебном доме! Благодарю Вас!
I absolutely adore her home! Every little touch is interesting and lovely.❤
Absolutely beautiful interior style, thank you for this video. She loves to show off her home, style and life and always has. It's hard to wince and judge when the bottom line is that I appreciate getting to see it! ;)
so beautiful ...all the emotion attached to her purchases. Unrestrained and truly a world of her own.
and yes, eyebrows raised and lip curled at the description of the photographer's behaviour..
So many stunning things in this house. I love the colors, textures and patterns. My house is a rental 1930s cottage in a FL beach town. It is decorated inside with many collected things and lots of color and comfort. Not the exquisite quality of the interior of this one but things that make me happy. Many collected on travels in Europe. I always wanted to visit Russia but never got there. At 72 not enough stamina. I absolutely love the Russian plates. Thank you for this wonderful look around.
Love your home. Every room and every space is special. Thank you for sharing.
These little videos of beauty ,just transform you to another place.Thank you!🦋☺🦋
Absolutely fantastic interior. Looks so beautiful, homy and cosy. Must be wonderful to live in a space like this. Congratulations
I watched this because of seeing a Russian box [we've a dozen or more exquisite varieties] + the wonderful St Seraphim, an icon of whom I'm sitting under in my Italian villa as I type this. My style is Chelsea Bohemian from a decade there in the 60's + my wife studied at St Martin's in the Strand, so we have 1000s [!] of books, collectibles, artworks, paintings, drawings, quilts, cushions, Oriental carpets, plates, hangings ETC ETC a delightful frenzy to complement two libraries & an art-gallery. Your home looks great!
The decor is so rich and meaningful. Thank you for sharing your home. It’s interesting and beautiful!
This is absolutely stunning. She has such a marvelous eye.
This is truly a home. I'm inspired and encouraged to collect items that have personal meaning. I've struggled to do so amongst a family that loves new. I also appreciate Alexandra's statement about bathrooms and kitchens not needing fitted cabinetry.
Beautiful family home. Love all the beautiful colors.
I love all the coral/pink/orangey reds in every room.😍😍😍
Alexandra's home looks really lived in and cozy .... full of treasures. Those spode floral sky blue plates are really pretty. Loving the portrait of her by Graig. The love the rustic look of the wood floor in the dinning room,very charming country feel. Charming home...xxx
Such a homey , lovely house. So authentic & so you. Thanks much for sharing ❣️
So easy to tell the uber wealthy old-money homes from the rest. There just on a whole other level that the rest of us will never know or experience.
I frickin LOVE her style 💜
Possibly my favourite house interior ever xxxx
lovely visiting, thank you for sharing.
Fabulously eclectic but who dusts and cleans it all 😉
They obviously have servants darling. This is Alexandra Tolstoy you are watching, dusting is the least of her concerns.
Cohesive charm blended together. Beautiful home beautiful host.
Beautiful home and love the kitchen! Bialetti Moka!👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼
What a lively symphony of color, texture and history - definitely comfortable. This was uploaded before, perhaps another channel, IDK, but I've seen this before. It's so unique, I'm not inclined to forget the wonderful feeling her home left me with.
A magnificent house. So beautiful. Thank you for the video.
The portrait is beautiful
A very collective home that seems to work for the family. I found it very interesting and colorful but comfortable. Enjoyed the full video.