The Apartment With a Lizard Is a Bold, Surrealist Home in Kyiv

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Perched high above Kyiv’s right bank of the Dnipro River, this 1,141-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment is anything but ordinary. Designed by Ukrainian studio metric bureau for a creative couple and their cat, the Apartment with a Lizard is a fearless exploration of bold design choices. “Our clients were open to taking risks,” says Svitlana Moskalenko, designer and founder of metric bureau. “They cared most about the emotional experience – dramatic imagery, contrasting colors, and original ideas.” One partner, with a fashion background, envisioned something with the flair of a cosmic carnival – dramatic, unconventional, and dripping with personality. The other sought calm retreats for quiet reflection. The result is a dreamy home that balances color and calm, where theatrical moments meet functional ease.

From the moment you step inside, the apartment sets the tone. A monochrome red entryway – walls, ceiling, and even the light – feels like stepping into a room in a dollhouse. Sliding glass separates this punch of color from the rest of the home, where the living area is anchored in deep green. At its center, a massive circular opening lined in faux fur becomes both a focal point and a meditative escape. Instead of a lounge chair, the portal invites you to lean in, look out, and engage with the skyline from the 26th-floor balcony, tiled in a rippling, water-like pattern.

Person standing by a large window with an oval-shaped frame, looking outside at a landscape of trees and distant buildings, in a modern room with dark walls and blue furniture.

A modern, angular black armchair sits on dark wood flooring beside a green wall, a black shelving unit, and a sculptural candle holder with three red candles.

Ukrainian-made pieces bring warmth and identity to the living room: a blue L-shaped sofa by SVOYA Studio, a sculptural Woo armchair, and a mushroom-like Pecherytsia coffee table. Alpi veneer, designed by postmodern master Ettore Sottsass, backs the built-in metal shelving, adding a layer of artistry to the couple’s curated collection of books and objects.

A modern living room with green walls, a blue sofa, dark wood herringbone floor, and a glass-walled red room with vertical slats and a circular window in the background.

A modern entryway with red walls and door, flanked by ribbed glass panels, features a blue sofa, a round coffee table with books, and a wall-mounted black coat rack and shelves.

A red room with a textured black jacket hanging on rods, built-in shelves, a small decorative object on a lower shelf, and partially open slatted wooden doors.

Recessed into the entryway’s walls are metal shelves to hold the couple’s shoes in an orderly fashion. Just above, hidden panels disguise easy access to the apartment’s technical systems.

A modern living room with a blue sectional sofa, black round coffee table, black shelving, and a view of a green kitchen in the background.

Modern kitchen with green lower cabinets, wood-patterned upper cabinets, black countertop, built-in appliances, and a small dining area with chairs and a sculptural lamp.

The kitchen is just as distinctive, with cabinetry in the same green as the living area and a mirrored concrete pylon that lightens the room’s architecture. A red Alpi veneer accents the upper cabinets, while a whimsical portrait of a lizard in formal attire – a work by Ukrainian artist Valery Kuznetsov – presides over the space. Around a circular dining table, mismatched red and white chairs keep the mood playful, lit from above by a felt pendant lamp from Danish brand Audo.

Green minimalist kitchen cabinets with a matte black countertop, black backsplash, and upper cabinets featuring distinctive red wood grain pattern; black electrical outlets are visible.

A modern kitchen features green cabinets, a black countertop and sink, red peppers on the counter, and a wood panel with a red pattern above.

Modern kitchen with matte green cabinets, black countertop, and red wood-grain upper cabinets; dining table and chair are visible beside a large window.

Modern dining area with large windows, a round table, mixed chairs, and a wall mural of a chameleon wearing a ruffled collar and dress.

A modern kitchen with green cabinets, a built-in oven, a round black table, a red textured chair, and a vase with white and orange flowers.

A blue door with a metal handle is set in a green wall, with a red ceiling and a black countertop in the foreground.

Modern interior with geometric shelving featuring wood grain patterns, a wall-mounted faucet, and red shelves in the foreground. A black bowl sits on a gray surface.

Modern living room with green and black walls, blue sofa, black armchair, red candles, and red woodgrain shelving holding black vases and a bowl.

A modern bathroom with blue walls and floor, a round mirror, red vanity with a curved cutout, and a small animal partially visible under the cabinet.

A modern bathroom with blue walls and floor, an orange vanity with a circular cutout, a round mirror, LED strip lighting, and two wall sconces.

A room with glossy blue tiled walls and floor, a window with red bars, and a recessed red shelf displaying a glass bottle.

A modern dark-toned bedroom with large windows, a low bed, abstract wall art, and minimalistic decor. Natural light enters through sheer curtains.

The bedroom, designed around an oversized custom bed (with over 75 square feet of sleeping space!), channels fantasy through Italian wallpaper by Wall&Deco and a glowing, eclipse-inspired mirror. A fringe-trimmed vanity and lamps add to the theatricality, while chain curtains reveal a sleek, all-black dressing room. Even the bathroom is dramatic featuring contrasting cobalt walls with a striking red sink and shelving – plus a discreet, cat-friendly cabinet entrance to the litter box.

A bed with rumpled gray bedding and two pillows is positioned against a wall with a blue and brown abstract mural; a wall-mounted reading light and black pendant lamp hang above.

A person lies on a bed in a dimly lit room with abstract blue and orange wall art, circular hanging frames, and dark curtains.

A modern room with a large round mirror, abstract-patterned walls, a sculptural black spinning chair, and decorative rings and spheres on a dark shelf.

A modern, dimly lit bedroom features a sculptural black chair, gray bedding, and a doorway draped with metallic chain curtains, partially revealing hanging clothes in a closet beyond.

Moskalenko calls the home one of the studio’s most daring projects to date, a space where the clients’ willingness to take risks allowed for an interior that is as emotionally charged as it is livable. It’s an apartment where every detail – from a fur-lined portal to a dressed-up lizard – tells a story, blurring the line between everyday life and a stage set for the imagination.

A modern, minimalist walk-in closet with black walls, illuminated shelves, a single black jacket, a bust, and one shoe on display.

A person’s arm is visible through an open glass door in a dark, tiled room with a floor that has a water-like reflective pattern.

The balcony is clad in Seletti water-like floor tiles and black mosaic tile walls and stepped benches, all resulting in a swimming pool feel.

A small tiled black steam room features a bench with a chess set, viewed from an entryway with iridescent glass panels and a patterned floor.

Person sitting in a round window nook, looking at the sunset over a city skyline, with a blue sofa in the foreground.

Woman with short blonde hair leans against a modern kitchen counter with green cabinets, wooden upper panels, black countertop, and integrated appliances. Natural light enters from the left.

Svitlana Moskalenko, founder of metric bureau

Architectural floor plan of an open-concept apartment featuring a kitchen, dining area, living room, bedroom, bathroom, and entryway.

To learn more about the Apartment with a Lizard and metric bureau, head to metricbureau.com.

Photography by Andriy Bezuglov and Anastasiia Osypenko.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.





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