The new NAMELAKA patisserie in Kyiv demonstrates just how far interior design can go when colour becomes a material. NEMOV studio based the space on five varieties of natural pink marble, creating an interior where the colour scheme organises the entire architecture.
The architects at NEMOV studio rejected traditional mood boards, replacing them with an analysis of the brand’s DNA. As NAMELAKA co-founder Yelyzaveta Redkina emphasises, its essence is “fairytale nostalgia for the adult world”. From this premise emerged a 300 sq m sequence of space in which pink becomes the structural foundation, and five varieties of natural pink marble set the tone for the entire project. The inspiration came from the “refined classics” of Parisian residences from the Haussmann era, through the clear structure of the arcades and the consistent layering of materials.
A living room where dessert takes centre stage
Right at the door, guests are greeted by a solid brass handle engraved with the symbol of a circle. This is the first sign that a different order begins beyond the threshold. Passing through the entrance portal acts as a decompression zone – it cuts you off from the urban hustle and bustle and introduces you to a narrative in which the rose becomes the axis of the entire composition.
The first room is a contemporary interpretation of 19th-century high culture in confectionery. The desserts are presented in arcaded niches like the main characters of a performance. Beneath them lies a precisely poured pink terrazzo with an embedded brass logo – a floor that not only organises the space but also lends it a monumental character.
Ukrainian craftsmanship
In the second room, the central feature is a bar crafted from one of five types of natural pink marble. Its form references architectural pièces montées, i.e. confectionery structures that historically served as spectacular sculptures. Next to it is a library – a carefully curated collection of Ukrainian fairy tales – and a soft pink piano, which reinforces the intellectual, almost salon-like character of the interior.
Finale: details
The final scene is the Fireplace Room, where Natalia Brichuk’s monumental canvases open up the space to the illusion of infinite depth. It is a place where French elegance meets contemporary Ukraine, and the subtlety of the materials blends with expressive art. Even the bathrooms have been treated as the culmination of the experience – clad in pink, green and wine-red Gucci wallpaper, with their rounded ceilings, they create a cocoon, the only part where the architects have allowed themselves to use intense, saturated colours.
NAMELAKA in its new incarnation is a project that does not resort to mere ornamentation, but builds its own spatial logic through material, proportion and consistency. Pink – used in five marble varieties – becomes the language of architecture here. This is a venue that not only serves desserts but also sets a new standard for thinking about the confectionery experience in Kyiv.
design: NEMOV studio
photography: Sebastian Böttcher
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