Shift House: Minimalist Wood and Plaster Interiors for a Large Family
Shift House sets a calm tone from the threshold, where pared-back surfaces and pale light define a quietly disciplined house in Odesa, Ukraine. Designed by Dmitriy Sivak for a large family, the project leans into minimalism with a single palette of wood, ceramics, and natural fabrics that runs through every room. The result feels restrained yet generous, with comfort drawn from proportion, material warmth, and careful handling of natural light rather than decoration.
Muted daylight washes over continuous plaster walls as the floor shifts gently from parquet to tile and back again. One material story guides every room. The house reads calm from the first step inside.
Shift House is a family house in Odesa, Ukraine, arranged around a rigorously minimal interior by Dmitriy Sivak. The project treats restraint as a clear brief: one wall color, one tile, one parquet, and a tight set of natural materials that bind all levels together. Rather than layering decoration, the rooms rely on wood, ceramics, and fabrics to bring warmth and tactility to daily life.
A large family lives here, and their routines shape every decision. The interior stays consistent so movement from the entrance to the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms feels like one continuous narrative. Within that unity, each room still finds its own character through light, proportion, and how the essential elements are composed.
Unifying A Single Palette
Everything starts with one wall color carried across every floor and corridor. Decorative plaster wraps the house in a soft, continuous shell. There is no sharp break between one volume and the next, so the eye drifts rather than stops abruptly. Tile and parquet stay equally disciplined: one tile type, one wood tone for floors and furniture, repeated with near-ritual consistency.
This narrow material roster gives the interior a firm backbone. Rooms don’t compete with each other. Instead, they read as variations on one calm theme, where a subtle shift in light or furniture layout matters more than any change in finish.
Kitchen As Family Core
The kitchen grows to match the scale of a large household. Surfaces stay spare, but the room is generous in volume and function. A prominent extractor hood marks the cooking zone, yet its very smooth form softens its impact, so it settles quietly into the ceiling rather than dominating. Frontal lighting washes across it, dissolving edges and reinforcing the sense of a continuous plane.
Underfoot, the same wood and tile logic continues, so movement from cooking to dining feels fluid. Practical needs are absorbed into the calm envelope, letting activity and conversation animate the room instead of ornament.
Living Room In Two Directions
In the living room, everyday habits drive the layout. One side holds the television; the other is anchored by a real, large fireplace. Rather than forcing a single focus, the sofa is shaped for dual orientation, with seating directed toward both hearth and screen. People can gather for a fire or a movie without rearranging the room.
The consistent palette keeps the scene calm even when the room is full. Firelight, daylight, and the glow from the television read against the same soft surfaces, so changes in mood come from light, not color shifts.
Light Wells And Sky Frames
Light enters the house with quiet precision. At the entrance, a large guest wardrobe sits beside a light well that draws in daylight, making a typically closed volume feel open and legible. Storage becomes part of a bright threshold rather than a hidden back room.
Upstairs, a roof window lines the second-floor hall and frames a slice of sky. Each time someone steps out of a room, the view reads almost like a moving painting, changing with clouds and weather. That framed sky becomes an everyday art piece, free yet constant.
Bedroom Warmth In Minimal Form
The master bedroom continues the house’s palette, yet the combination of materials feels especially gentle here. Windows open toward the site, while skylights bring daylight down onto the makeup area. Wood, ceramics, and natural fabrics temper the minimal surfaces, adding warmth where the day begins and ends.
Nothing distracts from light and texture. The familiar plaster walls, the recurring wood, and the soft textiles work together so the room feels pared back but deeply livable.
In the end, what ties Shift House together is its refusal to break its own rules. One palette, carried from wardrobe to hall to bedroom, sets a calm backdrop for a busy family. As the sky shifts above and light moves across the plaster, the interior proves that strong character can come from quiet, repeated choices.
Photography by Yevhen Karev
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