This artistic pensioner meticulously transformed the hallway of his building over 15 YEARS to replicate a Parisian castle
Vladimir Chaika spent a decade and a half decorating his apartment building to look like The Château de Versailles
A CREATIVE pensioner has spent 15 years creating his ideal home, decorating the communal areas of his apartment building in the style of the 17th-century palace of Versailles.
Vladimir Chaika has lovingly transformed three floors of the nine-storey block of flats using delicate mouldings, intricate paintwork and replicas of period portraits.
His apartment, in the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev, has given a new lease of life to the functional post-communist apartment building transporting visitors to the opulent surroundings of Paris’ Palace of Versailles.
Vladimir said he had always been fascinated by the decadent interior design style of the 1600s and 1700s chateaus.
He had worked in construction for a number of years, providing him with skills required to complete the refurbishment project.
After a near fatal accident in the late 1990s, he was forced into retirement, giving him plenty of time to work on his masterpiece.
He said: “I had been wanting to make this building my signature piece for such a long time.”
Vladimir said the project provided him with a purpose for his life and the positive feedback from his neighbours encouraged him to continue with the renovation.
He explained that he would have loved to continue further up the hallway but was prevented by the sharp increase in price of the plaster, paints and materials required.
One of the elements he is most proud of is his transformation of the rubbish chute into a gilded column so beautiful that his neighbours are reluctant to use it for waste disposal.
Vladimir said the project had made him famous in the city with people regularly visiting the building to admire his handiwork and even to pose for wedding photographs in front the stunningly designed hallway.