After Watching Chernobyl, My Boyfriend And I Designed Our Apartment In Soviet Style And Listed It In On Airbnb
There’s a famous line in HBO’s Chernobyl: “Comrades, we are so focused on our search for truth we fail to consider how few actually want us to find it”. And the truth is that “Chernobyl” was filmed in Vilnius. This apartment is located in the heart of the neighborhood that acted as Pripyat. Not only the location is unique but the apartment itself is an ode to Soviet life – from the plates you eat from to the bedding you sleep in, it’s as authentic and unique as it was back in the USSR!
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I were watching Chernobyl and realized that the house we live in keeps appearing on the screen. We were able to see our own balcony! The flat belonged to my boyfriend’s grandparents and since they passed away, nothing has changed. Everything in this flat: the interior, cutlery, even the bedding are all exactly the same as shown in the TV series. It was so surreal to watch the show in this flat. The experience was so immersive, we felt like we traveled back in time.
So we swapped our brand new fridge with a super old Russian one, took some photos and uploaded them on Airbnb. I also shared some stories on Instagram and a journalist from the national TV saw it and asked for an interview. Since then, it has exploded and people started gifting us the Soviet stuff they no longer need – curtains, cups, books and even furniture!
Now the apartment is a mix of old and new, keeping the original planning and encompassing Soviet design elements, magazines, vinyls and appliances, such as Lithuanian potato grating machine (which won design award back in the USSR and was exhibited in the national gallery!). By the way, it works, so you are welcome to give it a go and make traditional Cepelinai or Potato pancakes. Recipes provided.
The bathroom was recently refurbished and modern technology, like wifi router or kitchen appliances, were installed. They are hidden out of sight for you to experience the life of the Soviet citizen with Western comfort. Still, you’d have to wash your clothes in an old-school Russian washing machine and store your food in a Soviet fridge!
If you’re planning to come to Vilnius and check out Chernobyl filming locations, you can stay at the flat for the full experience!
More info: airbnb.com
We travel a lot and we love staying in unconventional Airbnb apartments
The most unique bit of the apartment is the kitchen
All plates, cups and cutlery have been made in USSR
We made sure that traditional snacks – poppy seed cake and sandwiches with Doctor’s sausage – are always available in the fridge
High-tech kitchen appliances from 1986
Soviet stickers were super cute. This cat sticker is over 30 years old
Classic USSR living room interior
We drove 4 hours to get these extremely soviet curtains and they look pretty perfect
These fishes were used to drink vodka from!
Carnations remind us of the union times
Enjoy our vinyl collection – there are some pretty good electro beats from the 1986
Soviet bedroom and bed sheets that were the same in pretty much every household
Soviet hair dryer is super slow, so it takes good 30 minutes to dry your hair
We managed to find an old iron that works
We left all the family memorabilia and photos for you to explore
You can chill in the balcony and enjoy the neighbourhood vibes
A bedroom window view to the soviet urban jungle
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As someone who lives in Eastern Europe- why on Earth would you do that? I've seen enough apartments like that to last a lifetime. And panel blocks. Oh God, the panel blocks. Everything is just so miserable. I wouldn't live there again if you paid me money.
As another one who lives in Eastern Europe, not all the pieces are from that specific era. Some are more modern than others, for example the couch
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Nothing in Chernobyl looks like this, been there, seen it all. Shame on you for trying to make money out of a disaster.
Wow. This is your take away from a series on one of the world's worst man made disasters? One where the effects are still being felt today? Shallow doesn't even begin to cover it.
Or: We decided to make money out of a nuclear disaster which has so far killed more than 93,000 human beings while still counting.
This hell has everyone from former ost-block recently at home. Never more.
"After seeing a series about a disaster that ruined so many lives, my boyfriend and I thought 'I bet we could cash in on this suffering'" Fair play to you for the effort involved and all that, but really.
This is clearly aimed to milk Western Europeans and Americans who think that USSR style is trendy and cool. Same stuff happens on fashion with post-soviet trend. As a Eastern/Central European person, all I can say is been there, done that, I'm not gonna overpay for something that can be found at every rental flat in a panel block east from the German border.
I guess you'd be surprised to know that the Chernobyl disaster happened around 1986, not 1886. But given the fact that ideology behind it was actually based on human hatred, humiliation and concentration camps this is the least of your problems...
It is just a mixture of some Soviet-era stuff, but a lot of it is from the 90s and early 2000s, the sofas, for example. it could have been way more authentic. there are actually two types of the "soviet look", one is kind of 1970s "Socialist Chic", that was not available to most of the people who did not have the right friends in the right shops, and the other is a truly miserable and shabby low-quality result of planned economics and production.
Come to Latvia and I'll give you all this 'real USSR' s**t-c**p for free! You need s****y aluminum plates, forks and bowls, rug on the floor and disgusting dermantine 'tablecloth' in kitchen. And for more plausabality, install radios in every room imitating sounds from neighbours arguning and peeing like in a real panel building. Stupidity level in a scale to 10 is 100000000
Everything is so beautiful, vintage. But why not dilute this interior with something more modern and interesting? My sister and I live in the same apartment, in a Soviet house, and so far there is no possibility to make proper repairs. But a few days ago, when my sister said that she was tired of this sad situation, I ordered her multi panel wall art from Texelprintart.com. One of those most multi-colored canvases of excellent quality. She really liked it! She has hung the canvas in her bedroom and is now admiring the vintage car, as if she is a real haha. Now we save money to make repairs in our home)
I loved the living room, so cozy and the color of the couch and chair wowed me over.
As someone who lives in Eastern Europe- why on Earth would you do that? I've seen enough apartments like that to last a lifetime. And panel blocks. Oh God, the panel blocks. Everything is just so miserable. I wouldn't live there again if you paid me money.
As another one who lives in Eastern Europe, not all the pieces are from that specific era. Some are more modern than others, for example the couch
Load More Replies... Nothing in Chernobyl looks like this, been there, seen it all. Shame on you for trying to make money out of a disaster.
Wow. This is your take away from a series on one of the world's worst man made disasters? One where the effects are still being felt today? Shallow doesn't even begin to cover it.
Or: We decided to make money out of a nuclear disaster which has so far killed more than 93,000 human beings while still counting.
This hell has everyone from former ost-block recently at home. Never more.
"After seeing a series about a disaster that ruined so many lives, my boyfriend and I thought 'I bet we could cash in on this suffering'" Fair play to you for the effort involved and all that, but really.
This is clearly aimed to milk Western Europeans and Americans who think that USSR style is trendy and cool. Same stuff happens on fashion with post-soviet trend. As a Eastern/Central European person, all I can say is been there, done that, I'm not gonna overpay for something that can be found at every rental flat in a panel block east from the German border.
I guess you'd be surprised to know that the Chernobyl disaster happened around 1986, not 1886. But given the fact that ideology behind it was actually based on human hatred, humiliation and concentration camps this is the least of your problems...
It is just a mixture of some Soviet-era stuff, but a lot of it is from the 90s and early 2000s, the sofas, for example. it could have been way more authentic. there are actually two types of the "soviet look", one is kind of 1970s "Socialist Chic", that was not available to most of the people who did not have the right friends in the right shops, and the other is a truly miserable and shabby low-quality result of planned economics and production.
Come to Latvia and I'll give you all this 'real USSR' s**t-c**p for free! You need s****y aluminum plates, forks and bowls, rug on the floor and disgusting dermantine 'tablecloth' in kitchen. And for more plausabality, install radios in every room imitating sounds from neighbours arguning and peeing like in a real panel building. Stupidity level in a scale to 10 is 100000000
Everything is so beautiful, vintage. But why not dilute this interior with something more modern and interesting? My sister and I live in the same apartment, in a Soviet house, and so far there is no possibility to make proper repairs. But a few days ago, when my sister said that she was tired of this sad situation, I ordered her multi panel wall art from Texelprintart.com. One of those most multi-colored canvases of excellent quality. She really liked it! She has hung the canvas in her bedroom and is now admiring the vintage car, as if she is a real haha. Now we save money to make repairs in our home)
I loved the living room, so cozy and the color of the couch and chair wowed me over.
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