Estonia’s most sumptuous rental house offers exciting discoveries. The guest entering through the front door sees a gorgeous staircase foyer with cassette ceilings, corridors with mirrored ceilings, restored red brick walls, and an interior design rich in detail. Only a few years ago, it was a deserted spooky castle that, despite its central location, had been in decline for years.

The history of Narva Road 40 goes back 108 years when the magnificent 6-storey house was built in the then Reval on the commission of
Maria Stenbock. The house was a constant lodging place for both nobility and renowned intellectuals. On the lower floors were large 7 room apartments and on the upper floors smaller studios for rent.

Life flourished and buzzed until it died completely in the building in the re-independent Estonia in the 90s. In 1996, the then owner started planning to use the building as a hotel, but construction work finally came to a halt in 2007, when the economic crisis hit. The house had undergone extensive demolition work, and the extension had begun, but when the resources were exhausted, two adjacent buildings shifted by floors that were not even connected to each other still remained. The building was standing empty in its sorrow both bare and behind scaffolding for almost 20 years.

In 2017, Scandium Kinnisvara became the savior of the house and started the restoration. From under the covered boards came out original floors, stair railings, and historic brick walls.

The house was restored to its original function as a rental house. With the help of acclaimed interior architect Lilia Kristianson, the original dignity of the house was restored, floor by floor, and the new building, which began in the 1990s, was also integrated into the complex. The purpose of the lobby renovation was to preserve as much of the original as possible and to enrich it with modern details.

In addition to small apartments, lofts stretching through two floors and common areas with conveniences emerged in the house.

One of Tallinn’s main streets, however, is richer and more magnificent by a renovated building. The building opposite Tallinn University also bears the grand name Avangard.

View pictures BEFORE and AFTER: https://moodnekodu.delfi.ee/news/sisustusjadisain/fotod-kuidas-tondilossist-parl-sai-eesti-uhkeim uurimaja?id=85809331