This week’s beautiful rooms come from interior design studios based in Ukraine. And I have now been staring at that line for the last 10 minutes and, for one of the few times in my life, stuck for what to say next. So here are some rooms. They are beautiful. Some of these designers work internationally, perhaps you will add them to your address books and one day you might have cause to hire one of them. .

Bear in mind I have no way of checking these studios further beyond the fact that they are based in, or run by Ukrainians so take it in the spirit in which it is intended. A celebration of beautiful work and a show of support. Looking through my blog stats I noticed there have been 341 visits from Ukraine in the first two months of this year and, like many of you, I suspect, we now look at these beautiful cities and, if we haven’t already visited, are vowing to try and do so in the future.

This is the Barbarabar in Kyiv, also designed by Zooi. It’s famous in the city apparently and was created to evoke a loft style with “thematic posters of cult rock bands and bright neon signs that evoke pleasant associations with popular American clubs of the 90s and street art culture.”

It’s also a masterclass of warm colours and the splashes of yellow that look like the light has fallen from the pendant lights and spotlight the objects below. They haven’t posted on instagram since 23 February, the day before, but you can, of course, follow them here to show support.

The last couple of years have started to see a slow increased in the number of wooden kitchens – rather than painted – and while it hasn’t hit the mainstream yet, this lovely warm kitchen by Lviv-based Lis Design Studio might start you thinking. And, while I don’t know enough to make any firm pronouncements, from the sites I have been able to look through, I saw a sense of quiet elegance as one of the defining characteristic of all these designers. As well as lots of curved doorways. It’s very understated and grown-up and a contrast to the shoutier maximalism that has been growing in popularity in the UK.

But then there is this – still curved, still elegant but more colourful. The Breadway Bakery, in the port of Odesa, in Ukraine, had masses of press when it was first completed by designers Lera Brumina and Artem Trigubchak, for its Wes Anderson inspired palette. They were, it was reported at the time, inspired by the famous Bar Luce at the Fondazione Prada in Milan, as well as The Grand Budapest Hotel film.

Lera also completed this beautifully understated apartment in Kyiv in 2020.

There are, of course, so many more but this one resonated. By Yakusha Studio, this project (which is in Belgium) is called Polyn, which I assumed was a place. But then I read: “We dedicated Polyn concept project to the mystical and scared plant – wormwood – in Ukrainian Polyn.

“In ancient times, housewives swept the hut with wormwood brooms – always from the corners to the doors so there were no evil spirits in the house. Living rooms, barns with animals were fumigated with wormwood smoke to expel illness. They also believed it would put off evil and envious people.”

At a time when one evil man is trying his damndest to crush a nation of whose freedom of movement and freedom of spirit he fears and of which he is perhaps envious – this beautiful room seemed appropriate.

Before I go, in addition to the Red Cross, Save The Children, the Disaster Emergency Committee, and Medecins sans Frontières, who are all running appeals and who have asked for money rather than stuff as it’s easier on the ground as they also try to buy things from local people, if and where possible, thus contributing directly to the local economy if they can.

Talking of which, there have also been reports of lots of people booking rooms in Ukraine via AirBnB, knowing that they can’t visit but as a way of giving money directly to people, which is a brilliant idea. I have just done this for a lovely flat in Kyiv and I saw this message on one flat in Odesa: “Friends all over the world! Thank you for supporting Ukraine. As for 3 of March you raised by Booking our listings $4000. Just for 24 hours! All the money I pass to the trusted volunteers in Ukraine. You can help booking one of our flats in Odesa. After booking you can cancel so my calendar will be available for the nearest dates.”