Ninia Topuria (Entrepreneur) –
I was looking for an apartment in an old neighborhood, with high ceilings and large windows. Buying old apartments, renovating them, and then selling them is part of my work, something that started as a hobby and eventually became a profession. For this reason, I already had a certain amount of experience working with these types of apartments. I have often turned to designers for their services, but in the case of my own home, I only asked a friend to help me with the layout; he gave me some advice, and I did everything else myself.
I always wanted to have a large living room. Here, the living area is sixty square meters; it adjoins a television room of about 25 square meters, which has an open glass door. When we host guests, this door is left open, creating one continuous space. A particularly distinctive part of the apartment is the glazed loggia. The apartment did not have a balcony. A structure similar to a sunroom was separated from the main space by an arch, so I came up with this idea: using a kind of sliding system, I enclosed the space within the arch. I removed the parquet flooring in the sunroom and laid tiles instead. I did not install heating, and as a result, I assigned this part of the home the function of a balcony. When the parquet was removed, terrazzo flooring appeared underneath, which suggests that the building originally must have had balconies that were later enclosed. Although I could not restore the glazing myself, as that would have disrupted the entire façade, which I was not permitted to do, I satisfied my desire to have a balcony in this way. I keep many plants in this space, and it has turned out like a winter garden.
At first, I wanted the apartment to be designed in a contemporary style, but given its specific character, I decided not to strip it of its authenticity and instead struck an intermediate balance.
The kitchen area was small, so I moved it into the living room and installed it as an island within the 60-square-meter space. It is worth noting that the living room has an unusually shaped arch. Plaster cornices run throughout the entire apartment. Naturally, I decided to preserve these details and turned to an old method: I applied bias tape. I also preserved the invaluable oak parquet flooring.
I believe that when you buy an old apartment and are involved in this kind of work, it is impossible to determine the design in advance through renderings. The apartment itself dictates the framework within which you will operate and the processes you must follow.
My bedroom is a master suite. I combined three zones: the entrance area, the shower, and the walk-in wardrobe. The apartment also has a laundry room, a child’s room, and a guest toilet.
My mother was a gallerist, and over the years I have accumulated an interesting collection of artworks. I recently acquired a large canvas by Mariam Shakarashvili. I also own works by Igor Vulokh, Gayane Khachaturian, Misha Shengelia, Koka Tskhvediani, Zurab Gikashvili, Sergo Kobuladze, Gia Markozashvili, Zaza Berdzenishvili, and Giorgi Areshidze (Reshka).
For me, the most important aspect of a home is its aesthetic quality, alongside comfort. As I mentioned at the beginning, I did not want to have any difficulty hosting guests. I can host around 50 people here, and this is what makes my home my favorite place ans where I spend most of my time.
