Mariam Shevardnadze (restaurateur, sculptor) –
This apartment is not simply a place to live for me; it is the architecture of my inner world. Everything here seems to resemble my character: colorful, theatrical, emotional, and constantly changing. I often think that my personality has somehow turned into space itself, into rooms, into light, fabrics, books, and objects that live in dialogue with one another.
I am a great lover of vintage. Travel for me has always meant discovering something, whether it is a small object, a piece of furniture, or a strange item that carries a history. Wherever I go, I always return with some item that then begins a new life in my apartment. I believe that old objects have lives of their own. Before they reached me they had already seen much and lived through much, and with me their story continues and a new chapter begins.
In this apartment, every single object is part of journeys like these. Nothing here is accidental. I have a special connection with each item, as if every one of them were a small fragment of my life’s path. That is why this apartment is a kind of collection: of memories, emotions, journeys, and people.
Perhaps that is why it seems to many people that, on entering this space, they cross into another reality. The light, the fabrics, the books, the paintings, the sculptures, all of it together creates a kind of stage where time does not exist and everything blends together: oriental ornament, European vintage, contemporary art, and a deeply personal history.
The sculptures in my apartment are my own creations. I am a restaurateur, and my main project today is a Georgian restaurant in Dubai, the restaurant “Kartuli,” but art has always been part of my life. In this space the sculptures have become characters; they are the invisible inhabitants of this world.
This apartment is very personal to me. I love being alone here, thinking, writing; new ideas are born here. But at the same time I love it when this space fills with people. I often host large gatherings, and I love watching how people react to this atmosphere. Almost everyone says it feels as though they have “traveled through time.”
And perhaps that is truly the case. Because this apartment, as I call it, is “a traveler through time.”
Since I live in Dubai, whenever I return to Tbilisi and step into my home, I always have the feeling that the house was waiting for me. As if every object, every book, and every sculpture greets me with joy. Sometimes I think they too have souls of their own and live here alongside me.
That is why, for me, this apartment is not merely an interior. It is a living space, a small museum that travels through time together with my life, and together we make each other’s existence more beautiful.
