Gold, Golden, Gilded, Glittering

Designer Irakli Zaria mixes midcentury furniture with Japanese antiques for a Russian couple’s London pied-à-terre in his ED debut.

I GREW UP in Tbilisi, Georgia, in a cozy apartment in a 1960s Soviet-period building with a modest courtyard and a nice view over the city. My favorite part of my home was a huge library with a wide selection of books on architecture, art history, and, of course, Russian classics by Pushkin, Lermontov, and Tolstoy. The first time I saw an interior-design magazine was when I was 17 or 18 years old. I was so impressed that I began searching for more and more books on design history. Eventually, I went to Moscow to study at Details Design School, and three years ago, I started my own interiors firm. I actually got a degree in economics in Georgia before moving to Russia, but these days, I’m mainly very good at spending money! 

All of my work is residential, and most of my clients are in Moscow. But I have designed several international projects, including an 1880s apartment in Barcelona and a 1950s villa in Cannes, France, that was entirely rebuilt.