Moscow restauranteur Tatyana Kurbatskaya’s Italian restaurants, Mario and Palazzo Ducale, have long since become popular among the city’s elite. The attraction lies not just in the wonderful Italian cuisine and excellent service, but also in the amazing interior designs.

Palazzo Ducale is designed in the style of a Venetian palace. Its interior is the real thing, complete with mirrors and chandeliers of genuine Venetian glass. Elegance and luxury are taken to the extreme here.

Mario is completely different – a minimalist interior with decorations that change from season to season. But in both restaurants the design does not distract from the pleasure of eating and talking, and the atmosphere only adds to the conviviality.

LifeStyle was curious to see what kind of apartment Kurbatskaya herself lives in and how much her business and personal tastes differ.

What we saw was a spacious four-room apartment designed by architect Pavel Romanov. The style was one of simplicity. The first room was like a big hall, combining the dining area, kitchen and living room. The second room was for the children, the third was where David, Kurbatskaya’s younger son, slept, and the fourth was the main bedroom.

The furniture is functional and the walls light in color. "I relax and seem to draw in energy from my apartment," Kurbatskaya said. Indeed, on a hot summer’s day, it would be enough to spend a few minutes walking around the cool wooden floors of this apartment to feel soothed and relaxed.

Kurbatskaya likes the feeling of total cleanliness. "I always feel uncomfortable in a room where there are too many things," she said. "It seems to me that they are all dusty, so I deliberately prefer not to have more things around than I need. It’s better to have fewer things, but of higher quality." Kurbatskaya follows the same principle in her restaurants, which is why they also have nothing superfluous.

As the owner of expensive restaurants, Kurbatskaya has a taste for expensive furniture, shoes and clothes. She says that one expensive item is better than two cheap things; after all, it is quality that determines an object’s worth.

"I like Giorgetti Italian furniture," she said. "It’s discreet and very comfortable." Her chairs, which sit on little wheels don’t scratch the floor, their backs are comfortable, and the leather used on them is of the best quality.

Kurbatskaya specially showed me a table by Saporiti Italia, another Italian company. "When I saw it, I thought it was too expensive, but after looking at other tables, I realized it was exactly the one I needed," she said.

Kurbatskaya chose all the furniture in her apartment herself even if her architect, Romanov, had other ideas.

"I think it’s important to always keep a step ahead of the times," she said with pride. "When I bought all this furniture, Pavel said, you’ve chosen the most expensive things again."