How Affluent Indians Are Feeling At Home With Luxury

Aashna Khurana is lounging in her living room when we arrive to see the K Villa, designed by architectural firm PSA Interiors and furnished by Design Consultant Heena Handa of EDC Space. A little later, we step out to go to the finely manicured lawn. Aashna walks barefoot from a plush drawing room through a large French door that brings in the verdant views of the lush green outside. We pass by the Buddha sculptures on the way to an animal pen where her five-year-old can play with goats, cows, chickens and ducks. The property has over 5,000 trees and plants and a two-acre food ‘forest’ where they grow fruits and vegetables such as guava, custard apple, oranges and kinu. The Miyawaki-inspired free-flowing forest surrounds the house, branches bowing gracefully into the lake.

For Aashna and her husband Bhisham Chawla, who moved into this eight-acre farmhouse near Vasant Kunj, not too far from the heart of the city, a couple of years ago, this grounding in nature is vital for their daughter’s well-being. The other properties in this quiet neighbourhood are similarly laid out. Before shifting to this property, the couple and their child lived in an equally well-appointed villa at the 270-acre Karma Lakelands, a golf resort developed by Aashna’s father, an avid proponent of sustainable lifestyles. Aashna, Bhisham and their daughter spend weekends there. They are planning to launch the next phase of the project. Aashna, a trained interior designer, is in her element when doing up homes while her husband worries about how to sell them to like-minded, nature-loving, select buyers looking for green fairways, sparkling waterbodies and fresh, clean air; in fact, monitors measure air quality 24/7. Real luxury, one would say.

Nature is important. So is sustainability. Aashna’s father, Ashwani Khurana, considers wastewater a resource. The sewage treatment plant at Karma Lakelands treats water from the adjoining development as well. The treated water feeds the golf course and the aquifers below. They have already revived many wells. Even the Vasant Kunj farm’s sewage plant treats water from a couple of neighbouring farms as well.

Aashna and Bhisham are not exceptions. In the past four years, India’s rich and famous have shopped for ultra-luxury homes like never before. Sales of units costing Rs 10 crore to over Rs 200 crore have gone up significantly. As traditional wealth competes with new entrepreneurial money and family estates get sold for new addresses, the concept of a luxurious lifestyle itself is up for interpretation. The buyers are enlisting professionals to transform those houses into homes—developers, architects, interior designers, conservationists. But one common theme is sustainability and access to green views and plants.

Well-known tile manufacturers, Chetan and Rasika Kajaria requested Kohelika Kohli of K2India, a firm co-founded with her mother Sunita Kohli, to design their residence and do up its interiors. This is in DLF Farms in Chhatarpur in South Delhi. Location is always the first consideration for traditionally wealthy people, says Sunita. Add to that a conscious proclivity for the cultural and the sustainable, by both the architect and the client, produced a home that reflects a promotion of the arts and of crafts. To house Rasika's large art collection, Kohelika designed a lobby, almost the size of a normal apartment, that leads to the principal rooms on the ground floor. Right from the lobby of this 28,000 sq. ft. home, one starts to see priceless art, showcased stylishly.

So, what can create understated luxury? For Kohelika, it is architecture that creates a balanced skeletal framework that is fleshed out with judicious choices of different materials, both in the hard finishes of the architecture and the soft finishes of the interiors. Well-planned architecture and interiors imbue a home with peace and calmness. Every house has its own aura. Kohelika chose antique bronzes of different centuries and breathable, natural textiles in the furnishings to match the graceful elegance of the interiors.

For London-based Shailja Vohora, who runs Interiors With Art Ltd and caters to clients across the world, it all starts with listening to the client. “True luxury is space that fits you, enhances you, nourishes you, nourishes your soul and keeps your body and soul healthy.” A home is a calling card, she says. “You need to understand what they aspire to. It reflects their journey so far and aspirations for the future.” When designing for clients who have sold ancestral homes and bought luxury units, this designer, who has done up interiors of many houses in DLF Camellias in Gurugram, feels an acute sense of responsibility. “It is not my job to put my taste into the client’s home. Their taste must be honed and showcased.”

So, when clients want interiors to match the price of the house, but are unsure, “we take them to galleries and shows where they can feel the quality and experience of the best brands. Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh Chair, for instance, has a context. Taken out of context, it is just a chair. We explain why the hand knotted carpet is so valuable and increases the luxury quotient of the home. Or why an original Caden sofa is worth £17,000-25,000 because of the quality of the foam, its construction and material that gives comfort, unlike the leatherite copies. And why the perfectly polished wood should not have an anti-scratch layer because touching the natural grains of wood is good for human health while the coating can give off volatile organic compounds. A little bit of elbow grease and polish helps retain that perfection.” These elements make for perfect luxury.

A retiring CEO in Bengaluru was spending upwards of Rs 30 crore to buy a home from White Lotus Developers. He was an avid traveller and collected curios from around the world. As he decided to settle down to enjoy his riches, he wanted the beauty and opulence to shine through.

Pavan Kumar, CEO of White Lotus Developers, says setting up the framework in which the luxury interiors can be crafted is done during the development phase itself. The feeling of space must come through in rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and even ceiling heights. His design process takes a year. Customisation in layouts is offered even during completion. So, when the villa was under construction, the CEO asked for a pride of place in the living space for his mother’s musical instrument, the veena, Kumar went out of his way to design the space. “We even speak to all family members together to accommodate their multiple wants,” says Kumar.

Mayank Ruia of MAIA Estates, which is present in Bengaluru and Chennai, says, “It is the last 20-30% that makes the difference between the good and the best. Today developers such as MAIA allow designers in at the last stages of interiors so that the final finish can be in line with the designer’s specification.” Design teams even guide the buyer in the journey while the facilities team helps him settle in.

“If you have wealth, let it flow through the interiors, is the new mantra,” says New Delhi-based designer duo, Rachna Mehra and daughter Devika Mehra of Bonarte. “Luxury begins at the main door, when there is enough space. Cars and motor bikes for effect, imported plants, expensive lights and contemporary wallpapers are now in vogue,” says Rachna Mehra.

Walls are an expression of the buyer’s psyche. Fashion icon Sabyasachi can bring the best of Indian art and style in wallpapers ranging from Jaipur Gemini to Sanganer tent, Gokul Pichwai or Shantiniketan. De Gourney brings the style of elegant European interiors as a backdrop to the opulence that permeates the homes of the rich and famous.

Good Earth Décor, similarly, has ranges of Charbag grandeur to Xanadu, Shangri La and a host of themes that can transport occupants around the world with a flick of the brush. For premium buyers like Aashna Khurana, the best wallpapers created dream themes in pink for her daughter’s rooms, all chic and lined with opulence. A maximalist at heart, Aashna loves stripes and clean lines, muted bases with pops of colour and art that ties everything together.

Thibault and DeGuerney wallpapers from the UK vie for space with India’s best - Good Earth and Sabyasachi to bring royal splendour to luxury walls. For the even more choosy, Rachna Mehra prints exclusive wall murals for one-of-a-kind interiors. Sustainability is a concern and India’s wealthy patrons opt for grass wallpaper made of jute, sisal, raffia and host of other natural fibres.

If the walls flaunt natural fibres and exquisite elegance, the furnishings must complement them. “The first choice for many is “the most expensive fabrics that money can buy, sourced from global markets,” says Rachna. It is one way of maintaining exclusivity; buying what many others can’t afford. The interiors shopping list in premium Indian homes is like Sarojini Naidu’s epic poem The Bazars of Hyderabad. Ralph Lauren, Houles, Jim Thompson, Arezzo, Dedar Milano, Andrew Martin and Fabric Art are all available for use in Indian interiors.

There is enough wealth in these premium coffers to source anything from around the world. The proud owners are well travelled and often demand what they have experienced in other parts of the world. Monica Kamal Studios is inundated with requests from those who know what luxury means to them or those who depend on her to interpret their wants. Kamal says in many cases, especially among those new to luxury interiors, the cost of the fabric determines the choice. The fairs in Milan offer a range of minimalist furniture. But the furnishings, the branded cushions, throws from her studio and her expertise elevate it above the ordinary. “Increasingly, buyers of luxury homes are spending on the most expensive materials and products to make a style statement,” she says. Pastels have replaced the earthy rust tones of yesteryears. She shops globally to keep her range modern and appealing to the newest entrants.

However, Devika Mehra also had a young finance person from Chennai who was returning after many years in New York and opted for hand painted silk wallpaper. “She could afford it and knew its value.” Many others don’t and opt for lookalikes. One buyer in Central Delhi, who also had a farmhouse up for decoration, did not have time. Having seen their work and given a brief, he was quite happy to let the designers do their job and leave him free to make his millions.

This is where client aspirations and designer style must sync. Sanjay Sharma of Interiors with Art Ltd uses AI and tech to create luxury interiors. But when designers start dictating the look and feel of the space, owners lose comfort. He recalled one imposing classical baroque design in a dining room with a high ceiling by a designer that so intimidated the owners that they ended up spending more time in less imposing verandas. Clearly, style has to be tempered with elegance and comfort for the users.

For Aashna Khurana, art gives colour to otherwise muted shades. The walls of her living room, and the rest of the house, hang art in abstract, modern and traditional forms, painted by various artists during a three-day symposium they hosted at Karma Lakelands. There are still the old traditional users who go for the masters. But designer Devika Mehra is part of the younger bunch of designers who appreciate the Young Art Selector Programme. They accompany owners to contemporary art shows to help them select art. “Many are actively looking at art as an investment” she says. They buy pieces at Rs 75,000 to Rs 3 lakh each.

As numbers grow, designers have resorted to using artificial intelligence and supply chain lines to cater to the growing demands of new buyers. The furniture fairs of Milan and the factories of China provide the mass market basics for many young buyers. Quality is a criterion, though. Money is not. For some designers, this is a chance to create design signatures, and they refuse to include any deviations from their style. The new entrants to luxury cadres go for them because of the bragging rights they offer them. For many others it is a process of hand holding, education and listening to the clients. Whatever the thought, they are all contributing to the image of a new, vibrant and confident luxury interiors that draws as much from the Chola bronzes that Sunita Kohli chooses to the European masters that Shailja Vohora and her team study meticulously. Money and geography are no barriers. The only baseline is affluence and comfort.