We were excited to sit down designer Nandini from Style Room Company to hear about what is new and exciting in the world of home staging and design.
What inspired you to become a designer?
While working as a fashion designer for Zara making garment collections, I also designed many visual sets for photoshoots of our clothing lines. I started enjoying that a lot more, to a point where I found myself re-decorating our studio room over and over again without even having a photoshoot. It kept me motivated, it uplifted my mood, and that little niche was where I found myself at my best. I realized that having interiors which reflected your personality or even just your mood, were so important to help tap into your maximum potential and to stay happy and calm. And that’s when I was hooked onto Interior Designing!
What are some of the biggest trends in interior design you’ve seen during Covid?
I’m certain we all must have noticed popular trends like having home offices, homeschool study rooms, and elaborate patio seating. But there’s one trend that captured my interest. I call it home-in-home. Covid has pushed us to worry about survival today more than ever. So many families are now co-living. Young couples are inviting their parents to live with them, university students are moving back into their family homes and in some unfortunate foreclosure cases families are moving in together to support each other and share expenses. In such living arrangements one needs to ensure there’s privacy maintained for all to make it a conducive setup. I’ve seen people trying to redo their interiors to make independent functional units within their homes. It’s like having multiple king suites for rooms. It’s a fun concept and a very considerate gesture!
How would you describe your design approach and what kinds of projects are your favorite?
I like to research my clients’ needs. It’s an empathetic approach. It helps me understand how to implement what needs to be done. In my opinion empathy is crucial to a human-centered design process because it allows you to set aside your own assumptions about the world and gain real insight into people and their needs. My favourite projects are the ones involving homes a few decades old. I enjoy creating unique spaces by fusing new world trends into older homes, retaining their old world charm. Blending the best of both eras can make this combination absolutely stunning and such homes appeal so much more.
What are some of the things you would do to help clients make a home theater?
Excellent speakers, lights and high resolution projectors are the essentials that I would ask someone to invest in. But I’ll focus on enhancing the experience by adding comfortable seats. Many people will probably add seating in as an afterthought but think about it, if your back complains of pain then for how long will you be able to enjoy your amazing sound system or the extra large screen? Now that we are at home due to Covid, we won’t get to go out to enjoy a deluxe movie night and the key to re-creating that at home would be luxury and comfort. And if you really want entertainment to be a holistic experience I’d say throw in a bar.
Other than a home theater room, where else in your home can you put a Valencia theater seat?
Most definitely it would be the home office. I’d like to have a zone where I can unwind and stretch my legs after a long day of work. Relaxing in a fully reclinable armchair would be the perfect way to de-stress at the end of the day. Sometimes you want to just introspect in peace or do some casual reading. For this purpose I am particularly impressed by Valencia’s multi-functional recliner seats and add ons. My favourite is the tablet holder accessory. By making such a space I would be able to build mindfulness in my daily life. This would be my oasis of peace.
