DESIGN DIARY

At The Dhan Mill in New Delhi, the new Gazal Gupta flagship opens like a quiet revelation. The entrance, flanked by two whimsical dog sculptures, sets the tone for a space that doesn’t announce itself loudly but settles around you with the calm assurance of a place shaped by intention. Once inside, the soaring vaults, lime-washed surfaces, and monochrome marble floors establish an atmosphere that feels part palace, part contemporary atelier—rooted in memory yet distinctly mod

There are homes that try to impress you in the first minute, and others that unfold at their own pace, the way a familiar song does when you hear it after years. This 3,200 sq ft apartment in Chennai belongs to the second kind. Designed by Anahita Rattha of A Design Theory, it doesn’t rush to declare its style or its philosophy. Instead, it lets surfaces and contours reveal themselves gradually—sometimes in the quiet of a curved ceiling, sometimes in the slow sweep of a param

Looking out toward a quiet fringe of mangroves and vineyards on Bengaluru’s outskirts, this 2,400 sq ft villa finds its emotional centre not in the landscape it faces but in the memories it chooses to hold close. The family who lives here — a couple, their daughter and two exuberant dogs — wanted a home that felt unmistakably Indian, not as a theme but as a lived memory. Their sense of belonging stretched across regions, textures, traditions. The wife carried the visual vocab

Pompa doesn’t arrive quietly on Linking Road; it meets the eye with an unexpected warmth, the kind that grows out of colour, craft, and a bit of mischief. The restaurant, shaped by Shabnam Gupta across 4,000 sq ft, leans into Mexican aesthetics without falling into caricature. Instead, it moves like a story told in textures — terracotta underfoot, sage green wrapped around walls, jewel tones appearing almost like punctuation marks. The place holds the spirit of a villa, but i

There is a certain quiet thrill in watching a familiar dining brand reinvent itself. NomNom, long known for its indulgent Asian comfort food in Mumbai, does exactly that with its newest outpost in Khar. The restaurant sits on a corner where the neighbourhood’s rhythm softens just enough for design to be noticed, and here, Sumessh Menon Associates shape the space into an experience that feels intimate, layered, and instinctively warm. The 1,400 sq. ft. interior doesn’t rely on

Tucked into the dense urban fabric of Jubilee Hills, Makau Kitchen & Bar unfolds like a hidden retreat—an 18,516 sq. ft. sanctuary that seems to breathe differently from the city around it. Designed by 23 Degrees Design Shift for Adithya Thanoj and Raja Simha Reddy, the space reimagines what an indoor–outdoor restaurant can feel like when landlocked by towering office blocks on two sides and the massive presence of a metro station rising behind it. With its only true entry tu

In Mumbai’s design district, a new kind of “furniture store near me” quietly rewrites the way the city experiences contemporary furniture. Inside Details Decor—the legacy studio founded by Razia Tyebjee—French entrepreneur Adeline Graham has brought her design-led furniture and lighting brand, Fern & Ade, to its new Mumbai address. It is a meeting of two creative worlds: one shaped by the quiet refinement of Northern Europe, the other by the soulful depth of Indian craft. Tog

All Eyes on Me in Bharuch sits inside a structure that already carried some age and texture, so the design team chose not to erase that starting point. The clients were clear about wanting something contemporary but not disconnected from what was already there. With that in mind, the designers kept the exposed brick surfaces, allowing them to set the tone for the rest of the interior. Most decisions that followed were practical: how people would sit, how noise moves in a busy

UDC Homes’ new collection, The Garden Remembers , carries an emotional clarity that feels unusually grounded for a wallpaper series. Instead of framing nature as a static backdrop, the collection treats it as a living cycle — shifting from abundance to pause to renewal with a rhythm that mirrors our own inner seasons. It is a reminder that even in stillness, something is always moving forward. The idea began with a simple observation: nothing in nature disappears. What falls

Modern Arabesque, a 100 m² apartment in Kazan, Russia, reflects Miller Design’s attempt to bring Eastern cultural cues into a contemporary space without resorting to predictable motifs. The idea wasn’t to create an Oriental interior from the outset; it grew gradually from the client’s request for a home guided by feng shui principles. These principles shaped colour direction, the use of natural materials, the kitchen and bathroom layouts, and the presence of indoor plants. As

This 9,000 sq ft home in Ahmedabad, designed by R+R Architects, works with a straightforward idea — keep the architecture open, keep the materials honest, and let the landscape do its job. Nothing feels forced. The house sits comfortably in its surroundings, with clean volumes, deep overhangs, and a rhythm of solids and voids that give the place an easy, unhurried pace. Large cantilevered sections frame garden views, and the façade mixes textured surfaces with long glass plan

In the dense neighbourhood of Vasna in Ahmedabad, a 7,700 sq ft residence rises from a compact 57’ x 65’ corner plot with a clarity that feels deliberate rather than dramatic. Block House, designed by Prashant Parmar Architect, was shaped around the needs of a joint family of two brothers — a lifestyle that demands privacy, openness, and a sense of togetherness held in careful balance. The client wanted a contemporary home that didn’t shut itself off from the outside yet felt

Oorjaa has always approached lighting from a place of material curiosity rather than decoration, and the Sea Sponge Table Lamp continues that line of thinking with a focus on texture, handcraft, and a slower way of making. The lamp takes its cue from marine life — specifically the irregular, naturally formed structure of sea sponges — but the reference is handled lightly. What stands out is not the imitation of form, but the sense of ease in its contours: nothing sharp, nothi

The Senator Group India has introduced a new modular seating line called Aura Lounge , created in collaboration with French designer Patrick Norguet. Known globally for his ability to pair clarity of form with practical comfort, Norguet brings that same sensibility to this collection, which is aimed at commercial and hospitality environments—corporate lounges, cafés, hotel lobbies, breakout zones, and the growing number of hybrid workspaces in India. Aura Lounge sits under Al

Akina’s arrival in Worli feels less like the opening of a new restaurant and more like the unfolding of a story that has travelled far before finding its home in Mumbai. Designed by Istaka and shaped under the creative direction of Architect Mehak Kapoor, the restaurant brings a quiet, refined interpretation of modern Asian dining — one that holds the familiarity of Japanese minimalism while carrying the wanderlust of global influences collected over time. From the moment you

The first thing that registers about this 7,500 sq ft home in Delhi is its atmosphere. Not dramatic, not imposing – simply a steady, confident presence shaped through charcoal tones, sculptural furniture and meticulously detailed craft. Interior designer Disha Bhutani Subramanium approaches the project without theatrics, allowing the weight of materials, the softness of lighting and the discipline of neoclassical forms to speak for themselves. The homeowners had moved from a

Somany’s new wall-hung closet, Postura , sits within the brand’s French Collection, but it doesn’t lean on ornament or dramatic styling. The idea behind it is simpler and more practical: make a closet that feels natural to use, something that supports the body instead of forcing it into an awkward posture. The result is a product that settles quietly into a bathroom and does its job without trying to look loud or overly sculpted. The design is gentle in the way it presents it

In this 7,500 sq ft residence at The Camellias, Gurugram, Ravoh and RVH craft an interior that feels both precise and quietly expressive. The project emerges from a close collaboration between Ravoh — led by Ravish and Somya Vohra — and RVH’s bespoke design practice. Together, they bring a level of craftsmanship and material clarity that defines the apartment’s character. Ravoh’s ongoing partnerships with Italian designers inform the aesthetic, but the home ultimately sits co

Poltrona Frau’s 2025 “The Five Seasons” collection brings several new pieces into its catalogue, but the one drawing the most attention is Blisscape , a sofa designed by Ludovica Serafini and Roberto Palomba . It takes the brand’s longstanding interest in comfort and craftsmanship and gives it a language that feels unmistakably contemporary. The name comes from a blend of bliss and escape —a small cue to the mood the designers wanted to create. They reference the easy, unhur

As conversations around hygiene and safety continue to shape the way homes function, kitchen appliances are evolving to meet these new expectations. Hafele’s Valeriya Semi-Integrated Built-In Dishwasher reflects this shift, introducing a feature designed specifically for families who prioritise health without compromising on convenience. At the centre of the appliance is the Hygiene 72°C Wash Programme , a high-temperature cycle that keeps the wash at 72°C long enough to elim