In recent times, regional art has been revived by being featured in modern furniture designs. Designers are now incorporating them in various ways in their contemporary furniture as a homage to ethnic art forms and to keep them relevant in modern-day manufacturing
Furniture adds value to one’s life when it serves its purpose in an enriching way. Hence, every nuance of furniture design and manufacturing should be a means of storytelling. The furniture pieces we use to adorn our spaces add to a lot more than just functionality. They bring with them aesthetics, character, history, and intent.
Regional art forms are best honoured when we imbibe them into our daily lives. Designing furniture with diverse cultural influences impact design style in varied ways. Typically, products are designed, manufactured and upholstered with a particular regional or cultural cue true to its origin and make. In recent times, however, regional art has been revived by being featured in modern furniture designs. Designers are now incorporating them in various ways in their contemporary furniture as a homage to ethnic art forms and to keep them relevant in modern-day manufacturing. Regional art is used as bespoke prints on upholstery, as design details on products and as accessories in contemporary interiors.
An eclectic mix of regional art through modern designs can paint a beautiful and cohesive visual when strategically conveyed. Furniture designers harness the potential of art and express it through furniture. Mixing elements of art from the same culture or region can also make a home vibrant. For example, a Rajasthani chest of drawers with intricate carvings works beautifully with teakwood pillars from Kerala, even though they are vastly different aesthetics. The largest furniture piece forms the anchor and acts as a starting point for the secondary furniture pieces to be styled. All in all, therefore, tones, textures and colours play a huge role when imbibing cues from art into furniture.
Alankaram makes furniture in Indian wood like teak and imported wood like white oak. Wooden furniture is often misconstrued as rustic, robust or traditional. Our design approach involves synthesising craftsmanship, aesthetics, utility, and strength. Moreover, our process aims at crafting contemporary, minimalistic designs using regional art in unique ways.
For example, our classic Aronui lounge chair features beautiful printed fabrics from Saheba Singh—a part of our collaborative ‘Kinaray Black’ collection. The design collaboration features an exclusive line of upholstery fabrics that stays true to traditional motifs while being amalgamated with modern design lines. The tidlos sofa is one of our classics and rightfully so. Its name translates to timeless in Swedish, owing to its timeless design and pragmatic form. Emerald green upholstery meets ethnic Indian block print in a sofa that amalgamates art and functionality.
The puoli lounge chair consists of two semi-circular halves combined to make one lounge chair. Puoli translates to half in Finnish; the chair flaunts a designer upholstery whose rich colours and handmade fabric make it worthwhile for any living room or lounge.
The boyali table is a two-part set with a teak wood body and brass accents. Its name translates to painted in Turkish for the beautiful hand-painted art on top. Its traditional painting is juxtaposed with the brass base on the side table, forming the perfect addition to any living room. It can be customised for size and artwork.
Another classic example is the brid, our solid wood chest of drawers. Its name means chamfered; its angular drawer fronts are accident-proof, devoid of sharp corners and expose the beautiful teak wood grain in the opposite direction to the rest of the unit. In addition, it features a modern take on traditional drawer handles with metal accents. The unit is the perfect addition to any living room, bedroom, dining area, study room or lobby.
Indian culture is synonymous with colour, variety and evolution in design styles through influences. Indian kaarigari or craftsmanship is no secret to the world. It is widely popular when incorporated in carvings, inlay work and paintings with different media used in furniture design. However, it takes vision and a strategic eye to translate those cultural influences into modern-day design.
Culturally rich furniture and decor help preserve the craft in the product forever. It is our duty as designers to reinvent ways to keep precious regional art alive and thriving!
The writer is Anupriya Sahu, Co-Founder and Design Head, Alankaram