Avante garde interior specialist Saket Sethi has reinterpreted spaces for corporates like Aditya Birla group, Godrej and celebrities like Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty. As he preps for a third edition of his ongoing TV series, he tells Satyabhan Singh how we are making our surrounds more intimate
How does a personality affect and mould a person’s choice of interiorsIJ
Completely. But only if you want it to. And how aware you are of it while doing your interiors. It all depends on how abstractly or literally one can see the translation of personality into space. I always advise clients to define the salient features of their personalities, particularly couples doing residences, so that their designer can distil easily their essence into designing and picking pieces for the interiors. This is also an opportunity to educate yourself and have fun doing so, in trying to understand what you like and don’t like, (including in your personality) and why you don’t like it. Sometimes the reverse can happen too — an introverted person may like to express himself/herself strongly in the interiors, so they develop courage to change; that is very exciting for a designer.
What differences do you notice in a room of a single man/woman and that of couples too, now and a few years backIJ
I see two main themes — it’s more about how the spaces abstractly “block” the urban chaos outside the house and simultaneously find ways to inspire and soothe its occupants. The single room has gone clever/multi-purpose/super-functional/creative and is trying to bring itself to transform to the user’s ever changing needs, almost immediately and without necessarily being linked to budget or time period. A single room is more “fun” and seeks differentiation — experimenting more with colour and form. A couple’s room now tries to engage memory, bonding, love and comfort in elevated ways, moving away from the cliches of the past. Both spaces are more intimate and reflect more closely the “who are you” of the owners, both for their own benefit and that of visitors.
What are the latest trends in interior designingIJ
Just like fashion, interiors and design rely on the new to keep vibrant and fresh. It’s less about trends that are seasonal but an amalgam of what seems to excite for a particular period. Cost, speed and influencers do set most of the trends. For example, you will see a lot of high impact, low cost interiors in the entertainment zone that mirror the life cycle periods of the F&B industry and you will also see people spending a lot more money on their home interiors, putting in more effort in trying to source and buy items that have memory or are more “special.”
If you look at trends aesthetically, some have had their moments and some continue to do so; colonial revival, kitsch, industrial etc. What is more relevant now is that some of these trends try to respond to the brand identity they come from. The biggest and largest trends to come will be set by what is machine-made. Home automation, too, will transform design in ways we can’t even begin to picture right now.
“Interiors are the leading edge of the experience economy.” How much do you believe in this statementIJ
This is one of the most interesting and tough questions that I’ve had to answer in a while. Nothing else yet envelops and defines you like your interiors. A car, a plane, a home, all of it are led through interiors, though many would argue that the virtual experience leads all. life, however, cannot be measured virtually so I think in that sense interiors lead, but will always be second to the experience of economy of mother nature herself. In the micro experience of interiors, everything has tactility, sensuality and response. There are emotional appeals, signals and metaphors that provide feedback to users in everything, from furniture to fabric, using tools such as colour and texture. So yes, interiors do lead the experience economy.
How do you define your design philosophyIJ
I don’t have a recurring and rigid philosophy as such but more interestingly, and appropriately I think, our projects do. Each project is conceived like a person, in the image of a client itself, and therefore has and honours a philosophy to that particular context. I believe in the truth of the individual project - there is that strand of logic, that thread of philosophy that links all our projects. If I had to generalise it and was forced to peg down a philosophy I would explain it in a few words: being an avant-garde, historically sensitive, future contextualist; but all this is gibberish if our philosophy doesn’t build on client hopes and dreams. If I had to “shrink” it further, I’d consider us design psychologists of sorts.
How far, as an architect, would you go to promote health and sustainability concerns through your designs and functioningIJ
As far as it would take me, of course. What most people don’t realise is that a small bump in the amount you spend for better paint, or finishes, or wood go a long way in quality of your health. Bad materials have an adverse effect on your health. Also sustainable design makes sense; we have finite resources and recyclables that encourage responsibility which eventually help lower costs.
With technology, (let’s say, a 56 inch TV in a room) do you think it limits a designer’s capacity and imagination to designIJ If yes, to what extentIJ
I believe that technology is the new craft. If you begin to feel limited in working with evolving tech then it will be. Bigger isn’t necessarily better — so every product offered by technology doesn’t necessarily have to be integrated to a design brief. If it fits the requirement or the absolute desire of the project then so be it. But whether it is technologically-oriented or not, it is the designer’s responsibility to figure how each product fits the space. At completion, everything bows to the functionality, design and cost of a project. So these criteria will define what the limitations are — not technology per se.
There has been a noticeable shift in designing from boho chic to ethnic chic. What’s your take on thatIJ
Boho chic would be loosely characterised by bohemian, bold and witty design statements that utilise design pieces from differing time periods, bridging vintage-inspired and eclectic looks. If I was to understand correctly, the shift to ethnic chic would integrate local and ethnic products; say the rise of ikat, jute, khaki or the use of certain regional fabrics, textures and materials — then I would say that indeed, some part of that is true. I won’t say necessarily that there has been a dramatic shift but I see people are going back and forth between the two, making it their own so to speak; however local products are getting more and more popular for use in more than one style of design.