Designer homes a rage amongst Indian elite

Designer modular kitchens, grandiose bedrooms, fancy bathrooms, ornate furniture - home fashion has now gone even beyond personal dressing. The "in" thing today is dressing up your house.

Be it cushions, curtains, table coverings, paintings, statues and even paint textures, home accessories are now ultra-modern and chic, designer- and custom-made for individual clients.

When asked what people generally like to get designed the most, George, an expert with Concept Interiors of Bangalore, told IANS over phone, "Well, people mostly love getting their kitchens done. Granite is most preferred for kitchens as it is scratch resistant."

Customers are finicky when it comes to the colour of their kitchen counters, "People usually go for safe colours. Almost 70 percent of the people stick to green and black," he said.

Speaking of what is in vogue and widely in demand, Lipika Sud from Dimension Designers, New Delhi, said, "Contemporary furniture in teakwood is in."

Praveen, a designer from Aarson's Interior's here in the capital, added, "People are basically looking for something different and pay close attention to detail."

According to him, people love to decorate their houses with almost anything under the sun.

"People use all kinds of artefacts, almost anything that is available is used right from paintings to roadside treasures," Praveen added.

According to Sud, it is the accessories that give the final touch of perfection to a well designed home.

"Accessories are very important. Merely placing the furniture is not enough. One should accessorize, using paintings, photographs and frames," she said.

When people approach a designer, they are largely sure of what they want and certain rooms are given special attention.

"The drawing room is obviously given more attention since it is where everyone congregates," Sud pointed out.

"Well, all rooms are equally important; there is no particular room per se, but yes, the living and drawing rooms are the most visible and therefore given the most attention," Praveen said.

All good things come for a price though.

"The price of designing a basic three-bedroom house can vary from anywhere between Rs.100,000 to Rs.400,000 and above," said George.

Referring to the price of a complete home makeover, Sud said, "The sky is the limit, but people from south Delhi are usually willing to spend more. The average price comes to around Rs.1,000 per square foot," she added.

Considering that an average three-bedroom apartment covers 1,200 to 1,500 square feet, that's a lot of money.

But, as Shikha Anand, a resident of east Delhi, put it, "We dress up ourselves and take care of our bodies; so why should we not do similarly for our homes? After all, they are an extension of our own selves."

Homeowner Auneha Shankar concurred.

"A house becomes a home only when we give it a personal touch. It is very fulfilling to get your house made according to your whims and fancies," Shankar maintained.

Homemaker Parul Chaudhary, who has got two rooms in her house custom designed, said, "One room and the drawing room has been done by Shamin Singh, a designer from Lajpat Nagar. The drawing room can seat 25 people and the designing alone cost us Rs.750,000."

Talking about how she accessorized her home, Chaudhary said, "I've accessorized using silk curtains, a grandfather clock and a chandelier which alone cost us Rs.100,000.

"Other accessories we used include candles and paintings, which cost us Rs.70,000 per painting," she said.