Editor’s Note
A home begins long before the furniture arrives and continues long after the last wall is painted. It begins with a feeling; a desire for belonging, comfort, privacy, and perhaps a little beauty. Architecture gives us the framework, while interior design gives that framework a personality. Together, they create something far more intimate than a collection of rooms: a place that gradually becomes our own.
Perhaps this is what makes homes so fascinating to me. Unlike public architecture, a home does not have to speak to everyone. It only needs to speak to the people who live within it. Its beauty can be quiet, its imperfections familiar, its details deeply personal. The most successful homes are not necessarily the most elaborate ones; they are the ones that understand the lives unfolding inside them.
This edition of DE INDIA turns its attention to that very idea with our ’beautiful home edit’ and its growing importance in our lives. At a time when our personal spaces have become offices, retreats, social settings, creative studios and sanctuaries all at once, the way we design them has become more meaningful than ever. We look at homes not simply as expressions of aesthetics, but as carefully considered personal landscapes shaped by habits, relationships, memories and aspirations.
Our DE Directions section takes the conversation beyond the home and into the wider world of art and collectible design. We journey to Ladakh, one of the world’s highest inhabited landscapes, where a recent art biennale brought contemporary artistic expression into dialogue with the extraordinary Himalayan terrain. It is a reminder that art acquires another dimension when placed within a landscape so powerful that the setting becomes part of the experience itself.
We then travel further afield to discover the world of collectible design at NOMAD Hamptons and PAD Saint-Tropez, where furniture and objects move comfortably between art and design. These gatherings offer a glimpse into a changing design culture, one in which objects are increasingly valued not simply for their function, but for their rarity, craftsmanship, narrative and ability to create an emotional connection.
Our cover story brings us back home to Mumbai, where Empire—The Living Company presents a mid-century modern residence that places family life at the heart of its design. Here, the elegance of mid-century modernism meets the practical rhythms of everyday living, creating a home that demonstrates an important truth: beautiful design becomes meaningful when it works beautifully for the people who inhabit it.
For this edition’s DE Spotlight, I had the pleasure of speaking with Gaurav and Vidhita Kharkar, the design duo behind Gaurav Kharkar & Associates. Their experience offers valuable insight into the art of creating beautiful homes, spaces that are considered, personal and ultimately designed around the people who call them home.
Across the pages, you will discover many more exceptional residences from across India, each offering its own interpretation of contemporary living. Some are expressive, some restrained; some celebrate material and craft, while others find beauty in simplicity. What connects them is not a particular style, but a thoughtful understanding of how a home should feel.
And perhaps that is where the real beauty of a home lies.
As you turn through this edition, I hope you find more than beautiful spaces. I hope you discover ideas that make you pause and imagine your own version of home, one that reflects not only how you want to live, but how you want to feel.
Because ultimately, the most beautiful home is not the one that impresses us. It is the one we never want to leave.
Let’s Talk Design with DE. Happy Reading.
Cheers!!
– Anirudh Datta
(Editor-in-Chief at Design Essentia Magazine)
