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Aditi De

Bangalore opens its door to world-class interiors. Now the city's well heeled need no longer fly all the way to Dubai or Italy.

Upper crust Bangalore homemakers and interior decorators are suddenly spoilt for choice. No longer do they have to fly out to Dubai for furniture, or shop in swank Italian stores for fine furnishings. In recent times, homegrown stores have proved they can match the best in the global market.

It was in September 2003 that the Himatsingka Seide group's flagship store `Atmosphere', offering export quality furnishing material, was opened. This was the first domestic foray by the firm that had hitherto been exporting to over 150 leading suppliers in the US and Europe. Its 85 high-tech looms churn out 6,000 metres daily.

The store has since opened branches at Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Gurgaon. What does the glass-fronted store, with breathtaking minimalist décor offer? Winding past a stark metallic vase bearing an arrangement of twigs, past glass-topped tables highlighting golden-red autumn leaves, we catch our breath at their fabric.

Bearing poetic names such as Morning Glory, Geometrique or Yoko, the yardage is dramatic yet elegant. Under the discerning eye of design director Jayshree Poddar, a scanned teak leaf emerges as a delicate tracery of veins. On another drape, white oleander creates its own definitions on a swathe of yellow. Japanese motifs take on a pan-oriental drift, reinterpreted to fit a contemporary home. Gauzy fabric recalls the riches of cultured courts within a modern context.

While the store offers consultancy to coordinate home furnishings, it plans to stock gorgeous made-up cushion covers soon.

Within the high-ceilinged store, beams of sunlight enhance the aesthetic mood as they pattern the floor through frosted glass. Richly textured gold and muted red swathes drape three parallel stainless steel bars, enhancing the sensual appeal of each sample, offered with alternate colour possibilities.

At Rs 1,000-1,800 per metre, Atmosphere's market is clearly delineated. But then, some of its fabric is exquisite as a work of art. Such as painterly woven blooms entwined with foliage that seems almost too beautiful to use as mere drapes.

Why has Himatsingke Seide opted for imported hanks? "Though India has been home to sericulture for generations, we haven't made it to the top of international grading. Also, the performance of Indian silks on a high-tech machine would not be desirable. That's why we use mainly silks from China and Brazil, and Italian cotton. But, personally, I love muga from the Northeast and tussar from Bhagalpur. At some point, I'd love to use them in our mill," says Jayshree.

If `Atmosphere' gives an inkling of the boom time in the fine furnishings market, a short walk away down the road, `Pause' proves to be an apt counterpart in the world of furniture and lighting. Launched in March 2004, this brainchild of art collector-businessman Abhishek Poddar, who set a city trend with his classy lifestyle store `Cinnamon' in 2000, showcases the furniture of Ravinder Kharab. Trained at Ahmedabad's National Institute of Design (NID), like Jayshree Poddar, Kharab's aesthetic is equally distinctive.

To Kharab, furniture is much more than an object of everyday use. In terms of material, his interpretations are both stylish and individual. Such as a lounge chair in finely wrought woven cane, resting on a curve of stainless steel. Or a Burma teak closet with leather cladding, embellished with metal knobs. Or a nest of leather-cladded peg tables that fit snugly into each other. Or a glass-topped dining table with a sleek stainless steel frame, teamed with chairs with leather backrests laced at the rear. Or a bold wire mesh chair cushioned for comfort.

As a counterpoint to Kharab's constantly evolving line, `Pause' stocks some finely crafted ware that could set the tone of a room. These include painted Chinese cabinets embellished with red and gold, or Kerala-sourced boat heads in jackfruit wood with metal embellishment. Jostling for equal attention we spy an outsize wooden platter or `paraat,' well-worn wooden urns and storage bins, even rolled newspaper tablemats, a `Cinnamon' staple created by Abhishek Poddar.

The grey cement flooring with slightly raised display areas, accentuated by curved white walls and ceilings are the hallmark of Franco-Indian architect Dominice at this upmarket venue. The Flos lighting from Italy (said to be the world's best) is the output of a brilliant design team that includes Achille Castiglioni, Philippe Starck and Marc Newson. Their range includes a cantilever form whose dome adjusts itself for individual comfort and a cable-suspended lamp with adjustable height and hand-held dimmer controls.

"We conceptualised Pause as a store where you could do your house with large items, including furniture, Italian designer lights, carpets from Muzaffarbad in UP, and select artefacts including old wooden grain containers from Himachal Pradesh or UP, and fluted sandstone urns from Kutch-Rajasthan," says Kharab. "Pause is not an especially symbolic name. With lifestyles moving so fast, Abhishek and I thought we'd offer a space in which people could slow down."

Will executives of either gender choose to take a pause while scaling the corporate ladder? Even if they don't, they could cushion any possible fall with these designer home options that could prove a daily delight.

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