With a variety of inventive designs and
one-of-a-kind items, a number of bespoke – or custom-made – furniture firms in
the national capital region are providing much-needed originality to Indian
households. Many of them source their raw materials from other countries, and
each has its own style and corporate policy to ensure that their products stand
out.
Every home is unique, yet not all homes are
alike. In identical metal and concrete apartment buildings with similar sized
rooms and windows, the decor plays a large role in bringing a sense of
individuality to the space. Filling homes with the same type of furnishings
from online stores or local marketplaces may give them an even more uniform
aspect.
For Kayu Inspirations — a high-end luxury
brand with a warehouse in Gurugram — this individuality is born out of respect
for the wood from which they craft their products.
“Wood is a living creature,” says Kayu
Inspirations co-founder Ritu Vij. “It changes shape according to weather, it
adapts according to climate to survive the best. The people who appreciate this
key thing about wood are our customers,” she tells.
Vij founded the brand with Monica Echavarria
Modak in 2013. The two handpick all their wood from Indonesia, making trips
once a year to stock up on their collection.
The shape and raw colour of the wood is
respected and left untouched, says Vij. Each design is done within the limits
set by the piece of wood they pick. This is the reason every piece of furniture
they make is unique, no two tables or chairs would look the same.
Furniture
with a difference
Aakriti Kumar, 32, launched Differeniture —
another Delhi-based bespoke furniture brand — in 2015. A sustainable brand,
Kumar makes designs out of scraps.
“I repurpose old, discarded wood and scraps
from cardboard and other materials for my furniture,” she says.
Kumar repurposes furniture from shipping
containers, automotive parts, floor boards, structural beams, among other
things. Her pick of raw materials may strike many as restrictive, but,
according to her, “it’s been an interesting experience to work with
restrictions, and working to embrace them instead of hiding them”.
At the other end of the bespoke furniture
spectrum is Attrattiva, a brand that only works with wood imported from Italy,
and also offers furniture pieces imported from there. Other raw materials used
by them are also imported from Italy or other European countries.
The company — the brand name means
“attractive” in Italian — comprises a team of 40 people headed by Sachin
Aggarwal, the proprietor.
“We don’t even use nails in our furniture.
We use screws and bolts that are imported from abroad. Even veneers, paints and
polish are all imported,” he says.
Attrattiva offers furniture, home decor,
bars and even interior design services for their clients. In their studio in
New Friends Colony Delhi, which Aggarwal calls a living room-cum-studio, are
displayed breathtaking pieces of furniture — a centretable made of bull horns,
a wall hanging with intricate strokes, a pool table that doubles up as a dining
table and a home theatre.
To ensure an Italian experience for their
Indian clients, the brand has “even sterilised its factory to replicate Italy’s
dust-free environment”.
“I travel to Italy a lot, and I saw there
that the wood has a different finish than Indian furnishings because it’s a
dust-free environment. So, at my factory in Ghaziabad, we’ve ensured that it’s
a sterilised environment, without any dust. You won’t see any carpenter wear a
mask there,” says Aggarwal.
A
niche market
Of course such beauty, perfection and
distinction comes at a price. While Kayu’s furniture starts at Rs 1 lakh for a
coffee table, Differeniture pieces are priced in the range of Rs 50,000-60,000.
This makes the market for such pieces
“niche”, a word used by all three brands, although none of them gave an
estimate of sales.
As Kumar explains, there’s greater demand
for exclusively decorated homes — a complete look, rather than isolated pieces
of furniture. Which is why, like Attrattiva, she’s also working on doing up
entire houses, based on customers’ requirements, including making bespoke
furniture for them.
The demand for bespoke furniture is higher
in tier-2 towns and holiday destinations, she says. “In Goa and hill towns,
people want to lavishly do the interiors of their house for the simple reason
there’s also more space to really showcase each and every piece of furniture
they buy. This is not so in cities. I have also decorated a cabin in Himachal
Pradesh and a holiday home in the hills,” she adds.
Those who have experienced furniture made
by any of these brands once — and revelled in their uniqueness — say they may
find it difficult to go back to anything more run-of-the-mill.
A 60-year-old finance professional, who did not
want to be named, is among Kayu’s customers. “Kayu gives my house that unique
Asian look that wood work from Indonesia gives and yet sets it apart from the
Indian goods that decorate the houses of my friends and family,” she said. Courtesy: www.theprint.in
