Style Sutra: Transforming spaces

Twinkle Khanna’s first brush with the spotlight was as an actress, but it’s with interior design that she has found her niche. She tells us that while both acting and design are creative pursuits, it is the latter that has always fascinated her.

“The thrill of transforming a space the hard work that makes a space a happy home it fills you with a sense of contentment,” Twinkle said to us, at the launch of a new line of distressed furniture designed by her.
Her latest line, incidentally, is a reflection of what her design philosophy is: “To turn away from the insipid elements that dominate interior design”. “My designs are not gender or season specific,” Twinkle explains. “Décor lines that I’ve previously worked on, like my ‘Skull and Knuckleheads’ collection are about offering a break from monotonous floral motifs. Similarly, with distressed furniture, the intention is to highlight the beauty of vintage and rust.”

Twinkle didn’t undergo formal design training, but says it was something she always had a knack for. “Then in 1998, I took it up seriously, working as a site supervisor for a Mumbai-based architect,” she recounts. “Every project was a new lesson in understanding the different aspects of design.”

Among those projects was setting up her décor accessories store, The White Window, which is now completing 12 years. It’s an experience that has taught her much about “coming up with new designs while managing product quality” says Twinkle. It has also taught her that design isn’t just about creativity. “It’s a planned process of actualising the ideas you have pertaining to a space…” she says, and adds, “Creativity may be inherent, but designing requires experience, discipline and an unwavering focus.”

Dining table
Brynjar Sigurdarson has used ashwood, ropes, nylon string, feathers, fur, leather, printed fabrics, chains and hooks to create a limited edition line of signed pieces.

Bird’s nest chair

If this lounger looks like a bird’s nest just dropped from a tree, then you’ve got the idea that its creator, Porky Hefer, wanted to convey.

Phenomena

Made of luxsteel and wood, these striped beauties by Kim Sang Hoon form shapes that serve as tables, chairs and stools. Truly (as the collection is named), phenomenal.