THE GREAT INDIAN HOME RUSH TO BE FESTIVE READY

“Can I call you back please, we are out, choosing stone for our home?” “Hey! Will speak to you in a bit, we are doing up our home na, the sofa guys are here”, “Listen, the interiors people are here, we will catch up later”.
If your calls have been sounding like this for the past few months, we guarantee you are not alone.
Now that the festive season is upon us, a sizeable number of people are either looking at moving into their new homes or enjoying their freshly refurbished ones.
In fact, why just homes, office spaces, commercial complexes, all get a brand-new look.
The attention to spaces that we live in, and work has become highly focussed. People are spending considerable time, money, and effort to make their spaces look special.
This of course explains what the market trends are saying.

Sample this!
According to the latest report by IMARC Group, titled “India Interior Design Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2023-2028,” the India interior design market size reached US$ 28.6 Billion in 2022. The group expects the market to reach US$ 51.4 Billion by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3% during 2023-2028.
So, what is causing the great Indian beautiful interior aesthetics to grow so rapidly?

Growth matters
With a booming real estate market, more disposable incomes at hand, technology at one’s fingers, rising income levels, urbanisation, increasing demand for smart homes not to forget the influence exerted by social media, the Indian dream of beautiful, personalised and cosy interiors has taken off and how!
Ask Smrita Gupta of Peaceful Homes, a Noida-based design studio that takes up niché projects. “There has been an unprecedented growth when it comes to people wanting their homes to look good. Interestingly, we have noticed more people wanting to move into their own homes rather than staying in rented properties. With that comes the emphasis on going that extra mile to make sure their homes look just great.”
From textured walls to designer furniture to impeccable rugs and carpets to coordinated tapestry, the new love for beautiful interiors doesn’t believe in leaving any stone unturned.
Priyanka Sihag, another interior designer points to the trend of a lot of international influences also coming in. “People go on Pinterest, see a range of interiors and zero down on looks they want for different rooms. Most of the time they want it replicated completely.”
Shivam Agarwal, CEO, House of Knots, a Bhadohi-based handmade carpets and rugs manufacturer that supplies to leading designers and stores in India as well as clients internationally, agrees to with the shift in Indian customer tastes.

“Over the past 10 years, customisation has really picked up. People want their rug and carpets to go with the colour scheme of their room so there is an ever-increasing demand for customisation as well as a demand for statement pieces.”
Recently, for example, they did a feather shaped wall long rug with 28 colours for a client. From vivid greens to blues and reds, the feather on the wall had it all.
And since the rush for moving into new homes or renovated homes picks up more during, Diwali, Eid, Navratri and sometimes even on New Year’s Eve, booking starts pouring in from May onwards for interior works and August onwards for carpets and rugs.

Spoilt for choice
Ravi Patodia, Senior partner, Patodia Exports, is a famous supplier of top-notch rugs and carpets that supply to yachts and hotels in India and abroad. He relates pick up in customisation to slowing demand in the retail segment.
“Customisation per se has existed for years now but was much more niche. Earlier for example, if 475 out of 500 manufacturers were not customising, today most of them are, because of better margins.”
The result he says is that buyers are spoilt for choice. And the story is no different when it comes to other elements of interiors. From upholstery to furniture to wall paints, think of a colour and you will have it available.
Interestingly, it isn’t just big names that have these on offer but also large and medium-sized businesses.

Rachanaa Agarwaal of Gurgaon-based Anckona Designs says that furniture design has undergone a sea change in terms of style, shape, materials as well as techniques. She quips, “Right now, curved and organic shapes are definitely big. the fluffy sofas have been taken over by rounded shapes which do not soften the look.” Fluted flowing edges, she shares, are also becoming more common with console tables and media cabinets.
Vishal Agarwal of Aradhana Furnishings who has showrooms in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Noida, shares how brown, once the undisputed king of colours when it came to sofas is now relegated to the background “You see one is spoilt for choice. There is hardly any colour that is not available today. People’s preferences have undergone a sea change.”
so, from bright yellows to indigo blues to a pop of green blue, all these and more are giving Indian homes and office spaces a whole new look. The story isn’t very different with decorative paints.
Tarun Aggarwal of Tarun Paints says he has seen the industry go through a massive change, “There was a point in time when all Indian homes got a coat of chuna (lime) every year during festive season. Even though the trend continues in rural areas, urban India now wants paints that can last for a few years, has a wide variety of colours and textures and give the home or office spaces, a whole new vibe.”
How the paint market has changed, he says is evident from the fact that once they had 800 colour palettes and now have over 2100.
Another newfound love is wall papers. “They can be customised, are cost efficient and look great. Just what most Indian homes want,” smiles Vishal Agarwal.

Logistics of it all
With the way demand is growing, the players have to go that extra mile to meet the growing demand in the festive season.

Anish Basu, General Manager, Supply Chain & Logistics, Berger Paints India Ltd says that the period post Janmashtami, right up to Diwali is considered high season of festivities and paint demand upsurge goes hand in hand for decorative paint segment. “The seasonal demand surge is quite skewed in this period, especially in North, Central and Western part of the country. East also experiences decent uptick in demand around the Durga Puja and Diwali,” says Basu with satisfaction.
He goes on to add, “Logistics is an integral part for timely delivery of our materials. This is one period of the year when the transit time between factories to RDCs and depots becomes very important, as a very good demand quantum gets compressed within a short span of time. We work extensively with our logistics partners to ensure transitworthy vehicles are available all through the season, that transit time is adhered to, and purchase orders are managed without any disappointment to any stakeholders. Festivals are about getting together and about happiness and we have to ensure that we are not found wanting. A satisfied customer is the key here.”
Other variants of interiors also work way in advance. Take for example the upholstery market. Vishal Aggarwal shares how monsoons are low season for upholstery and how he uses that time to stock up from his over 200 vendors from across India.
Interestingly, it’s not only stores that stock up but also online platforms. Ask Smrita Gupta of Peaceful Homes who says she has a huge list of vendors but sometimes, whenever they get bowled over by pressure, she always has online platforms to fall back on. “The idea is to complete and handover the project to the client on time for the festive season and we do all that it takes.”
A sentiment everyone in the industry echoes.