Leisure Lounge @ Home!!

Most of us have little getaways from our mundane lives; and certainly, we need to have at least some of them near us! Well that’s how the idea of the Leisure Lounge came up!

A room not bigger than 200 sq ft needed to be converted in to a lounge area which would accommodate several things and yet make it look like a lounge. The area needed to fit in a book case, study, storage, loft, a bar, a cabinet to showcase a shot glass collection and a stage to accommodate a drum set and other smaller drums from West Africa and Middle East. Now the challenge was to be able to fit so many things in 200 sq ft without cluttering the space and still making it look classy, roomy and artistic!



Very few people have an inclination of collecting something special that will remind them of a place, person or an incident. Here, the challenge was to be able to accommodate over 120 shot glasses collected from travels all over the world. A cabinet had to be made to display, preserve and present the collection.



Next came in another very interesting feature yet a little discreet and innovative. A bar had to be made in a way that an outsider would not know, yet when opened, gave you a surprise! A chic painting with miniature bottles studded on the door of the bar makes it unique and funky! Along with a regular bar, a mobile wine cellar with bottle holders and a tray was also made to be able to push it around to other rooms.



Since this room is a mixture of some fun and work, a study and book case had to be accommodated. More than 200 books needed to be placed and protected from the ever increasing dust. Despite the space constraint in the bookshelf, a small feature had to be added to break the tedium of the quadrangle. An illuminated square was fixed off centre in the bookcase with zigzag shelves which flaunted odd some objects breaking the monotony of its content.



A long desk was made with two storage cabinets. The one on the left was made permanent while the one on the right is movable in order to fit two people on the same desk if need be.



Lastly, the room couldn’t be complete without a platform to hold a striking collection of drum set. The reason for the elevation of the podium was to reduce noise and vibrations produced while playing. Taking advantage of the height, some storage was also created under the stage. The wall and door that bordered the drums was demolished and a glass was fixed in order to cut the noise that made its way outside.

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Home - Colour, Art & Tradition Inspired!

View of the farms, feel of the winds and openness of the large windows inspired me to take up this project. A small splash of colour was the only thing required to make it look cosy and inviting.





The living room is large with its king size windows and a terrace which opens to a farmland so vast that it is unbelievable to conceive that it is a part of Pune. The owners had some sturdy Sagwan sofas with orange jute upholstery which became my focal point and helped me design the rest of the home. The dark brown furniture helped me to tone down the blues of the walls, orange of the sofas and the yellow of the lamps. We made the room look retro with its retro sofas and a mix and match of wall decor.




To accentuate its retro look, we designed a corner shelf and a little magazine table to balance out the spaces and to help them store things. Instead of using veneers and laminates, I decided to give it an old rugged look to match the rest of the living space.




I also wanted to use some original artwork in this area. It had to be something that nobody would have in their homes. We got some paintings done for less and from the scrap we had.




A corner of the room was also made to store CDs, music system and their TV with a little bar and glass cabinet.




A dance studio became one of the other important themes of this home. The room belongs to an upcoming dancer who according to me should wake up every morning feeling inspired. Hence the ‘dance studio room’!




I could not forget the hallway and the entrance. They had to be classy and inviting. They provided storage for shoes, helmets, tools, newspaper, and inverter.






Lastly the master bedroom, done traditional with so much sunshine and freshness and a mixture of art from various parts of India.

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Chandani writes....Furniture Designing: A Profession of Passion in the e-magazine www.youthoncareers.com

A few months a go, I met this interesting girl named Chandani who wanted to intern with the Blue Cross Society of Pune. Since I am one of the active volunteers there, we got talking and working together. During one of our conversations, she asked me what I did and after I explained to her about my slightly uncomprehendable profession, she thought she wanted to do a write-up on me and my work. According to her, not too many people were in the line of designing and painting furniture! Hence this month, I want to share the sweet little write-up Chandni wrote....



The first time I met a furniture designer was when I met Sonia Revankar. I had heard of many different kinds of designers but this was the first time I had heard of and seen a furniture designer, so I could not contain my curiosity and I asked her, “What does a furniture designer do, exactly?”

Apart from the obvious answer (Furniture designers, design furniture) she also told me what it really meant. First of all, furniture designers are different from interior designers though they both belong to the home décor industry. An interior designer changes the structure of the house. He handles the flooring, tiling, making and breaking of walls and windows, bathrooms, sanitary ware, etc.

On the other hand, a furniture designer designs and produces individual pieces of furniture depending upon the requirements of the clients. This way, the furniture is custom made to suit the needs and lifestyle of the owner. As it provides greater comfort and enables the client to create a unique look for their home/office. Furniture designing is an option many people who are decorating their homes and offices look into to provide a unique look to their space.

When asked how she got into the field of furniture designing, Sonia told me that it all started out as a hobby. She said, “I have been very creative all my life and being able to create something new is what I am addicted to.” She started off with an undergraduate degree in French from Fergusson College and a Masters in International Business from Grenoble, France. After that Sonia moved to the US where she established a retail and wholesale store of Indian art.

While she was in the US she met somebody who did something similar to furniture designing which really motivated her.” I have to keep creating something in order to function and hence I decided to put my foot in to this”, she says. She draws inspiration for her work from colors of day to day life which she sees around her. “I have always been inclined towards home décor and living in a space which makes you grow and furniture is an important part of that”, she adds.Now she runs a furniture designing firm along with her husband, Bipin.

A furniture designer requires a lot of patience as the space has to work out just right, especially in the eyes of the client. Another very important thing a furniture designer needs to have is the ability to befriend and deal with a male oriented class of labor like carpenters, painters, polish guys, etc. To be able to create the right feel for the customer, it is important to be able to connect day to day lives with colors and designs and be very observant. “Of course, experience also helps a lot. You get better with every piece you make”, she believes.

A furniture designer needs to be dedicated to creating a new and unique piece every single time. Not everybody can completely appreciate the efforts and the designs and the remuneration is also not very much. “People ask questions like why does it cost more than what I find in a mall or think that buying from a renowned place is better than getting it done from someone they don’t know. Everything you do is questioned at all times. They don’t want to pay for the efforts taken behind every piece.” Being a woman in this field is especially challenging as most of the work involves a male dominated labor class. She says, “They don’t like taking orders from women. Also, they are inconsistent and sometimes produce low quality work unless you guide them well through your designs.”

This field can provide a lot of flexibility. The amount of work you take on, the kind of work you take on and the work hours can all be easily changed to suit your needs. It is necessary to take well thought out decisions and make sure that you understand the market. In furniture designing, the painting and creativity are a part of your profession. There are many more aspects to furniture designing that need to be dealt with. Also, you will not be able to depend on it as a standalone source of income immediately as it takes a lot of time to settle down and establish yourself in this business.

“I think one should pursue what they aspire for in their lives”, Sonia says. In the end, it’s the passion for art and creation which keeps you going.

Chandani Karnik.

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