The Joy of East Indian Décor

The Joy of East Indian Décor

As seen in The Toronto Star

 

From the country that brought us the Kama Sutra - an ancient Indian text on human sexual behaviour – comes another sensual and seductive indulgence: East Indian décor.

 

Whether the style is glitzy Bollywood, traditional Indian design or modern minimalist with a delicate Indo influence, the basic premise is the same: it’s all about stimulating the senses.

 

“What I learned from my culture, the Indian culture, is to activate the senses through design. It’s something we can all relate to,” says Hemen Modi, an interior designer from India, who has been based in Toronto for the last three years. “In my opinion, a successful design includes capturing at least three of the senses.”

 

Modi is not alone in his thinking. For proof, take a look at what south Asian décor stores are carrying.

 

With two locations, one in Yorkville and the other at Davisville and Yonge, Mantra showcases sleek and sexy curtain panels in crushed silk, raw silk and polysilk. Some have dangly crystals; others are dotted with flirty sequins. Mantra also has eye-catching cushions in a salad-bar selection of colours and sizes.

 

Store manager, Vanessa Nelham, has a clever suggestion for embroidered and brocaded table runners made of ultra-suede and velvet: lay them across the bottom of the bed to add spark to bedroom décor.

 

At the other end of the city is Rang Home Décor, located in Little India. Store owner and designer Trish Mahtani displays pillows, tablecloths, vases and other accessories in a colour-code system: there’s an area devoted to items in a daring combination of pink and red, an area in green, another in orange. The colour groupings look delicious, as if mirroring the robust seasonings of Indian cuisine.

 

So, how would this theory of activating the senses through design translate into the décor of a home?

 

Interior decorator, Holly Dyment, of Holly Dyment Design, says to think beyond the obvious design techniques.

 

“Creating an Indian ambiance doesn’t stop at decorating,” states the decorator of 12 years, who has travelled to India five times in the last three years. “It includes music, like Indian sitar (guitar) and tabla (drums), and incense and other sensual elements. It calls upon all the senses.”

 

As an example, she describes two different approaches, both taking inspiration from elements of East Indian design.

 

The first is what she refers to as “a minimalist, almost Zen-like” approach.

Dyment, who has an insatiable passion for colour and Indian patterns, says to begin by selecting one of two colour palettes.

 

“Use either cool colours, like blues and greens, or warm colours, like oranges and pinks,” she says.

 

She also recommends low-to-the-ground modern furniture. For accents, use cushions in the chosen colour palette and scatter them along the floor. Place a brass bowl with flower heads or flower petals on top of the coffee table. Add some Hindu deities and a couple of cool or warm-coloured Hundi lamps (glass lanterns, which hang from the ceiling and hold tea lights).

 

The second approach, says Dyment, is to “ go all Bollywooded up.” She suggests painting a huge deity on the wall or hanging Bollywood posters (which, she says, can be purchased from a number of stores in Little India). On the windows, hang bamboo curtains and throw Indian-inspired area rugs on the floor. “Include lots of gold, lots of candles and silks; use tones of different colours like purple, pink and orange,” she says.

 

Dyment admits that incorporating either approach takes courage. “People who do this want to live their fantasy. They have lots of confidence and don’t care what others think.”

 

In her own mid-Toronto home, Dyment subscribes to the “more is more” approach. She combines warm and cool colours, paints arches reminiscent of the palaces she has visited in India, and stencils patterns on patterns (paisley, in particular, which is named after a town in Scotland but has its roots in Indian design).

 

If you’re drawn to the idea, but not quite ready to commit, Dyment offers another option.

“You don’t have to do it permanently. Try it out at a dinner party. Use candles, incense and coloured lighting for an uplifting and funky ambiance.”

 

Hemen Modi, who is a member of ARIDO (Association of Registered Interior Designers in Ontario) and freelances in commercial and residential design through his company, Design twg (together we grow), takes a slightly different approach.

 

His is a blending of two worlds. It’s a style that can best be described as a fusion of Indo-rural artistry and western modern minimalism.

 

“If I were to design a condominium in downtown Toronto,” he proposes, “I wouldn’t just stick an Indian carving into the design. I wouldn’t want to impose an adopted art that looks like it belongs in a museum.”

 

“Instead,” Modi continues, “I would use the richness of local Indian craft and adapt it into a modern and functional style that is suitable for everyday life.”

 

Specifically, he borrows from colours and styles of Indian paintings and rural crafts, and then transforms the essence of the art into a 21st century design.

 

“I don’t want people to look at my designs and label it Indian, but I do want them to feel the warmth and vibrancy of the Indian style,” he explains.

 

As an example, he points to a 1,600 square foot (488 square metre) basement he designed for Woodbridge-based client, Romey Sharma, using a colour scheme of deep red, mint green and orange.

 

“When Hemen first suggested the colours, I said, ‘I don’t know…’” recalls Sharma with a laugh. But in the end, she and her husband decided to “give it a shot” because they liked the idea of doing something completely different. Besides, the couple reasoned, the space was painfully under-utilized, and this might inject it with new life.

 

“Prior to the redesign, my kids wouldn’t go down there,” Sharma says. “I had this big screen TV, just sitting there, and no one to watch it.”

 

The red-green-orange colour scheme threads through the room on the walls, in a commissioned abstract painting and in an 8- by 10-foot. (2.4- by 3-metre) area rug with a modern motif.

 

The coffee table, which has a glass top, also subscribes to the modern design.

 

“On top of the glass, I put four deep red coasters together to make a square, and on top of that, I placed a beautiful bowl that Romey already owned,” Modi explains. “When she has a gathering, she can fill it with water and float candles or flowers in it.”

 

The vibrant colours manage to deliver on two of the five senses: visual and, on a metaphorical level, taste (mint green, tangerine orange, paprika red). And the bowl, with floating candles and flowers, rounds it out with the third sense, the sense of smell.

 

What more could the Sharmas possibly want for their fun and functional basement? A wall-mounted water curtain, says Romey Sharma. “The sound of falling water,” she muses, “would be very relaxing.”