Five startups merging innovation and design in home decor space

Anita Roddick, Founder of The Body Shop rightly said, “Nobody talks about entrepreneurship as a survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. Running that first shop taught me business is not financial science; it’s about trading: buying and selling.”

Be it a commercial space or a resident space, interior design and home decor ideas always make a difference. For most of the women, home is an extension of the self. Like body image, home decor has become measuring criteria for successes and failings and a full-fledged obsession. The generation of fashion furnishings online has made people crazy over their homes more than fashion.

With more women turning themselves into million dollar goddesses, the development of a global ‘she-conomy’ is in sight. Following are the women who chose to tread on roads less travelled and that made all the difference:

Green Drops – Supriya Nikumbh and Bhairavi Shevade

Supriya Nikumbh and Bhairavi Shevade hold a degree in fine arts and started providing innovative designs and patterns in green walls. Vertical gardens help in creating more oxygen, regulate temperature, and provide decorative ambience. They founded Green Drops in 2013. Supriya has a passion for gardening and takes care of irrigation systems, whereas Bhairavi has worked as an interior designer and manages the fabrication and horticulture aspects of green walls. Their customer base was initially restricted to relatives and friends. Later they expanded their clientele via internet marketing.

SODA – Sai Sangeet Paliwal

Sai Sangeet Paliwal founded SODA in 2007 to juggle with her unique ideas by creating a bold and quirky lifestyle brand that best suits the interiors with its innovatively designed furnishing. Its fascinating creations of space definition and design overcome the stereotypical cotemporary houses. Individualism is an important factor in deciding how to furnish homes. SODA allows personalising and customising interior solutions. It provides fashionable home accessories such as cushion covers, coasters, lamps, clocks, etc.

Good Earth – Anita Lal

Anita Lal is the Founder and Creative Director of Good Earth. Established in 1996, Good Earth opened its first store at Kemps corner, Mumbai. It has set standards of stylish luxury retail by celebrating Indian heritage by creating unique design stories. Anita believes that true luxury is in the details of everyday living. With sustaining tradition and the ecology as its core value, it encourages quality craftsmanship and the revival of lost Indian traditions that are beneficial to the environment and to the society.

Dark Reflections – Siddhi Shah

Dark Reflections manufactures hand-made items like dream catchers, hippie jewellery, home decor, hair accessories, wind chimes, etc. Founded by Siddhi Shah, the brand emphasises on primal roots of man wherein each piece of tribal jewellery has its own importance and meaning. It preserves the essence of these ancient human beings to showcase their positivity. Siddhi was inspired by her mother, an artist herself, to start a venture in the arts and crafts sector.

She came across a dreamcatcher online that really fascinated her and she made herself one with the materials that was lying around the house. She started making more and distributing it amongst her friends which later expanded to a huge customer base. Dark Reflections is an in-house store in Pune with range of products that feature themes such as earthy, dark, and neutral.

Beeja – Meghna Ajit

Located in Ghaziabad and founded by Meghna Ajit, Beeja is known for establishing a culture for bringing together sustainable livelihoods and creating products by using nature-friendly materials that are produced with the help of sustainable technology. The artisans make use of bamboo and agave and manufacture products such as furniture, lamps, lights, handwoven khaadi after being trained in workshops. It started off as a design thinking initiative, where ‘craft’ was interpreted and identified from the design process and the skills of artisans were mapped during their interaction with the material available from the environment.

Function, mood, and personality ensure a beautifully decorated home that not only functions well but it also creates an ambience and shows off the personality of the family that lives there. Decorating is more than just eye appeal. The mood or feeling of any interior is created by choice of colours, the style of furnishings and the amount of texture one chooses. Since there’s so much to think about when creating a decorative yet appealing interior, these home decor startups can help you in making the experience worthwhile and interesting.