An eclectic Delhi home with a global flair, that’s a perfect blend of art, crafts, and textiles.
Srimoyi’s unforgettable home shows her love for mixing patterns and colours. It’s a collectors paradise, filled with gems from her travels, while also serving as a reminder of her Bengali and French roots. Her house is imbued with great taste, but with a point of view, and therefore really does seem like a world unto itself. It has a sense of freedom wherein pieces from different design genres are juxtaposed together seamlessly. We have serious house envy, and couldn’t wait to find out the story behind her striking home. 
What was your inspiration and design philosophy while decorating the house?
My home is simply a reflection of our wandering eye and our love for mementos which makes our house look like a joyous flea market! My unapologetic love for colours and prints have led me to mix them up in the most unedited and improbable way, combining my French and Bengali references.
How did you manage to balance all the prints and bold colours in such perfect harmony?
Perhaps it’s the way I start off a room, whether through a statement colour or wall paper and then I try and bring together objects with a similar period or style- our living room is Art Deco with Bengal modernist art on the walls with chinoiserie print curtains around - go make sense of all of it.
Tell us a little about the painting that we see hanging behind the (red) couch?
This painting is by one of our favorite Sri Lankan artist’s Priyantha Udagedara and it’s called “Garden of Earthly Delights II.” I fell in love with Sri Lankan art a few years ago and Priyantha Udagedara is on the top of my list. I am drawn to his mixed media work for being layered- this piece seems paradisiacal on the surface but speaks of agony if you look at it up close, through collages of body parts and shrubs. The juxtaposition of these visuals resonates with our everyday reality, while for the artist, it is also a narrative about Sri Lanka (a heavenly island torn by its post-war history). I had fallen in love with the piece on a trip to Sri Lanka in 2017 and promised myself I would bring it home once we found our nest in Delhi. The vibrant orange couch is a piece from BARO!
We see you have used a lot of beautiful textiles to bring colour into your house. Where do you source them from?
Thank you and I think fabrics across all the rooms help bring the story together. I keep changing my upholstery every few years so some of the pieces from the dining area (in hues of red and aqua) have just recently been changed with the help of concept store Serendipity in Delhi. I am now far more drawn to handmade and all recent additions are hand block prints. Colours and scale of some of the designs were customs made to my wish to mix florals and geometric designs. We have a few vintage pieces of furniture we have collected through the years from Baro and Serendipity and Saudades in Goa, along with some old carpets from Central Asia. 
The rocking chair and the rug are so well coordinated, where did you pick them from?
The rocking chair was an old find in Mumbai that has been recently repainted and reupholstered. The idea of this burst of colours started with a carpet designed by Thierry Journo (designer of IDLI, a Jaipur based French home, and fashion label) that made me choose the aqua chevron wallpaper, and later I picked hand block printed fabrics by Serendipity, to work with that mood. It all came together slowly and that’s the fun of it all!
The Iqrup+Ritz coffee table gives a nice contemporary feel and matches well with all our mid-century furniture from BARO. Again so many mixes of style and texture.
We see an array of cheerful objects in your home, and are awestruck especially by the Giant Cherry- could you tell us the story behind it?
I first saw ceramic artist Shweta Mansingka (you would love meeting her!) works at Vayu, the most tastefully curated concept store in Delhi. I started following Shweta’s work and then we went as a family to visit her studio. We immediately fell in love with this giant cherry for its beautiful earthy colours and the playful symbolic of the size. It all stemmed from meeting an artist we connected with and whose work we are delighted to follow. It was our first year in Delhi and these are all moments we cherish as we connect with a new city.
Any tips on accessorizing and styling a space?
Fill your space mindfully with special pieces that you know will remind you of travel, an occasion, an encounter. They make them meaningful as time goes by. Have fun mixing old decorative pieces with contemporary furniture (or vice versa) to create your own sense of edge and magic! 
Tell us a bit about your table setting.
I like to layer it all up and honestly, it all starts with the menu - the tableware sets the ambiance and the mood:). I have a few dinnerware sets from Mumbai, Delhi, and Sri Lanka that I love to mix and match. My French vintage wine glasses are easily paired as are our Kansa tumblers, you can go contemporary or traditional, It all works. The colours and patterns being vibrant, I either go bolder with more patterned napkins and table covers or keep it easy with a single colour.
Which is your favourite spot in the house?
My orange sofa. It just makes me happy. Also because I have memories of laughing with the owner and friend Srila Chatterjee about becoming this BARO fanatic!
We love the little reading nook you have created. Were the bookshelf and seating custom made?
Designer Gunjan Gupta’s Kursi sits pretty in its printed fabric by IDLI next to my favorite picks from concept store Vayu, the hand scalloped brass side tables - Filled with books in French, Bengali and English, the library is a memory of our lives and travels also with a display of small collectibles and photos!
Your favourite artists/ stores to buy from?
Stores in Delhi: Good Earth/Serendipity/Vayu
Mumbai: Baro/Ranjit Ahuja/Sarita Handa
An art piece that holds a special place for you.
A piece from modernist Paritosh Sen, a gift from my mother for my 40th birthday.
Image courtesy- Beautiful Homes Magazine
