Kavita Bhalerao: Igniting Spaces with Pure Exuberance

Kavita Bhalerao: Igniting Spaces with Pure Exuberance

Any place we spend time in directly affects our being. The place along with its interiors affects what we think, how we think, what we do, how we interact with people, how motivated we are and a million other aspects of our daily lives. This makes the interior design and architecture of our home or office extremely critical to our wellbeing. Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordinates, and manages such projects. Interior design is a multifaceted profession that includes conceptual development, space planning, site inspections, programming, research, communicating with the stakeholders of a project, construction management, and execution of the design. Interior design plays an intricate role in everyday life as it introduces people to beauty, relaxation, and modernism. Nowadays, Interior design is an important technique that is given huge attention all over the world. People's interest in having a nice and attractive design for private and public buildings is on a rise. Interior Designers see things from different perspectives as they give special attention to details and their work atmosphere is as such. Interior designers make sure that the interior spaces they are designing are always functional, safe, and beautiful for every type of building: houses, supermarkets, corporate spaces, malls, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. Interior designers will always need to introduce new ideas and techniques in order to maintain creativity in their designs. A good interior design helps to create a living space that is both functional and aesthetically appealing using some of the latest design techniques. Hence, one cannot downplay its importance when planning the construction of a commercial or residential building.

Our editorial team spoke to Kavita Bhalerao, the Founder, and Principal Designer of Kavita Bhalerao Interior Studio regarding interior designing, her personal & professional journey and her company. Here are the edited excerpts.

• Tell us a bit about yourself

I am a professional interior designer and I run a company named 'Kavita Bhalerao Interior  Studio' for the last 17 years. During this journey, I have designed and executed more than 100 big projects and a few small ones. Various media houses including ABP Network, Loksatta, Lokmat, etc. have taken note of my work from time to time and displayed it.

• When did you first want to become an interior designer and why?

Designing is my passion, so while choosing the career path I had decided to pursue the formal education in Interior Designing and I have been practising as an Interior Designer for the last 20 years.

• Tell us about your business.

I run a company named Kavita Bhalerao Interior Studio and I have handled office designing, residential, educational and industrial designing projects. I have a team of 10 skilled people working under me and I have offices in Mumbai and Nashik.

• What led to its inception?

It was my dream to run my own designing studio, so I can freely do the designing and execute as per the client's requirements. This led me to form my own company.

• What makes you stand out among other designers?

Maximum utilization of the space and timeless elegance is the core of my designing. Fusion of appropriate colour selection with artistic look is another area which makes me stand out different. Understanding the need of the client and executing the things in an artistic way is the focus of my designing.

• What and/or who are some of your design inspirations?

Nature is the biggest inspiration of my designs. Different forms of worldwide ancient, contemporary and modern art are also the source of energy to design the things.

• How does your company work?

Right from designing to execution, we do end to end work followed by all the services required.  We have a team of designers and skilled people who can execute the work. We have a small workshop also, so many times we make the things there. We do a continuous supervision of the project sites. My company is a professionally run company and all systems are set so daily functions run on auto mode.

• What have been some of your most challenging projects?

Designing and executing residential projects in a city like Mumbai is a challenging task because of the space constraints and maximum demand from the client. Also, I have done various projects for the people who stay on a rental basis. So, there is a very limited scope to make any structural changes but still we make their home hassle free and make sure that their demands are fulfilled.

• What have been some of your favourite projects?

 I always believe in a philosophy that, let's not just make the things better but make them unique and workable. So, I try to use this principle in every project I execute. And I believe every project comes with a new challenge, which tests my skills and enriches my experience.

• How will you summarize the journey so far in one/two lines?

As I said earlier, designing spaces is my passion and fortunately so far, I have got immense opportunity to fulfil my passion with execution of the challenging projects.

• Currently, what is the design landscape like in India?

As one of the TV creatives has perfectly described the current scenario of the country, where it is said that, 'India is an under-construction country', so to put it in the nutshell there is a lot of scope for designing residential projects, industrial projects and the ancillary infrastructure arising with it. Also, another remarkable change in Indian people's mindset is that, they have now felt or developed the taste for designing. So many people are coming forward for the interior work.

• How would you describe the relationship between new and old in your work?

Designing is one of the forms of art, so it evolves with time. Necessities and priorities change with time, but simultaneously aspirations of the people are also awaking, hence the creative side of the work is now associated more with new technology and skillsets.

• What materials interest you most at the moment?

Any natural material attracts me and I make sure that use of this will add flavour to my work. Wood, stones and metals are used in my various projects.

• Brief a little about your clientele.

As I mentioned, in the last 17 years I have handled various mix bag projects like residential, industrial, educational, medical, etc. Some of my clients are Divine industry, Alap Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Ekvira Engineering, Sipra Engineering Pvt. Ltd mong many others.  So, it's the trust of the client which has given me an opportunity and the experience.

• What do you hope to achieve in the future?

Looking at my experience and forte, I am waiting for more challenging projects and would like to work for untapped areas in my filed of interior designing.

• Any advice for creative entrepreneurs.

Never forget that it's the creativity and in-depth knowledge which makes you stand different. Here I remember, the quote by The Apple Man, Steve Jobs – Creativity in just connecting things.