“I am the PHD of interior design”

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: That’s Anjali Goel, CEO, La Sorogeeka, and an interior designer for about two decades, who has seen it all. According to her, even now, the interior design sector in India is unorganised, its current status comparable to where the Indian fashion sector was 15 years ago.

When she started, it was just the top notch industrialists who opted for it, but now the demand is far more widespread, especially among their second generation, who want to spend on the right look. But it’s not as easy, for Indians are house proud, but think that if it is their money, their design sensibility, or lack of it, must be accommodated. When they are spending at least Rs 10 lakh, her minimum order size, they want more than just a say. La Sorogeeka has a three-acre showroom in Noida, which has Mediterranean, Arabian, English and many other themes on offer while her new space in Okhla, south Delhi is offering the more subdued ‘Autumnal Equinox’. At the browns, rusts, and golds of her tastefully minimalist office, Suman Tarafdar tried to figure out whether interiors change according to season.

How fast is the top end of the interior design sector growing in India?

We are still not looked on as an industry. But as luxury in India is taking new forms, the demand for designed homes is growing. While we at La Sorogeeka specialise in customised homes, we also work with the real estate sector for specific projects, though the builder market is slow at the moment. Also, we have always been good at design, of late I am also satisfied with quality, for achieving industrial consistency has been a challenge in India. We do not have any training institutes or facilities for interior designers at an industrial level.

How significant is the challenge from international interior brands, which have of late started making forays into India?

When international furniture started coming in, I was apprehensive. But given that we were achieving the same results, I was confident too. Today I keep European catalogues too and we give presentations for both European and our lines. Clients are able to value our furniture much more. Indians wants uniqueness. They do not want to see the Armani table that they have seen elsewhere.

Compared to the first world customer, what differences do you find among Indians?