KOCHI:When you do something that you love or have a passion for, you never tire of it. And this is the happiness Dr Thomas Manjooran, a dental surgeon, snagged by dabbling in interior designing. Thomas, who recently finished his 50th house, is in an upbeat mood and raring to take up the next project.
The 53-year-old pedodontist turned professional seven years ago. “I had a creative bend of mind and loved designing. In the earlier days, I helped out my friends to set up their offices. I did the interiors of their offices just for the fun of it. However, my crowning glory came after I did the interior of a friend’s house,” said Thomas.
With the house receiving rave reviews from all quarters, people started enquiring and seeking out the creative mind behind it. “Today, I have completed the 50th house and am looking forward to doing many more. What makes designing appealing is the novelty. No two houses are the same and so are the people who own them,” he said.
“It is a tradition to celebrate the golden fifty. This grand project of 15,000 plus sq feet was my celebration. A house of this vastness normally takes more than three years to complete. However, we managed to have it in ‘move-in’ condition in less than three years. Each item in the house was carefully handpicked and arranged to create a home where our clients had to just move in with their luggage. This ensures that magnificence is created but with minimal expenditure,” he said.
Thomas comes up with a design for a house based on the needs and desires of the owner. “I try to understand the client and come up with a functional and appealing design that suits them. I believe in encouraging them to take the final call,” he said. According to him, expensive is not proportional to beauty. “Beauty can’t be measured in terms of the money spent. It’s my belief that beauty can be achieved at a minimal cost,” he said.
“What will I do in a bathroom full of all the latest gizmos if all I want is to use a bucket and mug for a bath. So, I discuss with the clients and arrive at what they need. It is the client who buys all the stuff needed for the house,” he said. He has designed and built houses from the scratch. “It costs around Rs 4,000 per sq ft for a 3,000 sq ft house. There are people who go in for pricey fixtures and styles. In such cases, the costs go up considerably,” he said.
According to him, interior designing is the art of decorating a room so that it is attractive, easy to use and functions well with the existing architecture. “If you think interior design is just about choosing fabrics and collecting colour charts, you are wrong. It is about applying creative solutions to the space that one is trying to design,” he added.
For ideas and inspirations, he visits fairs, expos and places. “I get an idea of the materials and styles in vogue. I keep searching out new ideas and, experimentally, keep ahead of the times,” he said.
Thomas has done houses in traditional, minimalistic and contemporary styles. “Also, in some cases a mixture of these styles,” he added. According to him, designing a house is easier when Vaastu is not involved. “If a client wants his house styled by adhering to Vaastu, then I take care to abide by it minutely,” he said.