Shunning the usual suspects—cold marble and harsh lighting—interior design firm Takshaka has been changing the face of the city, one hotel at a time. The meditation centre at the Westin Sohna-Gurgaon Hotel made with stones and brick speaks volumes about its design sensibility. The Pyramid, as it’s called, is located at the centre of the spa surrounded by clear blue water. A single piece of prism-like glass sits atop the structure, letting the sunlight to filter in. The faint sound of water wafting through the walls acts as a perfect antidote to attain a mind-body accord. It’s one-of-a-kind design. You might not find any similarity between their other works–interiors of Akira restaurant at the JW Marriott, Aerocity Delhi and restaurant at the Westin Hotel Gurgaon; but chances are you might have appreciated their fresh interiors and clever use of space at some point.
Eighteen years since it started, the firm is ready to create more intimate spaces for Delhi’s bigwigs with its new brand called Krea. The company’s director Arvind Panwar disagrees with the use of word ‘big-wig’. “It’s not that we’re going to focus on doing up houses of power couples. With Krea, we want to bring hotel-like chic style to every home,” he says.
With generous use of wood, bamboo, stones, stainless steel, wrought iron, bronze, leather, wicker and jute, Krea is creating spaces that suits individual tastes. In less than a year, Krea has already done up interiors for several homes. The clientele looks well-heeled for sure (read Hari and Kavita Bhartia, designer Ritu Kumar and hotelier Priya Paul). Panwar insists that Krea was born out of an idea that design should not be a privilege of a select few. “We want to demystify design,” the 45-year-old NID-alumni says.
The firm recently ventured into retail with the launch of its first store at M G Road in Delhi selling furniture and home accessories. “Every piece of furniture is crafted at two of our production facilities in Manesar,” Panwar says. The store, spread across two floors, is the first in their grand plan of a total of 12 to be opened in the next two years.
But Panwar doesn’t want to stop at stores. “We want Krea to grow into a choupaal, a centre for discussions, promoting young talents, co-creation and revival of Indian crafts,” he says. A design café and a design institute are also on the cards.