Two decades ago, no one took interior design seriously in India. Oblivious to it, Lipika Sud set up her company in 1990 only to face challenges and mockery. “It was not a matter of being a woman in a new profession. Interior designing was new to everyone, designers and their clients,” Sud says. She would be asked if she was an architect. When she would say “no”, pat came probing questions: will she be able to handle the labour? What about longer hours and frequent commuting to different parts of the city to source things?
Twenty years in the profession and today not only is she the go-to person for interiors but she also brings feminine forces together through her initiatives like ‘Proud To Be Indian’ and her association with Guild of Designers & Artists that offer a platform and opportunities to women. “When I took up interior designing, I was advised to go back on my decision. I don’t want anyone else to go through the same,” she says.
Sud fondly remembers her first few projects in Delhi. “I did the interiors for the Kirloskar Brothers’ office in Connaught Place. They gave me complete creative freedom,” she recalls.
“After studying at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Indian Institute of Mass Communication and the law faculty of Delhi University, I took up a job at Taj Hotels. Everything changed after that,” the designer says. Sud was part of the interiors project for setting up a nightclub. The transformation of a space and the rush she felt on its completion made her quit her job and start her own firm. Today she travels the world to create dream-like interiors. “It’s challenging but always breezy to do up interiors in Delhi. I know the people, their tastes and the potential of my team. In a foreign country, you are pretty much on your own,” she says.
While she doesn’t restrict herself to any genre, she always tries to include natural light. “I try to associate at an architectural stage so that we can explore options of open doors or moveable windows,” she says.
“Delhi’s rich history peeking through monuments makes it one of the best cities of the world,” she says. “There’s a subtle romance in every corner. It has influenced me as an interior designer.”