THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: She was a trained kickboxer, and he is one of the most prolific players of the Indian cricket team today. Ayesha Mukherjee (now Aesha Dhawan) and Shikhar Dhawan got into a whirlwind online romance in 2011 and cut to 2018, the married couple has now launched their own premium home décor brand.
DaONE Home is a happy blend of elegance and practicality. While the two travel a lot, they are people who believe that a home plays an important role in weaving memories.
“We decorate our own home with a lot of beautiful products that reflect our personalities, for a sense of belonging. And we suppose, there could not have been a better way around this, than to start a label that reflects our core values,” says Aesha. Look at the collection and you see it is an amalgam of two varying and opposite styles — traditional Indian and classic modern. “It’s a combination of soft and subtle elements with bolder patterns and vibrant colours,” explains Aesha. At ground level, DaONE Home has an in-house creative designer, who comes up with designs that cater to the couple’s taste.
Colours, according to the two, play a pivotal role in deciding the overall am bience that one’s house radiates. “We chose to use breezy whites, neutrals and pinks to bright blues and assertive blacks and yellows,” says the 43-year-old. In the collection, you can now find pillows, quilts and throws, while the two plan to expand into upholstery and soft furnishing options like bed linen and table linen.
While the Honey Grey collection is a beautiful mustard colour, the Boaster Flicker has peacock green elements in it. Some of the techniques used for all the collections are zari work, adda work, Chevron Ikat embroidery, crochet lace applique and aari work.
Talk about fabrics, and Aesha chimes in saying that while cotton has been the dominating fabric, they have mixed that with velvet, slub, viscose sateen and chambray to name a few.
“We are very particular about the optimum quality of fabric and the intricate designs and patterns that we offer. And we also experiment with silk varieties like sateen and Haboutai,” adds Shikhar. Then we ask him the question that’s on everyone’s minds. Is there anything cricket-themed in the collection? “I understand where this assumption comes from, but when it comes to a home, I keep it separately from cricket.
Nobody knows what the future holds, though!”he says. Available online, cushion covers start from `1,500. Quilts start from `9,000.