More Photographs - Home Interiors Bangalore

Living Room

Dining Area

Living Area Highlight Wall

Dining Area - Lighting & False Roofing

Bar Unit

Bar Unit

Bar Unit

Crockery Unit

Crockery Unit - Pebbles

A Car is not "Just" a Car - The element of "Design" in Interior Design

The thought and the topic of this post came up during a recent drive to Ooty with my sister's family. On a sharp turn the car felt as if it would not straighten up, kind of steering on its own & my husband (an automobile engineer by training) commented "Cars that are designed well do not over-steer & this one isn’t (…designed well)". Don’t expect me to explain what that means as my expertise in automobile engineering is limited to being able to telephone Zakir the mechanic whenever the tyres feel plumpy or the bonnet smoky.

Driving with two men who shared common interest on the subject of Cars, the discussion did move further to things that go into hi end automobile design. Here are a few that I learnt - In hi end cars all the 4 wheels turn when you turn the steering to optimize the car’s turning movement, in some the lights too turn with the steering, some have programmable seating that optimizes your driving position based on your body structure. “Some manufacturers spend considerable time, money and effort just to optimize the interiors of the vehicle and ensure right storage in the right places – ever noticed the space for sunglasses in a Honda, right under the rear view mirror … perfect” said my brother-in-law excitedly. “I do that too when I design my kitchens & my homes” I say…..and that was the moment when it dawned.

A well designed home is EXACTLY like a well designed car – you just know it when you drive/ walk into one, you may not be able to pin point specifically what the difference is but while the car feels great when you drive it, the home just feels "nice" when you enter. I remember this interesting episode of a customer who commented “you know whenever the neighbors come in they say that my home somehow feels different and more balanced” – in that project we had changed the position of the fans in the drawing room to go with the symmetry of the overall interiors of the room. And it does not stop there - things like aligning the tile lines (the lines made by the floor tiles) throughout the house as they enter from the living room to the bedroom, from the corridor back into the bedroom, like deciding whether the shutter flap will be a pull up or a pull down, the drawers will be to the right of the kitchen hob, the left or right under. All these things and more is what I believe to be the “Design” element in Interior Design and it is especially important when doing “Home”Interiors because a Home needs not just to look good but also be built SPECIFIC to your lifestyle & needs (Commercial interiors mostly need to look good & that’s it).

The other aspect to consider while thinking of the Design element in Home Design is around “Visualization & Designing to BUILD”. Some of you who have walked this path would have experienced this when you designed something, and when the carpenter delivered, it looked something entirely different

“Bhaiya, see there is this small gap in the shutters when they close” – Possibly because the thickness of the shutter that the carpenter kept was more than what the hinges he used could handle.

“This line I see in the front – where did this come from” – Because “Bhaiya” made the shutter Inlay while you designed it Overlay.

“When I look from the side, the shutter looks odd on top of the carcass” Because he made the shutters OVERlay while you designed it INlay

If you are a techie then picture this http://lore.ua.ac.be/Teaching/SE3BAC/SoftwareSpecCartoon.gif

Don’t worry – this happens even to the best designers in the field. The point I am trying to make, which you would have guessed, is that the Design needs to incorporate the limitations of both the hardware and the workman. While the limitations of the workman can be managed with over-communication or by getting a new workman, it is extremely important to know the material & HARDWARE that will bring your design to life. With the HUGE Hardware range that’s available in the market today -- Hinges – butt, piano, inlay, overlay, half overlay...  Sliding Systems - Top Line, Slide Line, Wing Line, Inset, Overlay etc.etc. & the Hettich Hardware Manual running into some 1560 pages, this is one research that one HAS TO do before embarking on a design journey.

Colours & Lighting add an interesting dimension to the "design element" as well which is perhaps the most under-rated & under thought. An extremely well designed home can look ordinary if the colour selection & lighting is not done properly and a fairly simple home can look extraordinary with the right colour selection & lighting. While choosing colours bear in mind how you want the room to look - warm, bright, spacious, ethnic or contemporary - once done, choose colours of the walls, textures, furniture, furnishings that complement that requirement - the colours themselves could actually contrast & this part in my view is more "art" than technique. There are some apps available nowadays that help you play around with different colour selections for interiors...look these up.

Lighting on the other hand is a unique design element. Did you know that the a simple spotlight with an LED will give a completely different effect compared to the same spotlight with a CFL? Same applies to yellow lighting versus white lighting. A painting or a highlighted wall lit from the top will give a different look compared to one lit from the bottom?. I recently purchased a basic LED rope from 2 different vendors/ brands & noticed that the effect of one was much warmer that the other...just goes in to prove that there is really no end to learning in this field. A good amount of time spent in a lighting showroom will hence stand one in good stead when planning your interiors.

Well I hope that I have not ended up confusing you than clarifying and will look forward to your comments and feedback...as always Happy Homemaking

Signing off

Nandita

Do You "Really" Need an Interior Designer

Odd topic you would say, right? You will say "everyone needs a designer provided one can afford it".
You may find it odd hearing this coming from someone from the fraternity (a.k.a. me) that.

1. Not everyone who can afford a designer actually needs one &
2. Every one can actually afford an interior designer

Let me explain what I mean. Over the last few years having been in this line & having met & spoken to multitudes of people making their homes I feel one can categorize home makers broadly into the following 3 groups

Type 1. Folks who know exactly what they want, have the time and a deep desire to be closely involved in each aspect of home making, love spending their weekends looking out for stuff for their new home & possibly have someone or can themselves supervise daily construction.

If you belong to this category then you definitely DO NOT need an interior designer to help you, simply because you are mostly good enough to help yourself. What you DO NEED however is a good Carpenter to execute what you have already created in your mind.

If you are the Type 1 described above but do decide to hire an interior designer you run a serious risk of  (1) "Clash of the Creative Juices"  and (2) "the designer is the carpenter syndrome" a situation which you as well as your designer will hate to be in. What will suffer in the end will be the work and the final output.

Type 2: Folks who know what they want, don't know how to do it and don't have the inclination or the time to learn how to either.
If you are type 2 then you are an ideal case to benefit from hiring an interior designer. The designer will bring in explicit expertise to fine tune your thoughts and specialist workmen to ensure that those thoughts end up in matching output. Also the fact that you ride on the supply chain efficiencies of the designer will ensure genuine material, timely execution and lower cost (...more on the cost later).

Type 3: Folks who don't know what they want.
If you are Type 3 and making a home then STOP. First spend some time to think through what you want. Make a list of the things that you need in your new home & have a broad budget based how much you want to spend on your interiors ... with a little bit of stretch.
Once you have done that, identify whether you now belong to the group Type 1 or Type 2 above and proceed (this is somehow starting to sound like computer programming logic:) )

To my second point - "Everyone can actually afford an Interior Designer".
In my analysis, most designers, given they are scrupulous and actually use the material they promise, would make a pre tax margin of between 10 - 15% on an average because if they are over 15% they will be priced out of the market & if they make less than 10% (= 7% post tax) then its not worth it.

A designer's supply chain efficiency itself balances out this payout. What I mean by that is that if you were to go into the market to purchase the material & quality labour on your own, you will end up spending 10 - 15% more than what your designer will spend because of the designer's established supply chain. So in effect the designer's service is coming to you at zero cost.

Additionally, if you were to do it - add to this the cost of

1) Your time & effort
2) The risk of spurious material
3) The risk of a mess up leading to rework.
4) The designers expertise built over years brought in for your project
5) Time delays due to the workers running off [the designer running off is still comparatively lower risk : )]

Net net - if you are Type 2 then hiring a designer is a Win - Win. However if you are Type 1 - then don't risk it.

The cat is among the pigeons now... as always would look forward to your comments & feedback.

Signing of

NM

Home Interiors - New Photographs

Some new photographs of latest projects

TV Unit

Modular Kitchen - Left Side

Modular Kitchen - Right Side

Angry Birds theme wall. I painted this :)

Kitchen - Opposite Slab

Wardrobe 1

Wardrobe 2 

Wardrobe & Dresser

TV Unit - Awaiting the bigger TV

Types of Wood & Wood Specifications for Home Interiors

Over the course of the last few years the maximum number of queries I've received from my readers has been around the type of wood to be used and the what wood specification one should look for for different interior applications.

While part of the above query is answered in my earlier article on "What Material to use for Woodwork" I guess looking at the number of questions that have come in on the topic there is need for the article to be much more descriptive especially around the type of wood and their specifications. This post will try to do just that, also please read this in conjunction with the earlier post ("What Material to use for Woodwork")

Note: None of the Images below are my own - these have been downloaded either from Wikipedia or other open sources

1) TYPES OF WOOD FOR COMMON WOODWORK

PLYWOOD

A] PLYWOOD: Most people recognize this. These  are sheets of wood pasted together. However plywood comes in many specifications based on the chemical treatment of the wood and the glue used to bind the sheets together which determines its type of use - see the specifications section below.
Also - Plywood is available in multiple thickness from 2 mm to 38mm

BLOCK BOARD

B] BLOCK BOARD: This is cubical stocks of wood sandwitched between two thin sheets of Ply. As is obvious from its construction block board has higher  resistance against warping or bending. It is available in the standard thickness of 16, 19 & 25 mm

Again Blockboard comes in different specifications that determine its use in interior applications...more on that later

MDF

C] MEDIUM DENSITY FIBRE (MDF): MDF in engineered wood basically made from wood pulp. As is obvious from its construction MDF has low resistance to warping/ bending & moisture. Also nails do not hold well to join MDF sheets together, they need to be either screwed or joined using a minifix (google for it...). Because of this a lot of carpenters are not comfortable working with MDF. The good thing about MDF however is that you get "pre laminated" MDF in different colours, shades & textures and if used intelligently it can help bring down the cost of construction & also enhance the look of woodwork.

D] Particle Board: This is chips of wood glued together and pressed into sheets. Particle board is the cheapest of the above 3 options, it however has least resistance to moisture. Because of its low density & weight Particle board offers good resistance to bending especially in applications requiring long panels (such as a 9 foot high wardrobe doors). Particle board also is available in "pre laminated" form and its correct use can help bring down construction cost.


2) WOOD STANDARDS & SPECIFICATIONS:

Indian standards are not very well documented and there isn't much user understandable documentation available. What I have mentioned below is built on current market terminology & the products available in the market for a layman to make sense of the same. The paragraphs below are not meant to stand up to an ISI inspection but should definitely help "YOU" make informed decisions.

A) "Plywood" Standards & Specs: 

1. IS 303 Specification: This is the ISI or BIS Specification for Plywood. This is further divided into (1) MR Grade and (2) BWR Grade

• MR Grade: Stands for Moisture Resistance - MR Grade Ply is basically regular plywood. This is also sometimes called Commercial Ply. In laymans terms this can be used everywhere except in the Bathroom & Kitchen.

• BWR Grade Plywood: This is Boiling Water Resistant Plywood. Some companies call it BWP (Boiling Water Proof) Grade however the Bureau of Indian Standards has officially done away with the BWP terminology. In layman's terms this wood is also mentioned as Marine Ply & is for use in the Kitchen & Bathroom.

Note: Recommendation for Kitchens is therefore "IS303, BWR Grade Plywood" - The shopkeeper in the wood store will have little to fool around if you use the above phrase. Simple isn't it :)

2. IS 710: This is the "Formal" Standard for "Marine Grade" Plywood - used for making boats & ships...hence this is topic for a blog on shipbuilding & not here :)


B] Block Board Standards & Specs

The Bureau of Indian Standards has the IS 1659 Standard for Blockboards. Again this is subdivided into MR Grade (Commercial Board) & BWR/ BWP Grade (Boiling Water Proof)

Explanation on where to use blockboard and where to use Ply is on my other post at What Material to use for Woodwork


Standards for Particle Board & MDF: 

In India Particle board & MDF are at a stage of nascence where they are bought based on the Brand Name rather than on the ISI Standard. Some manufacturers do cite exterior Grade & Interior Grade MDF/ Particle Board, however personally I prefer to go with a good brand and the range of colours offered than the "Grade".

That does it for now I guess and as always would welcome any Bouquets & Brickbats

Signing off,

Nandita

The "What Material to use for the Kitchen Counter Top" Conundrum. How to decide between Granite, Marble, Corian, Quartz, Acrylic etc.

A number of folks have been inquiring on what material works best for the kitchen slab. This decision has lately become more complicated due to the different variety available in the market and whether the newer materials available suit our desi style of cooking & handling.

To answer this question lets look at each of the materials available and the pros & Cons of each

1. Good Old Granite:
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By far the most popular choice, and not without reason. Granite is more or less scratch & stain proof. The only draw back with Granite is the limitation on the colours & shades available. If you are ok with the Henry Ford philosophy of "You can choose any colour as long as its black" then this is the best material for you. One would argue that granite does come in other colours, however my personal view is that the other colours in granite do not give as good a finish & look compared to black granite or the other materials (below). Approx price range 100 - 700 per square foot (some imported one do cost the sky)

2. Corian:
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The most hotly debated material. By the way - did you know that while Corian is generally used as a family name for all types of acrylic solid surfaces for countertops it is actually  brand name owned by Du Pont (Much like how we assume the name "Surf " to mean any kind of washing powder). Acrylic countertops in Bangalore are available from Dupont (Corian), Merino (Hanex) & LG (Himacs). The great thing about Acrylic solid surface is that it can be shaped as per one's requirement, hence giving a lot of flexibility to the designer. Also the finishes & edges are clean & slick. The only thing that goes against Acrylic surfaces is that they are prone to scratches & stains....these can however be removed by "rebuffing" the surface. Contrary to usual belief, Acrylic Surfaces are extremely resistant to heat (do not melt). To prove this to myself I actually brought a small piece of the material home and experimented with all kinds of things. The poor piece of Acrylic (this one is Hanex) you see in the picture below has hosted

Acrylic Counter top Material/ Corian - Under Test

1. A hot pressure cooker right out of the flame
2. A kadhai fuming with hot oil and
3. Knife cuts from daily vegetable chopping

Well, except for the scratches, it did hold up to tell its story.

The other good thing about Acrylic is that it comes in a range of colours including Shocking white (my favourite). On the price front Acrylic will set you off by over Rupees 800 per square foot, so u need to have a strong heart and a loving husband to go with it.

Marble:
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Italian Marble Counter top

Apart from the Rajasthani White (Makarana) Marble you have Italian marble widely available in Bangalore. It comes in a variety of very rich colours. The challenge in using Marble is that (1) You need to buy the whole sheet - so if you don't do your maths right then you may end up wasting quite a bit  (2) Marble is brittle - you need a very good workman to cut & lay the sheet and (3) Not all types of Marble are stain & scratch resistance, hence you need to choose carefully. However if  "Managed" well Marble can give a very distinct look. For the record...I myself have used Marble in my kitchen (see the pic) and contrary to the popular belief that Marble is not suited for Kitchen Counter tops I kind of am satisfied with it. What you need to know however is that it does require a bit of maintenance and kindly use - not as much as a " Fill it, shut it, forget it" (remember the old Hero Honda ad) type like granite. Price Point - Rupees 350 psft and above.

Quartz - Artificial Stone:
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Quartz Kitchen Counter Top

This is a fairly new addition to the family of materials for counter tops. I was frankly a little skeptical before using this when one of my customers insisted but its been around one year (see the pic) and so far the customer is not complaining. I really would not mind using this again. Quartz stands good in all aspects such as scratch & stain resistance, easy workmanship, slick finishes & availability in a range of colours. Price Point - Rs 500 psft and above



There are other options available like Laminate on wood etc however I do not feel that these stand up the exacting standards for Indian cooking and these are definitely NOT Indian MAID Proof  :)

That's it for now I guess, that one was quite a marathon ...have not typed sooo much in a long time and to those of you who have had the patience of reading till this very line...a big thank you & hope this helps you in your own Marathon of home making. As always would welcome any bouquets & brickbats

Signing off

Nandita Manwani

Feedback from IndiaWood 2012 Exhibition Bangalore

Folks ....some quick notes from the IndiaWood Exhibition (http://indiawood.com/) that concluded in Bangalore last month. Some interesting findings that you may find useful in your home decoration journey

1. Steel Panels: Saw some polished steel (etched & mirror finishes) introduced & showcased for interior design needs. Interestingly the vendor (www.Mapple.co.in), who supplies stuff from Haryana is willing to cater to the Home Decor Market (versus the commercial market done by such vendors usually). These sheets have the potential to give pretty exquisite finishes

2. Prices of UV coated MDF boards down: These are boards that have a hi gloss/ anti scratch finish (http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/343750171/high_gloss_uv_coating_mdf_board.jpg). Some vendors have been passing these off as Acrylyc boards and charging extreme prices. While these were available earlier through grey market imports, now there are reputed Indian companies offering these at a fraction of the cost

3. Ebco - As a strong contender in hardware: Ebco (www.ebco.in) showcased a pretty impressive range in hardware and seems to be heading to become a strong contender to Hettich in the hi end hardware space...time will tell. I am yet to check out their prices but hopefully these will be competitive.

4. Pre Veneered MDF Boards from Green Ply: Green Ply has introduced pre veneered MDF boards. From a cost perspective these offer a fair amount of savings than using Ply + Veneer combination. Since these boards only come in MDF (Pre Veneered ply is not available) there is some amount of attention that will be required while designing the furniture, however there is no doubt that these boards will bring down the total cost of construction + save on the overall time to deliver.

5. Hardwood kitchen Shutters prices have come down: Hardwood shutters have always ranged above some INR 500 psft. Some local Bangalore vendors have now brought these prices down. Creating traditional designs & Kitchens in Hardwood should not be as expensive as it used to be.

6. MDF 3 D boards & panels available commonly: Designer MDF boards and 3D boards (usually used for pannelling etc.) that were earlier available only at specific designer outlets are now freely distributed and are therefore being made available through the local plywood store

7. Flush Doors - Prices down: The prices of Flush doors have also come down substantially and the range starts from approx INR 100 psft. Hence if you are planning to redo your doors by laminating/ veeneering them it might be cheaper to replace them & use them for your other woodwork

Thats it from me....I hope you found the above useful.....as always will welcome your comments, bouquets & brickbats

Signing off

Nandita