Founder Magazine Team
Esha Bhandari is a distinguished Design Professor and Interior Decorator & Designer, who has been making her mark in the field for five years. Her educational background is robust, with a B.Sc. in Interior Design, a Master Diploma in Kitchen Designing, and a Certified Set Designing course. Esha’s journey in design is a harmonious blend of academic rigor and practical experience, allowing her to explore and experiment with various design principles and techniques.
Esha’s passion for art and creativity was the catalyst for her career in interior design. From a young age, she was captivated by the intricate patterns on walls, the beauty of nature, and the designs in clothing and wall decorations. This passion led her to create home decor products, which not only fueled her creativity but also inspired her to pursue a professional career in the field. The prospect of transforming spaces into aesthetically pleasing and functional environments was a motivating force that guided her path.
When embarking on a new project, Esha’s primary focus is on natural lighting. She believes that understanding how light interacts with a space significantly influences the placement of furniture and the overall ambiance. Her design philosophy prioritizes comfort and functionality, ensuring that each space meets the client’s needs and makes them feel genuinely at home. Esha achieves a balance between functionality and aesthetics by paying close attention to details. The choice of wall paint, textures, and patterns are meticulously selected to transform the environment. Her designs consistently incorporate the principles of rhythm and balance, creating harmonious and cohesive spaces.
Esha’s creative process is comprehensive, starting with extensive case studies, market research, and literature reviews to stay abreast of current trends. She then creates inspirational boards for her clients, followed by detailed design work for each piece of furniture, ensuring it adds value and enrichment to the space. Once all drawings, including 2D, 3D, and animations, are finalized, the execution phase begins. Esha finds the decor phase particularly fulfilling, as adding elements like art and plants brings the final touch to the site, creating a harmonious and aesthetically pleasing environment. Her sources of inspiration are diverse, ranging from nature to clothing, jewelry, and various forms of art. She often sketches these patterns and incorporates them into her designs, creating unique and personalized spaces. A habitual practice that keeps Esha creative is her continuous creation and sale of home decor products, which helps her stay in tune with market trends and understand current preferences in design.
A common challenge Esha faces as an interior designer is managing clients’ expectations influenced by Pinterest. Clients often have unrealistic expectations based on what they see online. Overcoming this challenge involves educating clients about the practicalities of their vision, providing visual examples, and detailed explanations to help them understand the feasibility and potential outcomes of their desired designs. One particularly challenging project involved a client insisting on an island kitchen with a sink within a cramped 8’ x 10’ space. Esha explored various solutions, including breaking walls and extending backyards, but ultimately, a practical demonstration of the space constraints helped the client understand the impracticality of their idea.
Esha observes several emerging trends in architecture and interior design, such as bold wallpapers paired with simple interiors, the use of curves to bring modernity and joy to spaces, and the innovative use of mirrors to create larger interior views and utilize space effectively. She is particularly excited about incorporating kitchen gardening into her projects, as it offers a blend of functionality and sustainability. Sustainability is a crucial aspect of Esha’s designs. She prioritizes reusing and renovating old furniture with paints and materials like jute, and adding plants as decor elements to enhance sustainability. Modular furniture is another priority for Esha, as its flexibility and mobility allow for easy relocation and reuse, making it a sustainable choice.
Understanding clients’ vision starts with getting to know their family, hobbies, and lifestyle. By understanding how much time they spend in different areas and their expectations, Esha tailors her designs to meet their needs effectively. One notable project involved a client who needed a family room with a mirror for her daughter’s Kathak classes, an art area, and ample storage. Esha designed a storage unit with sliding shutters that revealed the mirror when open and displayed two wardrobe shutters with family images and pin boards for art displays when closed, meeting all their needs in one multifunctional space.
Among her favorite projects is a collaboration on her first freelancing project, “OMKAR.” This project is special to Esha because it allowed her to use all her skills to their fullest. Each furniture piece was enhanced with intricate details, and no area was left empty. The space featured curves, pentagons, cane, and metal artwork, creating a unique and detailed design. Esha advises aspiring designers to create their own works, arts, and patterns, continuously sketching out ideas and building a portfolio of unique creations. While taking inspiration from other websites is fine, she emphasizes the importance of developing one’s own work and patterns. For those starting out, Esha recommends focusing on sustainability and modular designs, as these practices are increasingly important in today’s design landscape.
Esha hopes people take inspiration from the decor elements of her work, understand why certain elements were introduced, and gain a deep understanding of the art. Currently, she is excited about finalizing her first Restro-Bar project, marking her first venture into restaurant design. This project presents new challenges and opportunities to innovate, making it an exciting next step in her career.
