Beauty lies on the inside too...

Anjum Jung began her tryst with interior design when her brothers started the Prestige Group. After pursuing a course at Cornell University, she delved into the world of design and gave the world Morph Design Company (MDC). With a global clientele and innumerable awards and recognitions, MDC creates masterpieces for the diverse fields of hospitality, residential and commercial in the country today.

What initially started out as an in-house interior design subdivision of the Prestige Group MDC, now caters to external clients too. Currently heading the company as its managing director, Anjum is an entrepreneur at heart, which is why she didn’t stop at interior designing. She also started state-of-the-art in-house factories that manufacture wooden joineries, handcrafted furniture, modular furniture, wardrobes, windows and kitchen
assemblies apart from soft furnishings.

She wants to “introduce discerning customers to living spaces that represent and reflect their individual taste and stay relevant through changing times,” she says. In a freewheeling conversation with Deccan Herald, Anjum sheds light on designs that are simple, contemporary, dynamic and evolving. Excerpts:

What are the things homeowners need to keep in mind before consulting an interior designer?

The client should be clear about the direction in which they want to take their design. Also, the client should have an idea about the interior designer’s aesthetic style. With a lot of new products in the industry, clients often tend to get carried away and try to implement an excessive mix of products from the market. But they fail to see the bigger
picture.

Too many styles put together could also end up being a disaster. It is very important to maintain the harmony and symmetry from different elements. It is necessary to complement each other. Gautam Bhatia, the architect who coined the playful phrase in a 1994 book on Indian architecture, acknowledges a mixture of designs as ‘Punjabi Baroque’.

A healthy client-designer relationship is incredibly important too. If that is achieved, half the battle is won. It is necessary to trust each other to get great results. The interior designer plays different roles in the life of the client. From being a psychologist to being a friend, we are like artists giving a different perspective to the client while we paint the canvas to satisfy their imaginations.

Some design trends for 2016…

After a decade of simple neutral pared back schemes, we are seeing a trend for robust colour schemes with bold hues, patterns and botanical motives at the forefront. Bold colours are back in fashion.

Five tips to instantly refresh a room’s decor...

Keep it simple, neat and classy. Pare down your collections because a
cluttered, over-accessorised space can look messy and disorganised rather than having a sophisticated look.

Inject your room with a few colours through your soft furnishings, as it’s easier to change them with time.

Don’t stick to straight lines. Introduce interesting fluid forms to give a wholly artistic look.

Add layers to your home through a mix of materials and textures.

Use lighter shades on bigger canvas spaces to brighten the spaces.

Create focal points either by adding a mirror or an oversized piece of art by
itself.

Is design an art or science?

Design is an art, which can be brought down to a science. My personal style is very eclectic, trying to marry the old with the new, giving each piece its individuality and importance. I get inspired by Jaya Pratomo Ibrahim — a product designer from Indonesia, Yabu Pushelberg from Toronto, Geoffrey Bawa and Marcel Wanders.

What kind of challenges does interior designing pose?

Designing an interior space presupposes that a design metaphor will reveal itself in every object, colour, finish and patina. When the idea finds expression and rhythm in such detail, the natural outcome would be a space made distinctive by its very uniqueness. Good taste in interiors has come of age. The challenge lies in the fact, that often, the notion of interior design stops at the placement of attractive objects in a well-designed room. While that is a mandate we can serve with ease, the challenge is to give the customers much more. This is possible by shaping their experience of interior space, through manipulation of spatial volume, as well as surface treatment. So, while apartments today are predicated on the optimal use of space and uniformity, the challenge is to create a unique interior space in a structurally similar landscape.

Can interior designing be sustainable?

Yes, of course! Other than looking into the technical part of it like materials, lighting etc., I believe the design should be simple and have clean lines, which will then make it eternal. Additions can always be made to enhance it.

How is the interior design market faring in India today?

Interior design is going places. From what I can recall from 20 years ago, people then hesitated to make lifestyle changes and were far more cautious and conservative in their tastes and budgets. But the current aspirational market is willing to spend more for a better lifestyle. I believe that luxury is not limited to just the uber-rich. It is extremely subjective and embodies something that is impulsive.