Artist’s impression of Homeland

Come January, you can plan your home while sipping coffee and checking out the list of architects, contractors and building material options on the touch-screen kiosk at the resource café of Homeland.

Calcutta is set to welcome “the country’s first dedicated home mall”, a 100,000-sq-ft facility spread across six levels near the Chowringhee-Elgin Road intersection, a one-stop shop for home-building needs.

The Rs 50-crore speciality mall, stocking “every home-building item and accessory conceivable”, from hardware to furnishing, is the closest the city has got to an IKEA Mall or a Home Depot, claim the developers, Merlin Group.

“For the first time, people will enjoy building their homes. They will be able to savour the experience of shopping for their home in an international environment,” promises Sushil Mohta, managing director, Merlin Group.

The anchor tenant will be Home Solutions, a Pantaloon Group (now Future Group) company, which has signed for a 30,000-sq-ft outlet showcasing top-of-the-line furniture, home furnishing, home decoration items, home electronics and electrical gadgets.

Mobel Furniture, which imports Spanish, Italian and Malaysian furniture, has signed for an 8,000-sq ft store, while there will be a dedicated showroom for products of the Tatas — steel, pipes and other home-related items. Berger Paints is also opening a showroom for paint solutions.

Space has also been taken up by some local retailers dealing in imported German hardware and top brands like Dorma, Hafle, Dorset and Kitch Kaba. There will be showrooms for designer glass, glass bricks, designer paints, ply board, laminates, artificial plants, Bohemian brand chandeliers from Czechoslovakia and Spain, and electrical fittings.

Daniel Swarovsky crystal light fittings, high-end designer switches, waterproofing and construction chemicals, building materials, toilet fixtures, tiles and marbles will also be available at the mall.

“Instead of running round in circles in Burrabazar, Chandni Chowk or Radhabazar Street, today’s buyer is looking for the convenience of a complete range and proper display of products under one roof,” stresses Mohta. He feels double-income families, with easy availability of home and personal loans, have triggered a change in attitude among the youth towards lifestyle.

Homeland promises to cater to every design need at home. For living rooms, there will be a “wide range of furniture”, upholstery, cushion covers, lamps and shades, curtains, drapery rods and fittings, objects of art and a host of accessories.

For bedrooms, one can choose from furniture, rugs, pillows and mattresses, bed sheets and pillow covers, curtains and other accessories. For kitchens, there will be appliances, crockery, furniture, cabinets and accessories.

With so many townships and large-format housing estates coming up, there’s already a surge in demand for home-making products, furniture and fixtures. “This will increase threefold in the next two years,” says Mohta.