(Top) Adarsh Gill’s teak furniture is plated with sterling silver; It’s all about leather lining in Abhishek Dutta’s home line; (Below right) The Spring Summer 2012 collection from Abraham & Thakore sports a muted colour palette

That little white dress by Wendell Rodricks may occupy pride of place in your closet, but how about curling up on bed linen designed by him? Or for that matter, laying your table with high-on-kitsch crockery by Manish Arora before reclining against a plush cushion designed by Abraham & Thakore?

If you’re a fashionista out to give your pad the signature touch of your favourite designer, it’s time to hit the boutiques. From silver-plated furniture and faux fur-trimmed rugs to quirky knick-knacks, there are a variety of home accessories by Indian designers to splurge on.

So, what made these fashion designers extend their canvases to home interiors? “We’ve a strong base in textile design and have always believed that there is a synergy between fashion and interiors — we often carry a concept through the design development of both collections,” says David Abraham of Abraham & Thakore.

Inspired by their fashion collections, the A&T furnishing line is renewed every season. So, the Spring Summer 2012 line of bedcovers, throws, cushions, duvet cover and pillow cover sets is inspired by menswear fabrics and treatments that also influenced their Autumn Winter 2011 fashion collection. Parts of the collection will be available in stores overseas including The Conran Shop in London, Caravane in Paris and Globus in Switzerland. In India it will be available from March onwards in Mumbai’s Palette.

Abhishek Dutta and Nida Mahmood’s home accessories and furnishings also have strong links with their fashion collections. “I use a lot of leather detailing in AD Home, my furnishing line, which is also my signature style in fashion. I’ve even incorporated leather in my bridal collections,” says Dutta who started his line in 2007. AD Home is retailed from Dutta’s Calcutta studio, Kimaya in Mumbai, Nautanki in Ahmedabad and Elahe in Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, Mahmood launched the first product collection of New India Bioscope Co., a design company she founded along with artist Raul Chandra, in 2010. She works on a new concept every six months.

The designers are also egged on by the buyers of their fashion lines to design home accessories. “Most of my furnishing clients are those who come to my store intending to buy garments,” says Calcutta designer Agnimitra Paul, who launched her line of bed and cushion covers in October last year. And while designers Dutta and Abraham and Thakore have their own lines of furnishing, others like Wendell Rodricks and Manish Arora have designed in collaboration with other brands. Then, others including Mona Lamba and Pali Sachdev of Monapali and Shantanu Goenka, customise home furnishing and accessories on request and orders.

So, go ahead and take your pick.

Sleep in luxury

Ethnic designs and vibrant colours characterise Agnimitra Paul’s bedcovers

Last June, Bombay Dyeing (of the bed linen fame) launched the Wendell Rodrick’s Home Linen Collection complete with bed-sheet sets, comforters and duvet covers. With five different themes — Victorian Vintage, White Light, Art Nouveau, Ethnique Graphique and Florascent — the designs range from delicate white prints inspired by chickankari shadow work on pastel-coloured sheets to bright spirograph patterns set against a white background.

“Maureen Wadia approached me to design bed linen predominantly in white,” says Rodricks who liked the idea since Bombay Dyeing offered to handle the production of his designs. “Rodricks is an extremely talented designer and the fact that some of his signature designs are in white worked in our favour,” says Debashis Poddar, CEO, Bombay Dyeing.

“The Victorian theme demanded a softer palette and a romantic mood. The collection sold very well,” says Rodricks. Priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 for a bed-sheet set, the collection is available in all Bombay Dyeing stores.

On the other hand, Dutta’s line of bedspread and pillow cover sets, duvet covers and throws are designed as well as produced by him. It’s made glamorous with leather detailing on materials like dobby, corduroy and fabric suede. His off white bedcover with a delicate cupid and floral print sports leather braids while another in olive green and mustard corduroy has leather bamboo shoot motifs appliquéd on it. The designer also customises bridal bedcover sets with matching throws, bathrobes, towels and even tablemats, tagging these above Rs 30,000 for a set. His First Night series of bridal bedcover sets, priced above Rs 50,000, even throws in matching night dresses.

Abraham & Thakore’s first home furnishing collection was launched at The Conran Shop in London back in 1992. Their latest Spring Summer 2012 collection, launched in September 2011 at Scenes d’interiurs at Maison & Objet in Paris, also offers co-ordinated bedcovers, throws, cushions, kimonos and pyjamas. In keeping with the menswear fabrics that inspired it, the line has a demure colour palette with neutrals such as white, ivory, grey, brown and black and uses herringbone and houndstooth as recurring patterns. The bedcovers are priced between Rs 12,000 and Rs 20,000, while a set comprising a duvet cover and two pillow covers comes for Rs 11,000.

Paul’s bedcovers, on the other hand, sport an ethnic touch with their vibrant colours and use of embroidery and sequins as embellishment. An off-white cotton chanderi bedcover has multi-coloured silk paisley patterns in aari work and sequins appliquéd on it. She even customises curtains to match. A patchwork number uses leftover materials such as Banarasi brocade, raw silk and cotton from her fashion lines, which are appliquéd on the bedcover. Available at her Palit Street store, Paul’s bedcovers begin at Rs 5,000.

Accessorise

Cushions are the hot picks in most collections and can easily be mixed-and-matched with other home accessories. Take a look at the cushions and coasters in Nida Mahmood’s latest collection, The Great Indian Bohemian Tamasha, that promise to brighten up any corner. “It’s inspired by the street-and-puppet theatre of Rajasthan,” says Mahmood, who works with poster artists for her lines. The images are first hand-painted and then worked on digitally before being printed on to the product.

So, you’ve a bright magenta and blue cushion that sports images of a magician and even has the word Jadugar printed on it, while for puppet theatre fans, another cushion’s printed with pretty puppet faces and the phrase ‘Rajasthan Rhapsody’. The Jadugar cushion also has matching coasters. While the coasters are priced at Rs 450 for a set of six, the cushions cost Rs 2,500 apiece. New India Bioscope Co.’s home accessories are retailed across eight countries and in Indian stores like Tappu Ki Dukan, Attic in Mumbai and The Box in all the Park Hotels. They can also be ordered online.

Dutta launched AD Home in 2007 after fashion clients, smitten with the way he had done up the interiors of his studio, asked him to design furnishing. The line has cushion covers that sport goatskin and faux fur detailing and even wasted thread of machine embroidery. “These are influenced by everything from Origami to classic Hindi films,” he says. There are oval, sequin-studded silk cushions trimmed with bright magenta feathers for Rs 2,000 apiece, while chic red ones in imported felt from the Origami series cost Rs 2,000 a pair. The cushions are tagged between Rs 1,000 and Rs 6,000 a pair.

Dutta also designs pure leather patchwork rugs trimmed with faux fur that are priced upwards of Rs 10,000. And if you want a bit of shine on your floor, some of his rugs even have leather with metal foil detailing which gives them a metallic sheen.

Paul’s silk cushion covers are ornate numbers too with aari and zardosi embroidery, brocade patchwork, kantha-embroidered strips and sequins. “They’ve a very festive look and can be used to highlight any corner,” says Paul, whose cushion covers are priced upwards of Rs 2,500 each.

Looking for something more Western? Abraham & Thakore latest cushions use patterns like herringbone, twill, Prince of Wales checks and houndstooth. The designs are a combination of embroidery, print, weave, and resist-dyeing techniques. For instance, there’s a black polytaffeta cushion cover that has an ecru-coloured houndstooth pattern embroidered over it and a houndstooth-print tussar cushion that’s covered with transparent sequins. There’s even an ecru-coloured cotton velvet cushion with self-coloured leather appliqué.

“I use a lot of velvet, quilted silk, fake fur and leather, and embellish these with embroidery and crystals,” says Shantanu Goenka, who customises most of his cushion covers. The recent set of 15 covers he designed for a client had a red, black and gold combination, with red lamb’s wool, black fur and gold velvet and leather.

For Goenka, the fashion accessory line built up to home accessories. He recently created pretty knick-knacks such as Swarovski-studded napkin rings resembling large cocktail rings and doorknob hangings that looked like lehenga tassels for Lakshmi Mittal’s London home. “Mrs Mittal picked up a hair-pin I’d designed and told me she would like something along those lines for her home as well, so I replicated that design in napkin rings for her,” says Goenka, who had these home accessories produced in his fashion accessory unit in Delhi.

A class apart

Wendell Rodricks’ Home Linen Collection for Bombay Dyeing comes in five different themes

If you really want to impress your guests, look to the King of Kitsch for help. Manish Arora has designed a collection of tableware for Good Earth that flaunts motifs of peacocks, lotus, marigold and even tigers. “Manish Arora and Good Earth share the belief of using motifs from daily life in India, interpreted in a contemporary design language with global appeal,” says Garima Goel, senior manager, marketing and communication, Good Earth.

The striking peacock collection of mugs, glasses and dinner service, flaunts an intricate peacock design in shades of blue and yellow, with 24-carat gold detailing. The signature touch of kitsch comes in the form of fuchsia pink hearts. Prices go from Rs 1,400 to Rs 7,500. The Manish Arora line of fine bone china is available in all Good Earth outlets in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore.

And for those who want their furniture to spell luxury, Adarsh Gill designs teak furniture that’s plated with sterling silver. Gill began her furniture line after her interior designs for the homes of about a dozen clients were highly appreciated. Her repertoire includes chaise lounges, four-poster beds, dining sets, chairs and consoles, which she likes furnishing with satin or silk brocade. “My furniture sports different influences — colonial, modern eclectic, and art deco,” says Gill, whose travels to Europe and America have inspired her work. While she customises a lot of her furniture, her pieces are also available at her boutiques in Delhi and Mumbai. Gill also designs silver artifacts such as showpieces, vases and lampshades (prices are on request).

Photographs by Rashbehari Das and Jagan Negi

Headturners

From bedroom sets to jazzy cushions, there’s a variety of home accessories out there by top designers

Manish Arora’s tableware for Good Earth flaunts motifs like peacocks, lotus, marigold and tigers; (inset) The street-and-puppet theatre of Rajasthan has inspired Nida Mahmood’s coasters

A bed sheet set in Wendell Rodrick’s Home Linen Collection is tagged between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000

Prices in Good Earth’s Manish Arora Peacock Collection go from Rs 1,400 to Rs 7,500

Pick Nida Mahmood’s The Great Indian Bohemian Tamasha cushions for Rs 2,500 apiece

Abhishek Dutta’s rugs are priced upwards of Rs 10,000

An Abraham & Thakore set, comprising a duvet cover and two pillow covers, comes for Rs 11,000