Basil, the newly opened furniture store at Lake View Road, is a 2,000sq ft space wrapped in warmth. Spectacularly decorated with a display of artefacts, art pieces, furniture — all made of wood — the place reflects the brand’s tag line ‘art on wood’.
The brand that first opened doors in Kolkata in 2007 at New Alipore, is back to business with its signature style and the same spirit of “creating something out of nothing” after a short hiatus. Now, its presence is at two localities in south Kolkata — Southern Avenue and Lake View Road.
“I am a collector of unusual, vintage wooden objects and have the desire to create something artistic out of it. The passion got driven into a full-time profession. I chose this location because of the mostly Bengali client base we have had since we began our journey in 2007. They relate to what I have to present,” said Prakash Mehrotra, partner, Basil.
The space spread across five rooms spills with an aesthetic touch in every corner. The store designed with an overall distressed look, the interiors done up in soothing and fresh tones of green and white with complementing tiled flooring and colonial and Gothic-influenced art on wooden objects and furniture, add to the vibe. “I wanted people to relate our brand with something fresh, something refreshing, so I named it Basil. Our store ambience entices people to walk in, spend time and recreate the same warmth in their house,” added Prakash. The Telegraph took a walkthrough:
Illuminated with warm lights enhancing the beauty of the space, the store houses an eclectic range of furniture and decor products like mirrors, chests, dining tables, benches, coffee tables, wall art pieces, lamps and various quirky art pieces. The vintage collectibles or in-house created products are mostly made out of teak wood, a special focus of the brand.
Corners The Telegraph loved:
The highlight of this corner is the jharoka or window created from old cast iron grills sourced from different balconies of heritage houses in Kolkata to cover the space facing the road. The grills are treated, given a wooden base and designed keeping the vintage charm intact to create dividers and windows for contemporary use.
Old Burmese windows originally designed with the vivid floral artwork beautifies this corner displaying carved wooden floral stands and wooden toys used in the past. The windows are contemporarily used as wall art or mirrors.
This interesting corner in the store displayed intricately craved wooden mirrors, wooden pots, desks, benches and chairs. Some sourced and some created blending in contemporary and vintage design aesthetics, what took our fancy was the metal aeroplane used as toys for kids in the olden days.
Meet the man behind Basil: “One of my biggest inspiration was film-maker Rituparno Ghosh, a very dear friend and client. I loved his thought process. One day he walked into my store and made an impromtu neckpiece with an African broom and string,” shared Prakash Mehrotra with The Telegraph. “His vision inspired me. We used to discuss things on how to create things out of nothing. I intensively travel across India and outside to places like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to source vintage, teak wood furniture that are itself pieces of art, restored and redesigned keeping its essence intact to create a new piece of art. We customise furniture for people who can relate to the kind of art we do,” he added.
The Telegraph picks
What makes this wooden coffee table interesting is its wooden wheels supported by metal. It belonged to mine carts used on the mine tracks!
How quirky and cool is this Volkswagen logo-designed bar cabinet?! Made of metal, the headlight, rear view mirror, wiper blades add to the design detailing of this compact cabinet. Get your friends over, this interesting piece itself is the party starter!
Used as a make-up or sindoor box in olden days, this restored vintage piece designed intricately on wood can be used as a platter for your centre table.
This primitive wooden blender has been converted artistically into a tea light holder stand detailed with miniature metal sheep. Light up any dull corner of the house with an aesthetic touch !
This wooden horse, a sourced vintage art piece that is almost 60-70 years old used to be used as a toy earlier. It has been restored for using as a bench.
This majestic lion chair sourced from old palaces dates back to almost 80-90 years and is made out of a single piece of teak wood. Its beauty is complemented with a black lamp placed next to it that was used as candle light holder in palace corridors.
Created in-house with uneven blocks of wood stuck on the frame, this mirror can add an artistic touch to any wall in your house.
If you fancy unusual decor objects, this is bound to steal your heart! The stool is made with a tube well piece attached to wooden pieces.
This unusual wall hanging is made using the wooden design block used for printing, fixed on a chakla used for flattening bread.
What: Basil The Furniture Store
Where: 28A, Lake View Road and 121/1, Southern Avenue
Timings: 11.30am to 8.30pm (all days)
Price range starts from: Rs 950 onwards
Pictures: Pabitra Das
