A GLOBAL AFFAIR
Jet down to Mumbai’s hippest stopover, Sidewalks of the World, for your fix of distinctive home decor needs.
Mumbai’s Sidewalks of the World is the hippest stopover for your decor needs
Standing tall on the one-way, close-to-the-sea link, Chapel Road, in Bandra, Mumbai, Sidewalks of the World revels in the company of starry cafés, dishy delis and slick salons. Set up-and-away, from the street, the 4,000sq ft three-storied store is a browsers’ delight. Enter and you will be enveloped by a cornucopia of high-end décor essentials, each ardent eclectic piece vying for attention.
During his travels in Europe, to ferret out artistes to showcase, owner Rajiv Biyani, was so intrigued and impressed with the ethos of the flea bazaars, artistes’ markets, and alleys of Europe’s weekly markets, that they became the mood board for the store, and it was hence named Sidewalks of the World. Exclusivity is the go-word here, though there is something for each type of curio hunter, with styles ranging from kitsch, retro, and refitted, to vintage, distressed, as well as the newly minted old-world designs. “We are a complete solutions store and stock paintings for the walls, objets d’art for the mantel, knick-knacks for the kitchen, and furniture
for the terrace,” says Biyani.
Begin your foraging in the basement, which is chock-a-block with most collections—utilitarian as well as decorative. The display has been divided amongst focus walls and niches, and freestanding assembly shelves. In one corner you will find the mud home-like brick red niche, inspired by Morocco, while the other has plain white wood shelving. Further along, corrugated aluminium sheets form walls on which wooden shipping crates turn into rustic-looking shelves, while floor space at another is occupied by display unit created by AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete) bricks. Biyani says, “We didn’t want run-of-the-mill display.” If the products are to be exclusive, so will be their display, is the mantra.
There are marionettes and coasters from Amsterdam, ceramic farm animals handmade by Fara in north France, porcelain ballet dancers from the Kings Collection, Italy, hand-painted Hell’s Angels figurines, and centre tables, chest of drawers and consoles from Germany. Not to be missed are tea pots shaped-like
sewing machines, a series of Indian meals, and cheese and pizza platters by artisans from Vicenza, Italy, the award-winning ceramic Sardine dinner set from the Jersey Islands, fridge magnets from Albotrade, and limited edition tin and enamel plates from Emailreplica, from Italy. Then there are pieces such as bathtub converted into a two-seater leather upholstered couch, a glass-jar chandelier, and antique musical instruments refitted to be floor lamps.
At the ground level, done up in all-white, the centre of attraction is the leather-aluminium-steel riveted furniture, which draws inspiration from vintage aircrafts, as well as the spring-mounted rocking bar stools made from palm wood. The shaded mezzanine, which follows the simple design of the floor below, reveals home textiles from Delhi-based brand The Mansion, headed by Anuja and Siddharth, in conjunction with Sidewalks.
Quite unexpectedly, this festival of assorted objects is punctuated with artworks by Indian artistes such as SH Raza, Akbar Padamsee, Asit Patnaik, Debu Barve, and others. Says Biyani, “We wanted to use the walls to showcase fast-selling artistes, especially the ones between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 8 lakh.” Limited edition serigraphs by SH Raza and Akbar Padamsee are also available. Also, you cannot miss the wall-installable mosaic artworks by Nita Joshi, which sums up the variety at Sidewalks onto one frame.
With a soon-to-be launched in-store café, the store seems set to be the go-to place for a taste of distinctive culture and a cup of green tea. At: Westside Building, Chapel Road, Near Mt Carmel Church, Reclamation, Bandra (West), Mumbai. Tel: 022-26407172