SUBTLE SOPHISTICATION
Redefining understated elegance, we take a peek inside fashion designer Anavila Misra's Diwali-ready Mumbai home
IF DIWALI CELEBRATIONS conjure up images of bedecked, brightly-lit homes, Anavila Misra shows that festival time needn’t always call for ostentation. The acclaimed designer dresses up her home in her own signature way—one that spells understated elegance and charm. The beige sofa gets a makeover with silk covers and the metal lamps by Anuj Kasliwal take centrestage here. Marigold and fresh chrysanthemums dot the house and her collection of candles lights up the space. Like her subtle linen and silk saris that are precious picks in wardrobes across the country, Misra’s Khar home reflects her love for a muted aesthetic and ethnic crafts. The living room is bathed in shades of cream and beige with paintings, a framed photograph of an artisan she has worked with, crafts by artists across India and artefacts from around the world. “I love white and beige as they have a soothing effect and make me want to come home to a calm environment. Colours ruin my peace,” she says. So, the odd dose of colour comes from numerous plants and an ochre table runner in an otherwise pristine home with light drapes that filter the bright sunshine.
A walk through Misra’s home feels like an exploration of an enviable collection of crafts. “Art should have a story,” she says. Predictably,
nothing is thoughtlessly picked up and every artefact in her home tells memorable tales of her travels—a metallic gong picked up from a sale hosted by an old couple in Singapore, a hem table runner from Vietnam, a bench from Shantiniketan, ceramics from Berlin and Netherlands and a marble Ganesha from Agra.
ARTIST AT HEART
Misra loves her work and it shows in the way it seamlessly blends into her home. In the living room are Madhubhani paintings by artist Chandrabhushan Kumar. His depiction of the Tree of Life shows the Ganga flowing with fish and lotus flowers blooming in her path, a pictorial metaphor for the river than nourishes and sustains life. “I had done a show with him where he sought inspiration from different trees,” she says. Opposite that is a large framed black and white portrait of a woman—an artisan from Jharkhand who Misra had trained in khatwa, an appliqué art from Bihar.
NATURE IN ALL ITS FORMS
The potted indoor plants—birds of paradise and maidenhair fern—add to the calming air of the house. But what catches your attention—and gives a peek into the designers sense of aesthetic—is the collection of dried brown grass and wilting roses kept in vases. “Dried flowers and plants have so much more character. The entire process of drying and changing colours is so beautiful,” she says. Similar earthy tones find their way into her designs which are lapped up for red carpet appearances by celebrities, work wear by professionals and elegant occasion wear. Her artistic mind doesn’t like set arrangements and prefers a free-flowing form. “I don’t like bouquets. I like flowers which look like they’ve just been plucked,” she says. The bunch of chrysanthemums in a glass vase has the slightly unkempt and raw charm that Misra admires.
PERSONAL TOUCH
Misra didn’t seek professional help while designing her house three years ago. So, a cross stitch wall piece made by her grandmother hangs above her bed. The desk by the window has ceramic pots from crafts bazaars and a painting by Berlin-based artist Allen Shaw. To top it all, Misra dresses her home for the festivities with flowers and fairy lights.