Nandita Manwani is among the most respected Interior Designers in Bangalore and is the founder of The Studio by Nandita Manwani - a design & interior-works company focused exclusively on lifestyle-based Residential Interiors.
Nandita has been a regular guest columnist with Deccan Herald & her work has featured across various national and international print & digital media. She was recently ranked among the top women interior designers in Bangalore and as one of the top upcoming interior designers in India. Her work has won the Best of Houzz acclaim for the last 2 years in a row and she is recognized as amongst the top Interior Designers to follow by the magazine.
Nandita is also the author of the most popular blog on home interiors in the country (www.homedesignbangalore.com) and over the last 9 years her work & her writing has helped over one and a half million home makers during their own home making journey.
Over the last decade helping people realize their dream called home has been her passion, much more than just a profession.
To know more about her work please visit www.thestudiobangalore.com
Stainless steel kitchens are gaining popularity in Indian homes, known for their durability, hygiene, and modern aesthetic. While traditionally seen in commercial settings, stainless steel is making its way into residential spaces, offering a robust, easy-to-clean option perfect for the demands of Indian cooking. However, it’s not without its drawbacks—higher costs, susceptibility to scratches, and a colder appearance may be factors to consider. For those seeking long-lasting, low-maintenance solutions, stainless steel is a great fit, especially in humid areas, though balancing it with other materials could provide a warmer, homier feel.
“Design Furniture – You create Convenience, Design a Space – You create Comfort, Design a Home – You create Culture.” I often tell home makers that designing furniture for a home is fundamentally different from designing a home for a family. After the discussion most folks walk away with a […]
In all Total Environment projects across Bangalore, you will notice a set of general principles around which their homes are architected – things such as the emphasis on bringing the outdoors in, large windows and strategic landscaping – all contribute to creating an environment where the boundary between the interior […]
Since the Japandi theme is in vogue nowadays I thought the best way to explain the theme for the benefit of my readers would be to show some pics of the actual design done, so here goes
What most customers do not know is that the type of shutter and the finish you can have on it are related, the finish in turn determines the ruggedness of the shutter and hence its appropriateness for specific spaces for the home. So, while it is great to want to have a certain shutter style in one’s home it is important to understand whether the style can be matched with the finish and the type of use of the shutter & your own lifestyle.
Life stage based interior design is a concept that I have discussed on this blog multiple times but it will be good to give it a little more perspective and make it specific to each life-stage when a design intervention may be necessary…hence this blog post today. I trust you will find the thoughts relevant if you are planning to refurbish your home in line with your own life stage
The best-looking designs – and this is irrespective of the finish, colour selection or the money spent – are the ones that pay attention to attain an overall balance and symmetry.
Building & Interiors Magazine in conjunction with Siemens India published my interview on the subject of Kitchen Appliances for the Home and how these need to be planned as part of an overall home design project. A soft copy of the interview is available here https://buildingandinteriors.com/appliances-are-an-indispensable-part-of-an-indian-kitchen-design-nandita-manwani/ Happy reading Nandita
Lighting Design fundamentally determines the personality of the space and how people perceive it, feel in it and how they ultimately behave in it.
The interesting part is that Lighting Planning demands the brightness of spaces NOT be distributed evenly – if you evenly distribute the Lux then the space will feel boring, … like a terrace restaurant in daytime, and you don’t want that. Lighting for Ambience is really the art of managing the Darkness.
Each space, the way it is designed, built, maintained, kept dirty or kept clean exudes a certain culture, that culture drives the behavior and life of the people occupying the space – be it a family, office staff, visitors or shoppers. This is perhaps the same reason why pan gets spit in spitted corners and not in clean corners and why garbage is dumped on un-maintained land just because the land is anyhow unclean and a bit more garbage will not change its nature.
Let’s take this a step further – if the manner in which a space is built and maintained can determine the way people behave in it then can we not consciously Design spaces to cultivate a certain culture and behavior? The answer to that is an absolute YES
Home renovation is an area that most customers struggle with, I hence thought it best to pen down our experience and our learnings so that others benefit from it.
Two updates that happened over the last few days which we are very exited about The Architecture & Interior Design Excellence Awards Conference 2022 held earlier in March this year recognized The Studio by Nandita Manwani as the Best Interior Design Firm of the year 2022. Deeply honored to receive […]
The recent fetish for Dark as well as the younger generation’s desire to try out new and different concepts for their spaces – both homes and offices, is now driving the demand for Dark Themes in Interior Design. While there is demand, the supply for dark themed interiors is constrained by the designers’ or the home maker’s skill to bring it to life. Dark themes can give an extremely classy and contemporary feel to spaces and how to get it right is what we will discuss in this article today
A functional lining of the bottom portion of walls that started as a technique for wall protection and retaining heat within homes in 13th Century Europe has now become an Interior Design trend in India. What I am talking about is Wainscoting & every second customer planning Interiors for their Home who I have spoken to in this last 6 months wants it.
Google sends us a monthly report on what posts on this blog get the most attention and readership. Over the last few months, we have been tracking the report it seems there is a general trend in what customers search for when it comes to the subject of interior design. […]
MinimAtion – Minimalism + Automation in Interior Design – The Latest Trend that is making Interior Designers go back to their drawing boards, reskill and return.
The idea for this post came when, during a design discussion, the lady of the house said “I AM a Home Baker”, so I asked her to send me pictures of her present Kitchen just to get some pointers on how the new kitchen should be. To my surprise I saw very little baking equipment in there.
I had written on this topic some time back on this blog, an updated version of the post was published on Times of India Online . I am replicating the post here for the readers of this blog The Pandemic of the BOXES – Why Interior Designers need to think […]
Designing a home based on a theme aligns the space to what the theme fundamentally represents – things such as energy, peace, calm, efficiency, indulgence, frugality, nature and the likes. It is because of this that the subject of “Themes for Home Interiors” comes up quite often in interior design […]
The Pandemic has brought profound changes to the way people live – be it the requirement of constant sanitization, the home doubling up as both the office and the school, all the way to higher rates of pet adoption to ward away loneliness. Interior designers in Bangalore and across the […]
Times of India Online will now be featuring my Interior Design Blog. I have named it “The Culture of Space” in line with the profound influence of design on the culture, behaviour and moods it curates. I had also written an article on it sometime back on this Blog. We […]
The Pandemic is forcing Interior Designers to think differently. The doubling up of the home as an office is inducing cultural changes in the home environment that need a fundamental shift in perspective in how home interior design needs to be thought, planned and executed. I will be speaking on […]
The Redfin Blog recently requested inputs from leading Interior Designers across the Globe on the major trends in Interior Design in the year 2020 and the Interior themes that are expected to gain momentum in the current year. At “The Studio” we feel that 2020 was a defining year for […]
Pleased to mention that our work has won the Best of Houzz Award in the design category for the year 2021. Our work was chosen by the millions of homeowners that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 2.5 million active home building, renovation and design industry professionals. Just […]
If you have not seen the “matka painting” pictures on our facebook page then do click here to check them out, I’ll then tell you what this pot painting has got to do with our topic here today The Matka painting was a part of a larger design project for […]
We are shaking off the Covid stupor and launching our Internship program for 2021. Interested 3rd year Interior Design Students can apply at hr@thestudiobangalore.com. Details are below
Over the last few months, I have had several conversations with customers about Pinterest. The most interesting one was with a lady who was looking for complete redesign and rework – she had given photos downloaded from Pinterest to a carpenter and now that everything was ready, the family did […]
Lifestyle based interior design…Going beyond just making a style statement A couple of incidents in these past few months set me thinking deeper on the subject of lifestyle based interior design and what it really really means on the ground and at the time of planning and execution. While the […]
I was wondering what to write next, sitting home under lockdown when my daughter recommended why not write something on what folks should do for home improvement now that Modiji has bound all of us down by another three weeks. Great idea I thought, rather get people to do something […]
Stacking stone and stone in general has been extremely popular with home makers and home interior design in general across Bangalore. Till a few years back almost two thirds of customers I met wanted some kind of a stone structure in their home – be it a highlight wall or […]
I have written about designing homes based on lifestyle of the inhabiting family, today I want to turn that concept around and discuss how design helps create a certain culture of space that influences how people live and behave in that space. The Interaction of life and design is something […]
I was browsing over all the old posts on my blog and could not believe that this is a topic that I’ve missed writing on. Choosing the right finish for woodwork is something that puzzles almost all home makers and making the wrong choice compromises the entire design and the […]
November 3 it is — Just in case you missed the earlier two Masterclasses, here is another chance for you to attend this November. For those who are reading this for the first time – these masterclasses are for new home owners and folks planning to have their homes designed […]
One of our projects was recently featured by Houzz Magazine. Read all about it here 30 Kitchen Cabinets With Contrasting Colour Combinations Cheers Nandita
The interest in Lacquered glass shutters for home interiors seems to have picked up lately in Bangalore. I’ve had a number of folks asking for lacquered glass finish for their Kitchens & Wardrobes and while the finish looks great, it comes with its own set of pros and cons. Before […]
Earlier this April I had written about our hunt for optimizing cost for Interiors and how that exercise took our teams to parent manufacturers cutting out the middlemen etc. (you can read about that here). The whole objective was to be able to give home-makers a complete an honest home […]
I recently had a vendor hand over a sample of HDHMR, the new magic material for woodwork that is expected to provide a lower cost but better option than plywood. Before I move further let me de-jargonize and explain what HDHMR means. The acronym stands for High Density High Moisture […]
Announcing the second edition of our “show and tell” masterclass on Interior Design Best practices for Home Makers The masterclass will be held at the state-of-the-art Residential Interior Design Experience Center situated off Kanakapura Road, Bangalore. Enrolment is restricted home makers expecting possession of their new homes this year. Students, […]
Interiors and Interior Design is usually the last item on the home buying list. Once the bank, builder and broker are paid off home makers end up with little for doing up their interiors. With shoestring interior budgets home makers end up compromising on the material, designs and workmanship, falling short of the dream home that they imagined. Planning the budgets for interiors hence needs to be integral to the process of home buying
Had the privilege of hosting the design masterclass for students of the school of Interior Design at Jain University Campus last week. A very positive experience interacting with the young breed of upcoming interior designers and giving them a glimpse of good design practices and expectations from design in the […]
A number of readers of this blog have asked questions around what work sequence one needs to follow while doing interiors for their home. We all know how painful it can be in Bangalore just to secure availability of good vendors like electricians, carpenters, plumbers, painters, the false roofing guy […]
How Interior Vendors cut corners to deliver on unrealistic budgets of customers. Practices in the Interior Design Industry that you should know as you go hunting for Interiors for your home.
When working with an interior designer, home makers usually expect just good woodwork and carpentry. The Q&A below discusses why customers should expect more from their designers and why that is not only good for the project but also for the Home Maker – Designer engagement.
In addition good interior design can be life changing for the occupants and helps in creating a living culture that stays with the family throughout their life
This article comes to us from our partner Artburt. Artburt has been passionately promoting the cause of Digital Photography as an art form since the last few years. In a discussion with Sriharsha & Siri (Artburt’s founders) last week we briefly were talking about some of the best practices to […]
I was looking for Hi Gloss finish options that are 100% waterproof for the utility and other open to the rain spaces and was recently handed a trial sample of Polymer Shutters by one of the manufacturers. While acrylic shutters have been around for some time (note that acrylic also […]
Chapter 1: It’s not the box babe’ – it’s your Life The boxes have taken over, where we live – BOX, our entertainment – BOX (think TV), our breakfast – BOX (think breakfast cereals, tetrapack milk), our lunch – BOX (think Swiggy), our travel – BOX (think Car), Our work […]
Last week we were notified by the Houzz team that we have been awarded the Best of Houzz in both the Design and Service categories. The awardees are chosen by the Houzz community of which I understand a lot of the readers of this blog are members – so a […]
I recently received a question from one of the readers of this blog on flooring options and recommendations and realised that this is a subject that I have not dwelled upon in my posts…so here goes Flooring options literally can floor home makers (pun intended) with the breadth and depth […]
We are all set to host our second Residential Interior Design Masterclass – this one will be on Home Lighting and Automation. See additional details below and if you are interested in attending then please register asap as we have capacity to host not more than 10 families. Do help […]
Finally did it!!! yoo hooo. This Nov the 17th our objective was to go beyond the written word on this blog and do an actual show and tell of Residential Interior Design Best Practices in front of home makers at our experience centre. We spent a month collecting & preparing […]
Since now I had a big enough place at the new experience center I thought why not!!! SO…we are taking this blog to the next level by ACTUALLY inviting home makers to the experience center and doing a show and tell of residential design principles, lighting, furniture placement and all […]
We recently started hosting clients at our Interior Design Experience Center and it is a whole new feeling to do an actual show and tell the Interior Design best practices that I have been speaking of all these years. Below are some initial pictures of the Experience Center Interiors. I […]
This has been a topic that a number of readers of this blog have been requesting for since quite a while. Was finally able to pen this down over the weekend. Painting of the home has been a major area of grouse and confusion for home owners. Grouse because vendors […]
A lot of people wonder what makes a well-designed home different from, well, one that is not. I have dwelled over this question for many years and have finally concluded that there are 5 key design elements that each home needs. Each of these 5 need to be blended together […]
Today’s edition of Deccan Herald hosts an article on the value that an interior designer adds to the home making process as well as tips on how to go about looking for the right designer for your home. The author has encapsulated views from prominent interior designers in Bangalore to […]
Exited to share the first pics of my Exclusive Residential Interior Design Experience center coming up off Kanakapura Road. The inauguration is planned on Ugadi day – Mar 18th. The center will provide a space to display best practices in residential interior design, different material finishes etc. and will provide […]
Thanks to all your wishes, The Studio was selected among the top upcoming interior designers in the country. The magazine in print will be available in stands next week. Do read about it here https://industry.siliconindiamagazine.com/vendor/the-studio-by-nandita-manwani-a-lifestyle-interior-design-firm-built-on-the-foundation-of-trust-cid-3799.html Glad, encouraged, thankful & deeply humbled. Cheers Nandita
This blog today hosts over 3500 Q&A on home interiors under different posts. For some of the more popular posts there are over 500 questions underneath and the blogger tool has been found incapable to handle such volume. We therefore launched a stand alone Q&A module on www.thestudiobangalore.com yesterday that […]
My first article on this blog in the year 2010 was on the same subject. To make it more relevant to today’s needs I spent some time updating that article and including fresh perspectives and experiences to it. Read on, and as always will welcome your questions, thoughts & comments […]
We have been getting some love from the press lately :). Please read about it here https://thestudiobangalore.com/press-coverage.php Cheers Nandita PS: If you have a question to ask then please note: On Nov 15th we have launched the Q&A module on The Studio website. The Q&A interface on this blog was unable […]
While this project was completed quite a while back, we were able to take some good pics just last week. Posting a few of them here. This one is in Acrylic finish Modular Kitchen – Full View View from the Breakfast Counter Kitchen Corner Unit Storage Kitchen Drawer Storage Cheers […]
A few days back I happened to get an email from a senior member of the Kitply Management team acknowledging the issue of Plywood Fakes available in the market. The gentleman also mentioned some of the things that Kitply is trying to do to weed out the fakes. I am […]
This subject has been close to my heart and I had written this article a long time ago. Glad to announce that the article was featured in Deccan Herald last Friday. I have been of a firm opinion that Interior design is not just about the woodwork nor the decor […]
I have been getting a number of questions around Acrylic versus Laminate finish, where to buy Acrylic Laminates in Bangalore and how to use them for Modular Kitchen & Wardrobe Shutter construction, hence thought of penning this down as a dedicated post. Even before we get into a discussion on […]
My article on whether to build furniture or to buy it from the market and how organised furniture retail will change the role of the Interior Designer published in the Bangalore edition of Deccan Herald today. Here is the link to the article on Deccanherald.com http://www.deccanherald.com/content/622540/how-do-you-like-your.html
Exited to announce that after 6 months of work we launched the new website for The Studio. For those of you who are new to this blog The Studio is my own venture offering Customised Turnkey Home Interiors, Modular Kitchens & Wardrobes across Bangalore. The new website consolidates the 3 […]
With the unorganized furniture retail market in India touching approx. $20 Billion, early bird online furniture retailers like Pepperfry, Urban Ladder as well as organized furniture retailers such as Lifestyle, Hometown, @ Home & Evok etc. have been busy tightening their supply chain, product designs and quality to capture a […]
This one was keeping me busy over the last 3 months, so apologies for not being too active on the Blog. This was an end to end Interior design & Execution project including Decor, Furnishings and the full nine yards. Here are some pictures, shall welcome your comments and inputs […]
A couple of my Home interior projects were recently featured by Homify magazine. Do please see them in the links below. https://www.homify.com/ideabooks/2896375/40-dining-room-tables-to-copy-from https://www.homify.com/ideabooks/2831314/7-home-office-decor-ideas-for-you-to-copy Happy browsing Nandita
Modular kitchen at a project that I handed over earlier this week. Clicked this on my mobile phone and it just came out well …felt like posting it on the blog 🙂 More pics from the project will follow – so watch this space Cheers Nandita
This blog is now over 7 years old and over these years a lot of what I have written about in the initial years has evolved – things like interior design practices, new materials available in the market for home interiors, cost of materials, places to shop for interior work […]
Found my way to Chikpet/ City Market today after many many years. All this while I have been doing my shopping for light fittings in and around South Bangalore, however for an an ongoing project I have been on the look out for specialty lighting hence thought of checking out […]
Featured among the top Women Interior Designers in Bangalore by Nearfox Magazine :). THe original article can be found at https://nearfox.com/bangalore/e/female-interior-designers … read on, Seven Female Interior Designers From Bangalore Who’re At The Top Of Their Game Are you conscious about the aesthetics of your home and do not […]
Some pictures that my client sent me last week of an interior project I did at Salarpuria Greenage nearly 3 years back. Great to see that the home still looks to be in top shape. Have also posted these to the FB page https://www.facebook.com/homedesignbangalore Living Room Design TV Unit Design Crockery […]
Additional Pictures of Home Interior Design & Turnkey Interiors at Concorde Napa Valley Bangalore. These have been taken in daylight to reflect the true colours of the home Living Room Design Living Cum Dining Room Living Cum Dining Room – Another view Crockery Unit Dining Area Dining Area – Another […]
Today being an auspicious day we formally launched www.thestudiobangalore.com. It is a master site for The Studio Kitchens, The Studio Wardrobes and www.homedesignbangalore (this blog). Do also go through the Kitchens section on www.thestudiobangalore.com – this is a new website launched for the Designer Kitchen Range. Do wish me luck […]
Here is something that I had written sometime back that saw the light in Deccan Herald today for the benefit of the many who are yet to be readers of this blog :). As always the unedited, uncensored and the full version of the article is below for the […]
The regular readers of this blog would have come across, in one of the earlier posts, this list of things to check on before taking full and final possession of one’s home from the builder . I was updating this checklist sometime back for my own use and felt that […]
Imagine a repository of 2000 Frequently Asked Questions and how to’s on interior design and home interiors….how cool would that be. Well, surprise surprise, we crossed the 2000 Q&A milestone on THIS blog last week – look through the comments under each of the blog posts. The content in there […]
News of senior citizens tripping, falling and injuring themselves at home is nowadays something that one hears of quite often. Such injuries often result in altering the quality of life of the elderly, sometimes even affecting longevity and self esteem. As a designer I have felt that a number of […]
My article above was published in Deccan Herald today. You may read it here http://www.deccanherald.com/content/535128/art-homes-sake.html However…..since, as readers of this blog, you are special – I am posting the unedited, original and the much cooler version of the same article for you below. As always, will welcome any thoughts, inputs & […]
Found this brilliant article on lighting for your home on the internet, could not help but share. https://www.americanlightingassoc.com/…/3-Types-of-Lighting Regards NM
If you have been on Bangalore roads in the last couple of weeks you would not have missed the huge posters of Shahrukh Khan promoting ACE Tech 2015, in fact the newspapers have been ringing with full page ads of the exhibition as well. One wonders what has Sharukh got […]
Deccan Herald has started an “Ask the Expert” section in their Friday Homes & Interiors segment where I will be answering reader queries. They possibly got inspired by the over 1600 Q&A on this blog :). The first Q&A got published this morning – have pasted the snipping below. This […]
Hi, These pictures have been lying around on my phone for a long time, finally ended up posting them on the Facebook Page. For the first time I could appreciate FB for the ease that it offers for posting pictures without which these pics may lost their way on the […]
Home Interiors and Decorators This one is for readers who have or are in the process of renting out a home. The simple tips below should help you get your home to reflect your lifestyle and your style without cashing out your wallet. This article also appeared on the home […]
Thestudiobangalore Over the last few months, I realized that I have been accumulating a good number of photographs of interior work – both ongoing and finished, on my phone and nearly none had found their way to this blog. The prime culprit – the thought that I will “one day” […]
My article below was published in Deccan Herald last Friday. The free text is pasted below. Happy reading Cheers Nandita The role of an Interior Designer and tips to get the best out of your Interior designer for your home design project. If you have a house getting ready for […]
The article on the left was published in today’s Deccan Herald. It encapsulates and consolidates all the Kitchen Design Best practices mentioned across different posts on this blog. Reproducing it below for my readers … here goes… ————————– It’s that place in your home where you are likely to spend […]
After spending a bomb on interiors in terms of resources, time and love – it’s painful to see things slowly (sometimes not so slowly) coming apart as the home ages and matures. As a home making professional even I have felt this anguish seeing my creations going down especially when […]
The subject article was featured in Deccan Herald today. You can also read it at http://www.deccanherald.com/content/445623/selecting-sofas-safe-way.html. The free text is also pasted below Thank You Deccan Herald team for helping spread the light 🙂 Full leather, Half leather, Fabric, Cane, Wooden, Reclining, Sectional, Tuxedo, Chesterfield, Camelback ….whoa, the choice is almost […]
Lately in a number of my projects I found lacunae left behind by the builder and the customers running around struggling to get these rectified by the builder. To help avoid this run around I have tried to compile a checklist of things below that folks should run through with […]
Sometime back on this blog I wrote on a couple of topics, one around whether you really need an interior designer and another on the “design” element in interior design. Interestingly, last night I came across an old TED talk that takes the above expression even further The talk (it’s […]
I wrote about the Eco range of interiors for 2/ 3 BHK apartments sometime back. Here are a few photographs of the Ecopackage executed recently. PS: The photo credit for these go to “yours truly” and to Samsung Cameraphones 🙂 Master Bedroom Wardrobe & Dresser – Purva Highlands Master Bedroom […]
I have often found that a number of things get left out when folks plan interiors for their home. This either leads to a budget creep or a last minute scramble to get everything in order before moving in and some of it gets left out altogether. I have hence […]
