From Concept To Completion: An Insider’s Look At The Design Process

It’s been thirteen years since I began practising interior design. I’ve designed over 100 homes, which means I’ve worked with 100 different families. Every home is unique, and every client has a different story that, as a designer, I need to translate into their home through interior design. Early in my career, I understood that this work is about much more than aesthetics, colour combinations, and selecting fancy furniture and decor. Interior design is a core business, but at the same time, we are creating homes that cater to emotion, comfort, and functionality to enhance one’s lifestyle. While it may seem effortless online—magical transformations from mood boards to finished homes—there is much that goes into translating clients’ stories into living spaces.

It means taking the unique narratives, personalities, and lifestyles of clients and shaping these elements into physical environments that reflect who they are. Each space becomes a personalised, lived-in story, rather than a generic or purely aesthetic setup.

From Concept To Completion: An Insider’s Look At The Design Process

Our initial meetings focus on discussing their family, lifestyle choices, and how they envision living and feeling in their new home. We don’t start with colours or aesthetics just yet. We delve deeply into the client’s life, values, memories, and dreams. This might include family history, meaningful experiences, or cultural background. We then suggest using colours, textures, and layouts that evoke emotions and experiences meaningful to the client. For example, a traveller might appreciate globally inspired decor or natural materials, while someone with a family legacy might want heirlooms integrated in a modern way. Many times, women have old furniture and art pieces from their wedding with loads of memories and we give them a modern twist, refurbishing it at times and integrating it into their new home. 

Functionality is extremely important to us for which understanding the flow and routine of a client is extremely essential. So, we design around the client’s daily routines, work-life balance, and preferences. Spaces should enhance the client's way of living, making their day-to-day life easier and more joyful. For example, a cosy reading hook right around a window, or a meditation room with loads of natural light or a multi-purpose room which converts from a study to a guest room when needed. 

Choosing or creating pieces that symbolise important life events or beliefs is another great way of converting client’s stories into living spaces. This might include personalised art, furniture crafted from meaningful materials, or even plants and scents that remind the client of cherished places. Photographs are a great and personalised wall decor taking the client down memory lane. We always suggest decorating the home slowly and collecting decor over travels to fill it with things which spark absolute joy!

We make sure the final design is beautiful and aligns with the client’s story rather than trending styles. This makes the space feel warm, authentic, and long-lasting. And our tagline proudly says: “Designing Happy Homes.” We mean this literally not just by giving the client the home of their dreams but also making the process of designing smooth. 

Authored by Sonika Khurana, an interior design Influencer and the founder of Coloraza.