With daybeds making a lasting impression in furniture trends, Abhilasha Ojha discovers that the market, apart from offering choices, is very high on design.
When Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien decided to give the humble charpoy a facelift, one wondered just what the outcome would be. It was an idea that struck them on a research trip to India. In 2007, at the Milan Furniture Fair, the Doshi Levien take on the traditional Indian daybed was finally presented and the response, unsurprisingly, was phenomenal. “The success of this design happened on a few levels,” Doshi had said in an interview. What Doshi Levien, the London-based design office that the couple opened in 2000, attempted with the charpoy was nothing short of a revolution in design. “The hand workmanship of the craftswomen in Ahmedabad was combined with industrial production of Italy… then placed into a contemporary design context. … the Indian buyers at the fair on walking past the stand, did a double take and were so impressed to see a European brand tapping into their culture in a very subtle way,” Doshi said in her interview. For Moroso, the Italian company that manufactured this design hybrid, the charpoy has been a bestseller since it was first exhibited and continues to sell at Rs 3.45 lakh upwards. (Shipping costs are extra with 12-15 weeks needed for delivery.)
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If Doshi Levien’s take on the Indian charpoy is finding many takers globally, the designer duo’s other range of daybeds, one of which is called Princess, is basically a daybed with layers of mattresses. The top mattress is covered with a composition of different objects and, since they draw inspiration from a modern princess, embroidered in gold and silver.
Daybeds allow us to indulge in an element of playfulness, an element of fun. And since many Indians now want it in their lounge areas, daybeds are breaking away from formal designs and Victorian overtones. Take the Ebony Gautier range of daybeds, for instance. Priced at Rs 35,000, these boast of an “orbit” design, one which really exudes a sense of fun and can be positioned differently to suit various options. So, you can adjust the headrests, fix them, align them together and even do away with the headboard-footboard combo, which, in turn, can be slotted into place via a wooden groove that’s inserted as part of the product’s overall design.
Far from contemporary designs, Living in Style, a Mumbai-based store, has a range of daybeds which boast of heavy frames in solid wood, richly upholstered velvet fabric and also, depending on your personal taste, excruciatingly ornate. The range of daybeds here start at Rs 10,000 onwards.
Our personal recommendation would include the range of daybeds that are available at Alchemy, the lifestyle-furniture store run by Nupur Gupta and Anupama Dalmia. Priced at Rs 62,000, the furniture at Alchemy is an ode to simplicity. While most of them are made in solid wood, the slatted wood design works really well in that it presents a very clean look. It’s uncluttered and very basic but extremely in sync with contemporary designs. We also give full marks to a daybed that we saw at Tangent. Its lavishly-designed curved back arches to give a regal appearance while the upholstery, done in a contemporary motif print in block-print, gives it an impeccable finish. Available at Rs 25,000, this could be the perfect piece in your family lounge area.
But why are daybeds suddenly gaining such unprecedented attraction? Experts say that space limitation is what is prompting younger couples to come up with solutions that look smart, elegant and effective. They’ll also have you believe that the lounge area in homes is a critical space area. It’s not something where you can simply throw a few cushions, place an old piece of furniture (read diwan) and forget about it. According to Sanjay Verma, country manager, Hästens, a luxury Swedish furniture brand, which recently opened its second outlet in Mumbai, “In our one year of Indian experience we find the daybed market gradually expanding. It’s more versatile than massage and lounge chairs.”At Hästens, the range of daybeds begins at Rs 1.5 lakh and these are made with “purely natural and eco-friendly ingredients”.
What I find fascinating is the multitude of textures that can be combined to give daybeds a great makeover. At Evok, another lifestyle store, we found a daybed done up in suede fabric. But giving it a style twist were cushion covers in raw silk fabric and a casual throw in wool. Priced at Rs 18,000, the Evok daybed look can be replicated on your old lounge bed too. In fact, a good idea would be to make a quick trip to your neighbourhood cloth store, or — better still — to the Khadi Gramodyog Bhawan, in search of rich fabrics in raw silk that can instantly give your daybed a brand new look.
Happy lounging, then.