Entrepreneur couple Nikhil and Payal Sen's home is a "collection of stories", finds Abhilasha Ojha
The eyes have way too much to take in at this old Jor Bagh residence in New Delhi. The walls are a dull cream colour, the sort you’d find in most homes across the country. But what lends colour, vibrancy and so much energy to this cosy home is the artwork: sculptures, silver memorabilia and what have you. “Look,” I whisper, delighted, to the photographer as we climb up to the second floor, pointing out a series of eight Husain paintings. The photographer, in the meantime, is busy ogling at a Tyeb Mehta on another wall. Like we said, the home is an open invitation to soak in the pleasures afforded by art. There are works by renowned and upcoming Indian artists and the house is almost like a private gallery where we are let loose to enjoy the colours and brush strokes.
The owners of this otherwise simple home, young entrepreneur Nikhil Sen and his beautiful wife Payal, have done ample justice to all the works by different artists, displaying these stunningly in different parts of their home, split over three floors. Little wonder then that the artwork forms the centerpiece of this home. “It’s a way of living,” says Nikhil, who is spearheading the business of GHCL, a global textile conglomerate. His recent acquisition: bringing Rosebys London, one of the biggest lifestyle brands there, to India. Having opened 13 stores in cities like Bangalore and Ahmedabad, he now plans to bring the brand to Delhi and Mumbai too.
“I don’t like any one particular look,” says Payal, who will spearhead Rosebys Design Studio, a complete home solutions brand. The idea of this studio, she says, is not just to throw home and lifestyle products in the face of the discerning consumer but also to study how every aspect, every corner of a client’s home can reflect his or her own personality.
Looking around at how Payal has managed to fuse the contemporary with the classic in her own home, we feel that this is actually a perfect example of how one can — and should — lend their sense of aesthetics to their home. Of course, there are areas which are incongruous with the otherwise perfect look of the Sen’s home. There’s a small part on one of the walls that’s peeling away, for instance and the upholstery, especially the one on the first floor in beige, may not be doing ample justice to the perfect setting. But what’s charming about the home is the manner in which Payal and Nikhil have created a look by simply juxtaposing these “lived in” elements with their incredible collection of art.
“Art is a very critical component for our home,” says Payal, who explains how she and her husband collect different objects to “create stories in our home”. There are impressive pieces in silver (“it is heritage,” Payal tells us), large crystal pieces (we spot Lalique and Daume too), an array of objects in glass and some gorgeous photographs in some exquisite photo frames. I particularly love an area lined with a lot of pottery from the Ming dynasty. “It’s not like going for a holiday and simply buying out stuff from a store. We select our objects with utmost care and before one knows it, we end up creating impressive areas for our home,” she adds.
Though I haven’t seen too many other examples of how sculpture can be fused in residential areas, the Sen home is the perfect one, I feel, to get an idea of the possibilities. There are beautiful bronze sculptures by Sheela Chamaria, including an incredible “Mother and child”. There’s another stone sculpture too but, in what’s a clear highlight on the Sens’ ground-floor living room (they have three living rooms spread over three floors), there is a sculpture of an old lady with a potli. The medium is tin and this is the creation of an artist called Narayan. It is kept in the centre of the living room and it’s absolutely delightful. Impressive Victorian mirrors, art works by the likes of Husain, Jatin Das, Manu Parekh, Sanjay Bhattacharya, Ram Kumar and Tyeb Mehta make sure that your eyes only ogle at art and learn more about how it should be placed in homes. The lighting has been given a lot of emphasis to highlight the content.
As far as Nikhil is concerned, it’s exactly the kind of home that he desires for each one of his discerning consumers in India. “Through Rosebys, I’m trying to address the gap in our home lifestyle segment market,” he says, confident that his brand will — and already is — finding takers.
The Sens’ residence is an example of how homes should — and can — be. And going by what they’ve created, it seems Rosebys is already on the right track.
