Inside the heart of Delhi, one finds a spacious precinct of 15,000 sq. ft. that is fashioned to conjure the modern Indian home. Contemporary in spirit, the project by Aarati Neelam, founder of Neeleraa, makes a silent yet forceful statement on coexistence of culture and modernity within one space. Something about the present geometry lines, with such lustrous artisanal details, blends straight over earthy palettes and subtle cultural motifs and truly stands as a testament to Aarati’s philosophy that interiors are both very personal and timeless at the same time.
Aarati’s journey within the design realm is one of resolve and conviction; she studied interior design at the International Institute of Fashion Technology while managing motherhood. Following that, she worked alongside some of the nation’s most distinguished architects. In 2009, she founded Neeleraa, a boutique studio deriving its name from the amalgamation of names of her mother and herself, in signification of the ideas relating to legacy, identity, and continuity. In the entire journey of the studio for over a decade, it has seen the completion of more than eighty projects from residential to commercial spaces and has built a reputation that lays emphasis on authenticity rather than superficiality and speaks of interiors more as stories rather than spaces.
The Delhi residence is an expression of this philosophy. Built for a multi-generational family, the home should find expression as a sanctuary and as an anchor of culture. Aarati looked at the home with a bottom-up approach wherein culture-inspired detailing was applied to a contemporary framework. Large open plan areas provide for dynamic fluidity, with discrete pockets that remain private and intimate. Warm wood finishes, natural stone, and textiles from Indian craft traditions meet sleek modern forms to create a home that is simultaneously global yet strongly local. “The idea was to design a space that would feel equally relevant today and decades later,” says Aarati. “Homes are legacies, not just properties.”
Yet, Neeleraa involves much more than just residential projects. The Pillars of Possibilities showroom in Delhi breeds the ecology of Aarati’s mind, where immovable sculptural virtues rise on a concrete podium balanced on a design revered for its evolutionary approach and its emotional intensity. Her projects, which range from sweet luxury villas in Gurugram to bold retail ideas in Pune, carry that very parallel of cultural resolution fused with sleek modernity.
Perhaps the chief attribute of her practice is its collaborative process. She designs alongside clients, not for them, that every space becomes a narrative of their story and aspirations. Most importantly, she champions the sustainable ethos: reclaimed wood, natural stone, and eco-friendly fashions that have relevance in the marketplace of conscious design.
The Indian interior design industry, currently worth $2.5 billion, is undergoing other transformations. She sees tons of opportunity in tier-2 cities with their rising aspirations and still dearly holding on to their cultural roots. For her, Neeleraa is not so much about beautiful interiors as about establishing an identity for Indian design today-from a design that lives somewhere between traditions and daring modernity, appearance and awareness.
Through Neeleraa, she is not only designing spaces; she is in the process of creating a long-lasting interior that conveys meaning, memory, and a sense of belonging; every project is a story shared in stone, wood, and light: a reminder that design, at its utmost, is about relationships.
