Where opulence resides with soft hues, and age old collectibles share space with the new - Geetanjali Anand’s impeccably decorated home gives you a feeling of luxury and simplicity all at once.

(Geetanjali Anand's Beautiful Home in Gurgaon)

Being One’s Own Client

Geetanjali is the Managing Director of Andy Home, a highly respected bespoke interior design and lifestyle business based in Delhi, which she runs along with her brother Umesh Anand. Surprisingly, Geetanjali spent just about two weeks in designing her own home!

(Geetanjali Anand, Owner - Andy Home)

“The fact that my home is an apartment, and not a free standing house, largely dictated the design of the space,” says Geetanjali. “The design evolved as I decorated the house. Since I was creating my own home, I had a free reign and absolutely no restrictions.”

It has been two and half years since Geetanjali, her father, and her two dachshunds moved into this house. The 4,500 square feet apartment located in Gurgaon, has a sense of harmony with seamlessly flowing décor.

(A bedroom with tastefully curated accent pieces gives the space a sense of harmony)

Different Spaces, Different Looks

“Each room has a different look, depending on whether it is formal or informal,” says Geetanjali.  Soft colours in rich tones, resplendent carpets, luxuriant wood, Czechoslovakian cut glass chandeliers, and beautiful furnishing come together in the formal living and dining room to create a plush look, which exudes warmth.

(Formal Living and Dining Area)

In the family lounge, which is Geetanjali’s favourite space, olive green leather sofas, a wall-to-wall book shelf and silver framed family portraits create the perfect cozy environment meant for relaxing.

(The Family Lounge is Geetanjali's favourite corner in her home)

(A Classic Bookshelf and Family Portraits make the Family Room more personal)

Each bedroom of this largely windowless apartment opens into a seamless verandah that runs across both sides of the house. Floor to ceiling glass doors in each room provide access to the verandah, and maximize the natural light within the space.

A complete wall of the corridor leading into the family lounge, has also been mounted with an antiqued Italian mirror to increase depth and natural light within the house.

(An intricately woven carpet runs along the length of the mirrored walls)

“For me, a room can come together based on a specific look or theme, or around a single piece of furniture or furnishing that I absolutely love,” says Geetanjali.  A stunning turquoise silk-on-silk Kashmiri carpet, which Geetanjali fell in love with at first sight, dictated the entire décor of her bedroom.

“When I saw the carpet, I knew I had to have it. And everything else in the room was added to complement the carpet, which is the most beautiful piece of art I’ve ever seen,” gushes Geetanjali. There’s an emotional connect with the colour of the carpet, since turquoise was her mother’s favourite colour. In fact, that’s the reason it also features in the Andy Home logo.

(Colours in the room complement the colours in the silk carpet)

Heirlooms Treasured over Generations

All the furniture within the apartment is new and has been designed by Geetanjali specifically for the house. Most of the lights, chandeliers, wall treatments, and furnishings are from Andy Home. “My mother kept a house which is very similar to this house and hence, the aesthetics are in my DNA,” says Geetanjali. “Most of the accessories are treasures, full of memories, collected by my parents on overseas trips, or passed down over two or three generations of my family.”

Antique silverware and 250 year old Mughal miniatures adorn several walls and corners of the house. Among them is Geetanjali’s favourite - a sterling silver snifter with a semi-precious stone that was part of the Nizam of Hyderabad’s private collection. Another prized piece is a framed inscription done in pure silver zari thread that was given to Geetanjali’s grandfather, Rai Sahab Hari Chand Anand, an engineer in honor of his work restoring historical monuments across India.

(A set of miniature paintings from the Mughal era adorn the walls of the dining area)

Most of the lamps in the house have also been collected by Geetanjali’s mother and father over many years. A brass lamp, with its Made in England seal still intact, was purchased from a Lucknow ‘kabadiwala’ and converted from oil to electric by Geetanjali’s father.

Art that is Personal

Geetanjali is a passionate art collector, and to her, Art is like religion, a very personal thing. “You won’t find a Husain or Raza in my possession as I’m not enamored by them”, says Geetanjali. “In my opinion, art is not about a signature and need not make a statement of such ownership. It should flow and blend in.” Therefore, she is drawn to soft, diffused art like that of Anjolie Ela Menon’s and Subhash Awchat’s, amongst some others. Almost all the artwork in Geetanjali’s house blends in and becomes part of the overall aesthetic.

(The art in Geetanjali's home blends beautifully into the environment)

Likewise, when it comes to buying other articles for the house, Geetanjali is not bothered by the brand or label and always places more importance on the aesthetic appeal.

Made Over Time

“A home is a personal sanctuary,” says Geetanjali. “It shouldn’t be something that you put together overnight. You have to pick up things gradually, over time. The more understated, elegant and chic, the better.” She loves shopping for silverware in India and scouring for collectibles in France, or at Covent Garden and Petticoat Lane in London. Geetanjali even found a sterling silver tea set for £50 on a trip to the English country side with her brother, which she treasures.

(A collection of silver photo frames decorate a console table)

Geetanjali’s home is still evolving, and she’s now contemplating toning it down. It is a true personal sanctuary that tastefully brings together antiquities, fine craftsmanship, modernism and most of all, cherished memories.