There is something about bamboo that feels immediately right in an Indian living room. It is not a foreign material imported from a design tradition that has no relationship to this country’s interiors — it is a material that has been part of Indian domestic life for as long as Indian domestic life has existed….
Sustainable interior design has a reputation problem. Somewhere in the space between genuine environmental concern and aspirational lifestyle marketing, the idea took hold that designing a home sustainably means spending more — on certified organic materials, on designer pieces made from reclaimed wood, on artisan-crafted objects that carry a price tag reflecting their ethical production…
There is a particular irony in the way that sustainability has been marketed in India over the last decade. Products described as eco friendly have often been positioned as premium, aspirational, and expensive — the kind of thing available to a specific segment of the population that can afford to pay more for the privilege…