‘I am enchanted by the world of design’

Sussane Khan talks to K. JESHI on her first South India design project

September 01, 2016 04:22 pm | Updated September 22, 2016 04:23 pm IST

Interior designer Sussane Khan in Coimbatore Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

Interior designer Sussane Khan in Coimbatore Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

With a degree in Interior Design from Brooks College, California, interior designer Sussane Khan’s work is edgy and unique. She started The Charcoal Project, a concept- driven store in Mumbai to create signature style décor for private homes, villas, commercial offices and apartments. She uses metal, wood, natural fibres, geometric patterns, and embellishments and weaves them subtly together to create unique designs.

Now, Sussane Khan marks her entry into the South with a new project for White House Developers. At the launch in Coimbatore, she took some time off to talk to MetroPlus.

Excerpts

South connect

I have a huge connect with South. My father can speak fluent Tamil. He studied in Bengaluru. My brother studied in Kodaikanal. I am familiar with the South. After doing projects in Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi, now we are spreading to the South. I want to grow slowly because building up a good team is important for me.

On coming from a privileged background

I wasn’t interested in acting (her parents are the actor Sanjay Khan and interior designer Zarine Khan) . I can’t act to save my life ( laughs) . My mother has been an inspiration too. I am enchanted by the world of design, architecture, landscape, and art.

Like with all famous personalities, every one in the family is known by their work. It’s a part of life. But, if one person does something great, he/shewill be known by his/her own merit. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of time — year after year of providing good projects and doing good work. Finally when you have a substantial body of work, then you are recognised. You have to put hard work and be extremely persevering.

Her designs for White House Developers in the city

We wanted to emphasise on quiet luxury; that’s why we’ve called it the White House because it is peaceful. The design is subtle, not gaudy or loud.

The colour palette — right from the hard finishes, the walls, the elevation of the building, the terrace — have a serene tranquil vibe. The woods are sun-bleached, there’s a vanilla white shade coming over everything.

It was a conscious effort to make each and every element, including the doors, light coloured, bleached or stained. All these things are important to make the project complete. When you walk around the property, everything ties up together and looks good. That is the main goal as a designer. The developers completed the project in 24 months right from conception to delivery. This is also a unique combination of a design team and developer team having the same vision and working together.

Design themes for kids’ rooms

In Mumbai, theme-based design décor for kids doesn’t happen much now. They are more practical and design décor for a mid-level age group like 12-year-old so that the colours are not babyish and the design don’t have to be changed later.

Are her children fascinated by design?

Yes, my children are fascinated by design of technology and computers. And I am very happy with that. Today design is a wide world; it doesn’t have to be interiors or architecture. It could be anything. Design could be technology too. They are also interested in cinema. They make short movies. It is not so much about acting but more behind the camera. Right now, they are young, 10 and eight. They might feel the urge to do something different later.

Design inspiration from the South

Temples and their bright colours and the concept to have the bad/ evil shut away inspires me. For my next project I am going to work towards modernising that concept. I wanted to keep my first project subtle and classy. May be we will think differently for the others.

Colours that inspire you

I love earth tones, jewel tones and everything that is natural. I also like natural materials like cottons, silks...I don’t like synthetic. Even the wood we use has to be authentic. I scout for materials from across the country and the globe for pure fabrics, pure furniture, and accents that can make my furniture look better.

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