Bharat Patel
Founder, Aaditya Interior
Bharat is the founder of Aaditya Interior and leads client relationships, space planning and site execution across 180+ active projects.
Blog
Design notes.
Thoughts on homes, materials, detailing and craft – written by the people who design your spaces.
Latest Articles
From the partners' desk
Design Styles
Minimalist Interior Design for Indian Homes
Minimalism in an Indian home is not about owning nothing — it is about hiding a lot. It works when closed storage is planned first (full-height, handleless, 600 mm deep where it matters), the palette is held to two or three colours and one or two main materials, and the details — shadow gaps, flush skirtings, concealed lights — are drawn precisely.
Afrin Mirza · 02 Oct 2026 · 26 min read
Vastu
Living Room Vastu: Seating, Colours and Placement
Traditional Vastu guidance keeps the living room's north-east light and open, puts the heavy sofa in the south or west so people face north or east, and favours light, warm-neutral walls. Almost every one of those rules also makes sense as daylight, comfort and circulation planning — so follow them where the room allows, and use design fixes, not demolition, where it does not.
Bharat Patel · 02 Oct 2026 · 32 min read
Lighting
Lighting Plan for a 3BHK: Room by Room
A good 3BHK lighting plan starts from how bright each room needs to be — about 100–300 lux in the living room, 200 at the dining table, 500 on the kitchen counter, 100 in passages — and then builds three layers per room on separate switches. For a typical 1,200–1,300 sq ft flat that means roughly 25–35 fittings and 120–160 running feet of cove, about ₹45,000–1,65,000 of lighting hardware at indicative October 2026 rates.
Afrin Mirza · 02 Oct 2026 · 31 min read
Process & Trust
How to Hire an Interior Designer: Complete Checklist
Hire an interior designer the way a business hires a key supplier: write a brief and budget first, shortlist three to five firms, visit at least one finished and one running site for each, and compare proposals line by line rather than by headline rate. Then sign a written contract that fixes scope, drawings, specifications, timeline, payment milestones tied to work done, variations, warranty and exit terms.
Bharat Patel · 02 Oct 2026 · 27 min read
Materials & Finishes
Types of Plywood in India: Complete Guide
Indian plywood comes in four working grades — MR for dry interiors, BWR (IS 303) for most furniture, marine or BWP (IS 710) near water, and fire-retardant (IS 5509) where codes demand it — plus special types such as decorative, flexible, calibrated and shuttering ply. The right choice is the grade that matches the room's exposure, in a thickness that matches the span.
Afrin Mirza · 02 Oct 2026 · 26 min read
Heights & Depths
Standard Room Sizes for Indian Homes (With Plans)
NBC 2016 sets the legal floor — 9.5 m² for a main habitable room, 5.0 m² for a kitchen, 2.8 m² for a combined bath and WC — but comfortable Indian rooms run larger: a bedroom of about 10 × 12 ft, a master of 12 × 14 ft, a kitchen of 8 × 10 ft and a living room of 12 × 16 ft or more. Furniture and clearances, not the code, decide the right size.
Bharat Patel · 02 Oct 2026 · 31 min read
Commercial & Hospitality
Office Interior Design Guide: Layout to Finishes
A good office is planned in this order: headcount and space programme, zoning, layout, services, then finishes. In India that typically means 85–110 sq ft per seat, 1200 × 600 mm desks with 900 mm chair zones and 1200 mm aisles, 500 lux at desks, and fit-out costs of roughly ₹800–2,000 per sq ft depending on grade.
Bharat Patel · 02 Oct 2026 · 27 min read
Architecture & Planning
How to Plan a House: Step-by-Step Guide
Plan a house in twelve steps: write the brief and budget, check the plot's title and zoning, survey and test the soil, read the bye-laws for setbacks and FSI, study sun and wind, zone the plot, draw room-by-room plans, fix the structure, plan services, design the elevation, get approvals, then estimate and build. Design and approvals usually take 3–6 months before a G+1 house takes 10–14 months to build.
Bharat Patel · 02 Oct 2026 · 26 min read
Cost Guides
3BHK Interior Cost in India (2026)
A 1,250 sq ft carpet-area 3BHK costs about ₹10–13.5 lakh for basic interiors, ₹15.5–22.5 lakh for mid-range and ₹27–42 lakh for premium in 2026, before loose furniture and appliances. Kitchen, wardrobes and beds take roughly 40 per cent of any budget; finishes, ceilings and lighting decide which band a home lands in.
Bharat Patel · 02 Oct 2026 · 24 min read
Design Styles
Modern vs Contemporary Interior Design: The Real Difference
Modern design is a fixed historical style — roughly the 1920s to the 1970s — built on straight lines, honest materials, raised furniture and function first. Contemporary design is simply the design of today, so it keeps changing; right now in India it means warmer neutrals, softer curves, mixed textures and integrated lighting.
Afrin Mirza · 02 Oct 2026 · 24 min read
Future of Design
Interior Design Trends 2027: What Is Coming Next
The 2027 direction in Indian interiors is warmer, calmer and more practical: mineral and limewash walls in earthy tones, tunable warm-to-cool lighting, kitchens with appliance garages and tall units, flexible rooms that work as study and guest room, and Indian craft used in clean modern forms. The safest way to follow trends is to put them in finishes and décor, not in the permanent shell.
Afrin Mirza · 02 Oct 2026 · 24 min read
History of Design
History of Indian Interior Design: From Havelis to Modern Apartments
Indian homes were designed for centuries around a courtyard, thick walls, high ceilings and shaded thresholds — ideas that kept rooms cool and families connected. Modern flats lost most of that in a few decades, but the best apartment interiors today bring the same logic back in compact form: a defined threshold, a light-and-air core, layered screens and honest local materials.
Afrin Mirza · 02 Oct 2026 · 30 min read
The People
Meet the partners
Afrin Mirza
Co-founder, Aaditya Interior
Afrin is the co-founder of Aaditya Interior, leading the design studio – materials, colour, detailing and finishing – along with the office and design team at Katargam, Surat.