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
Architecture & Planning
Construction Stages of a House: Timeline, Checks and Costs
A G+1 independent house in India typically takes 3–6 months of design and approvals and then 10–14 months to build: about 1–2 months for foundation and plinth, 3–4 months for the RCC frame and masonry, 2–3 months for services and plaster, and 3–4 months for flooring, joinery and finishes. Each stage has hold points — reinforcement, cover, waterproofing, curing — that decide whether the house lasts.
Bharat Patel · 15 Oct 2026 · 27 min read
Materials & Finishes
Wallpaper Types: Vinyl, Non-Woven and Fabric
Non-woven wallpaper is the best all-rounder for Indian living rooms and bedrooms: dimensionally stable, breathable, hung by pasting the wall and removable dry. Vinyl (especially vinyl on non-woven) is the choice for scrubbable, high-touch walls, while fabric and grasscloth papers give the richest look for low-touch luxury walls — at about ₹8,000–25,000+ per roll against ₹2,500–8,000 for mainstream types.
Afrin Mirza · 14 Oct 2026 · 26 min read
Heights & Depths
Vanity Counter Height and Depth
In Indian homes the basin rim should sit at about 800–850 mm, so an undercounter or integrated basin needs a counter at 800–850 mm while a vessel basin needs a lower counter of about 650–750 mm. Vanity depth is usually 450–550 mm, with 380–400 mm for compact powder rooms, and about 760 mm of clear floor in front.
Afrin Mirza · 14 Oct 2026 · 24 min read
Cost Guides
Retail Shop Interior Cost Per Sq Ft
Indicatively in October 2026, a shop interior costs about ₹900–1,400 per sq ft of carpet area at basic level, ₹1,400–2,200 mid-range and ₹2,200–3,500 or more for premium brand stores, excluding air-conditioning, external signage and GST. A 400 sq ft mid-range boutique lands near ₹5.6–8.8 lakh; jewellery and flagship stores run higher.
Bharat Patel · 14 Oct 2026 · 22 min read
Room Ideas
Nursery and Baby Room Design Ideas
A good nursery is planned around safe sleep first: a cot meeting a recognised safety standard, a firm flat mattress that fits snugly, nothing soft inside, and the cot placed away from windows, cords, heaters and wall shelves. Then come a changing station at about 850–950 mm, dimmable warm light, washable low-VOC finishes and furniture that converts as the child grows.
Afrin Mirza · 14 Oct 2026 · 27 min read
Future of Design
Mass Timber and CLT: Will Wood Buildings Come to India
Mass timber — cross-laminated timber (CLT), glulam and LVL — now carries buildings of 18 to 25 storeys in Europe and North America, usually with concrete cores. In India it will arrive first in low-rise hospitality, institutional roofs, pavilions and hybrid upper floors, because codes, supply chains, termite and monsoon detailing are still catching up.
Bharat Patel · 14 Oct 2026 · 28 min read
Architecture & Planning
Plastering Types: Internal and External
Inside, most Indian walls get 12 mm cement-sand plaster (about 1:6) or 10–13 mm gypsum plaster, with 6 mm on ceilings; outside, a two-coat cement plaster of about 18–20 mm with a waterproofing additive and a sand-faced or smooth finish. The type matters less than the preparation, the mesh at RCC–masonry joints, the grooves and the curing — which is where most plaster cracks begin.
Bharat Patel · 14 Oct 2026 · 27 min read
Design Styles
Monochrome Interior Design: Black, White and Grey Done Right
A monochrome interior works when the proportions are planned — roughly 60 per cent light base, 30 per cent mid-grey and 10 per cent black — and when texture, warm 2700–3000 K light and one natural material stop the room from feeling cold. Black belongs on edges, frames and a few anchoring surfaces, not on every wall, and matte finishes must be chosen with Indian dust, humidity and fingerprints in mind.
Afrin Mirza · 14 Oct 2026 · 24 min read
History of Design
History of the Chandelier: From Candles to LED
The chandelier began as a simple wooden or iron frame for candles and became, through brass, rock crystal, lead crystal, gas and electricity, the most theatrical light fitting in architecture. Today's LED chandelier is lighter, cooler and dimmable, but it still has to be sized to the room (about 80–85 mm of diameter per metre of room length plus width), hung 750–900 mm above a dining table or at least 2100 mm clear over a walkway, and fixed into the slab.
Afrin Mirza · 14 Oct 2026 · 25 min read
Cost Guides
Cafe Interior Cost Guide
A café interior typically costs about ₹900–1,400 per sq ft at a basic level, ₹1,400–2,200 mid-range and ₹2,200–3,500+ for premium work (indicative October 2026), so an 800 sq ft café needs roughly ₹7.2–17.6 lakh for the interior alone. Coffee equipment, refrigeration, HVAC, fire systems, licences and GST sit outside that figure and usually take the whole project to roughly double the interior number.
Bharat Patel · 14 Oct 2026 · 27 min read
Commercial & Hospitality
Bar and Lounge Interior Design
A bar or lounge works when the bar itself is designed as a machine — a 1050–1100 mm guest top, an 800–900 mm underbar work surface, a 900–1200 mm bartender aisle and a 450–600 mm back bar — and the room around it is zoned from loud to quiet with layered low lighting and serious acoustics. Indicative October 2026 interior fit-out runs about ₹1,400–2,200 per sq ft mid-range and ₹2,200–3,500+ premium, with licensing and fire safety shaping the layout from day one.
Bharat Patel · 14 Oct 2026 · 28 min read
Materials & Finishes
Wall Putty and Primer: Why They Matter
Putty makes a wall flat and smooth; primer seals it so the paint grips evenly and lasts. A good interior system is two thin coats of putty totalling about 1–1.5 mm, sanded, then one coat of primer and two coats of emulsion — and the putty-plus-primer stage, roughly a third of the paint job's material cost, is what decides how the finished wall looks.
Afrin Mirza · 14 Oct 2026 · 25 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.