Contemporary classic

She is one of India’s leading interior designers and has been in this creative field for the last 25 years. Credited for having designed Bollywood star Deepika Padukone’s stunning penthouse in Mumbai, Vinita Chaitanya has always been a name to reckon with. Impeccably turned up, her personal sense of style is reflected in her designs that are found in many prominent homes across the country. 

Combined with a mastery of her craft, she creates livable art. She effectively combines her clients’ requirements with her own vision turning homes into bespoke, sublime spaces. Vinita defines her innate sense of style as ‘contemporary classic’ — a heady blend of sensuous silks, traditional paisleys, traditional Indian artifacts and modern Western covetables. She delightfully layers different cultures and periods and her travels give her fresh inspiration and inventory. 

Vinita has recently discovered a love for photography. “I have always loved beautiful pictures and with my camera phone, I discovered the little details which I can brilliantly translate into stunning images. I do have an eye for beauty and nature inspires me everyday. My frequent travels are often solitary and my camera is my best friend,” she confesses.

Vinita’s work ethic goes beyond interior design and she finds herself getting passionately involved in every stage, from sourcing beautiful objects to delivering a home far beyond the client’s expectations. This holistic vision starts from a bare shell to completing the home with not only furniture and fittings, but with a connoisseur’s eye for art and accessories. This also extends to coordinating fresh flowers with crockery and linen and even lining up bookshelves. Vinita shares how she once wanted to show the client how printed gold leaf backdrop would work with her design and that’s when her camera came in handy. “I managed to depict that through my visuals and the client loved it,” she recounts.