Featuring Umesh Kumar & Shefali Agrawal, Founders of The Interia | Hosted by Ar. Aanchal Kishore Gupta, Director – Bath Affair
When Design Begins with Life, Not Layouts
Some conversations don’t just share ideas — they linger.
This episode of Dialogue with Bath Affair isn’t about trends or techniques. It’s about two people who’ve built a design practice on something rarer — empathy.
Across from Aanchal Kishore Gupta sit Umesh Kumar and Shefali Agrawal, the founders of The Interia, one of India’s most respected names in luxury interiors.
They’ve designed over 1,500 homes — each one a story, each one a reflection of the people who live within.
The conversation feels intimate. No jargon, no rehearsed answers. Just a quiet understanding that design is less about how a space looks, and more about how it feels.
“Luxury,” Umesh says with a calm smile, “isn’t about what you add. It’s about what you understand.”
The Moment the Spark Caught Fire
Umesh’s story begins, unexpectedly, in the library of IIT Delhi.
Between stacks of engineering textbooks, he discovered a series of Scandinavian furniture books — and something inside shifted.
“I didn’t even know design could make me feel something,” he recalls.
Years later, while juggling a demanding corporate career, he bought his first apartment in Gurgaon. What should’ve been an exciting personal project turned into chaos — poor coordination, endless revisions, and too many compromises.
So, he started over.
He researched, sketched, and designed everything himself.
“I realised the problem wasn’t design,” he says. “It was execution. There was no structure, no accountability. That’s when the idea for The Interia was born — design that delights, execution that delivers.”
The Leap of Logic — and Faith
Shefali’s journey couldn’t have been more different — or more complementary.
After years in project management at Sapient, she had mastered structure, precision, and systems. But comfort, she realised, can sometimes be a cage.
“I wanted to build something that made me uncomfortable,” she laughs. “Something real, unpredictable, human.”
When she joined The Interia, everything changed.
Timelines became smoother, processes stronger, but without losing warmth.
“She brought discipline into creativity,” says Umesh. “And suddenly, structure felt like freedom.”
The two built a rhythm — one sketching possibilities, the other shaping them into systems.
And together, they created a company that feels less like a studio, and more like a living organism — dynamic, organised, deeply human.
Design That Feels Like Breathing
At The Interia, design doesn’t scream for attention. It simply feels right.
Their homes don’t showcase luxury — they breathe it.
Walk into one of their spaces and you won’t find a single element shouting for attention. Instead, everything hums in quiet harmony.
“The whole,” Umesh says, “must feel greater than the sum of its parts.”
For him, the first sign of true luxury is space. Not just physical — but emotional.
“It’s the silence between two notes,” he adds. “The calm that lets beauty exist.”
Each home they design unfolds like a story — one texture, one corner at a time. You don’t take it in all at once; you discover it.
Designing for People, Not Portfolios
Shefali says they begin every project with a conversation, not a drawing.
“How do you spend your weekends? What makes you feel at peace? What’s one thing you never compromise on?”
They’re not casual questions. They’re ways to understand how someone lives — because a home, they believe, should mirror the people inside it.
She shares a memory: a family of three, all passionate about dance.
Instead of a conventional living room, they designed a mirrored dance floor — elegant, rhythmic, alive.
“That’s luxury,” she says softly. “When your home reflects your joy.”
Redefining What Luxury Means
Luxury, for them, isn’t a price tag — it’s a feeling.
“Luxury is personal,” Umesh explains. “It’s not about excess. It’s about intention.”
He compares it to jewellery:
“A solitaire and a gold necklace — both are luxury if they suit you.”
Their approach honours materials in their truest form — marble that feels cool underfoot, wood that smells like morning, light that flatters without flaunting.
It’s authenticity as an art form.
When Purpose Meets Partnership
At Bath Affair, Aanchal nods in recognition. The synergy between both brands is evident — grounded in empathy and guided by craftsmanship.
“Bathrooms,” she says, “are the most personal spaces of all.”
The Interia shares that belief. That great design isn’t about aesthetics — it’s about how people experience their lives, day after day.
It’s a partnership that celebrates the finer details — not for spectacle, but for sincerity.
Together, Bath Affair and The Interia embody a new kind of Indian luxury: warm, thoughtful, and quietly confident.
What the Journey Teaches Us
The Interia’s story isn’t just a design journey — it’s a masterclass in mindful creation.
- Design the life, then the layout.
- Chase balance, not noise.
- Respect emptiness — it gives everything else meaning.
- Let materials stay honest.
- And above all, listen — to people, to places, to silence.
Because when design listens, it doesn’t just decorate; it heals.
Closing Reflections
At its core, The Interia is a love letter to design that feels — not performs.
Every project begins with curiosity and ends with belonging.
“Every home we build is a reflection of its people,” says Shefali. “We just help them see it.”
In a world obsessed with trends, this episode reminds us of something timeless —
that true design isn’t loud. It’s lasting.
🎥 Watch the Full Episode
Watch Dialogue with Bath Affair | The Interia — Part 1 on Bath Affair’s YouTube channel for the complete conversation.
Watch on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaE8WZcrriA&list=PLF_YfSoBO4oQ24laxFXJt_31T_Lzhjjma&index=5
