Featuring Umesh Kumar & Shefali Agrawal, Founders of The Interia | Hosted by Ar. Aanchal Kishore Gupta, Director – Bath Affair
Turning Structure into Style
If Part 1 of the Dialogue explored the heart of design, Part 2 dives into its spine — the systems, the discipline, and the quiet leadership that hold creativity together.
At Bath Affair, Ar. Aanchal Kishore Gupta continues her conversation with Umesh Kumar and Shefali Agrawal — the duo behind The Interia, one of India’s most respected names in luxury interiors.
What unfolds isn’t just a discussion on design; it’s a rare look at how two minds have built a creative company that runs like clockwork yet feels deeply human.
When Passion Meets Process
The Interia didn’t begin as an art experiment.
It began as an idea to organize design — to make beauty reliable.
Both Umesh and Shefali came from structured corporate careers, and that experience quietly shaped their vision. The industry, they noticed, was filled with brilliant talent but very little process. So, from day one, they built a foundation on clarity: defined roles, trained teams, and quality that begins at the workshop floor rather than the final site check.
Every craftsman knows what perfection looks like before a single nail is fixed. Every designer understands how their drawing translates on-site. It’s creativity with accountability — and it shows.
“Design should be as structured as it is soulful,” Umesh often says, and that sentence has become The Interia’s compass.
Empowering the Team to Lead
One of his proudest moments came when the firm moved into its new office in 2023.
For the first time, Umesh barely touched the project.
The design, the execution, the finishing — all handled entirely by his team.
It wasn’t a moment of stepping back; it was proof that the system worked.
From a single carpentry crew in the early days to a forty-member design and project management team supported by hundreds of site specialists, The Interia has grown through empowerment, not expansion.
The culture feels less like a studio and more like an orchestra — structured yet fluid, precise yet full of emotion.
Transparency as the New Luxury
Shefali’s background in project management shows up in every detail.
For her, the client experience is as important as the final look.
Weekly progress reports, photo updates, and open WhatsApp groups have turned anxious waiting into collaborative excitement.
“When people can see their homes taking shape, they stop worrying,” she says.
“Transparency builds trust — and in luxury, trust is the rarest currency.”
It’s a philosophy Bath Affair shares wholeheartedly: luxury isn’t just about marble and brass; it’s about confidence in the journey.
Co-Creation over Collaboration
When asked what they seek in partners, Shefali smiles.
“The same thing our clients expect from us — honesty, reliability, and co-creation.”
That’s what makes the relationship between The Interia and Bath Affair feel effortless. Both brands believe design isn’t a transaction but a conversation.
To them, Bath Affair’s showroom isn’t a store — it’s a stage. A place where textures, finishes, and ideas come alive for clients to touch, compare, and feel.
“Bathrooms are complex,” Umesh adds, “but Bath Affair makes the selection process intuitive and enjoyable. It turns decisions into experiences.”
Reading the Future of Luxury
As the discussion moves to trends, the duo’s insight widens.
Automation, they say, is now a given — clients expect their homes to think for them.
Sustainability has shifted from buzzword to baseline.
And the new generation of homeowners? Bold, expressive, unafraid to mix the raw with the refined.
One client asked for a brutalist apartment — exposed concrete, industrial lines, a deliberate roughness that felt alive.
“It’s refreshing,” Umesh laughs. “People aren’t just following Pinterest anymore; they’re defining their own language of luxury.”
To Shefali, that’s the biggest trend of all: confidence.
Luxury is no longer about excess; it’s about self-expression — whether that means a warm minimalist home or an eco-driven one that recycles RO water for plants.
Lessons for the New Generation
For young architects and designers, their advice is disarmingly simple:
stop chasing trends, start building timelessness.
“Be curious, not competitive,” Shefali says. “Understand your client before you sketch a line. Design that listens will always outlast design that shouts.”
Umesh nods. “Every client has hidden motivations. Your job is to discover them — not to impose yours.”
In that humility lies their genius.
A Quick Round Before Goodbye
Before signing off, Aanchal throws in a quick rapid fire:
Most challenging project: A 65-year-old haveli in Ahmedabad — a delicate blend of heritage and modern comfort.
Favourite palette: Greige — that serene balance of grey and beige.
Material that never fails: Marble for him, veneer for her.
Bathroom essential: Towel warmer vs. defogger.
Dream destination: Italy for inspiration; “everywhere,” says Shefali, “because design lives in the details.”
And their quickest answer of all — “One-stop bathroom destination?”
Both laugh: “Bath Affair, of course.”
Where Structure Meets Soul
The Interia’s story is a reminder that great design isn’t born from chaos.
It grows from clarity — from teams that know, partners that trust, and clients who feel seen.
And that’s exactly what unites The Interia and Bath Affair:
a belief that luxury begins where intention meets empathy.
Watch the Full Episode
Part 2 of Dialogue with Bath Affair × The Interia is streaming now on Bath Affair’s YouTube channel.
Watch the full conversation to explore their views on design trends, partnerships, and the evolving meaning of luxury in India.
Watch now on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZtAKaJ9js0&list=PLF_YfSoBO4oQ24laxFXJt_31T_Lzhjjma&index=4
Meta Description:
In Part 2 of Dialogue with Bath Affair, The Interia’s founders Umesh Kumar and Shefali Agrawal reveal how structure, sustainability, and empathy are redefining luxury interiors — and why collaboration with Bath Affair feels like co-creation.
