Four years ago, Tasmia and Gaurav teamed up to learn the intricacies of the interior designing world and four years down the line, they have become the proud owners of Leben Style, a company that has designed numerous residential and commercial projects, markedly in Bangalore. Having crafted a dominant niche for themselves, their creative souls incessantly yearn for more. Team Designbids got into a casual chat with the duo to listen and unfurl their journey as interior designers.

What information do designers need to create a design?

First, it has to be the idea, if any; clients have in mind of their house. Second it would be the things they would like to keep, things they would want to do away with and the main areas of the house they are concerned with. Keeping all these in mind, we come up with a number of designs (usually 5) and show them to the clients. They choose the best one and further improvisations are made on that.

What are few time-saving strategies or how can a client cooperate to speed up the process?

Most importantly, it has to be finalizing a design at the earliest. Only then can we move ahead with the process. Materials, textures, patterns, colors etc. are then finalized one by one. It’s preferable if the client knows exactly what he/she needs and in the case, they don’t, they should trust us; and that is what we are here for. But we always prefer and try to incorporate our clients’ ideas first. We generally provide a number of options for the same element viz laminates, handles, hinges etc, thus making it easier for the client to choose and finalize materials.

What are the biggest challenges you have faced as a designer?

Life as a designer has been pretty smooth. After completing our respective studies in interior designing and architecture, we took nearly a year to understand the process completely. Meeting contractors, vendors and possibly everyone related to the business, we got an idea on how exactly the entire system works. After gaining sufficient confidence, we started our own company, Leben Style.

By how much does the cost between the initial estimate and final bill vary?

When we propose a budget, it is after a thorough discussion with the clients. After understanding their needs, we show them various materials, patterns, textures, colors and they decide on what looks best after a 3D walkthrough which sort of convinces them on the final look. After that, we pen down the budget. So, the initial and final costs do not vary widely but in the worst case, maximum deviation would be approximately 50K- 70K.

What changes do people generally seek in their homes?

Generally, clients look for simple and general changes like wardrobe, TV cabinet, light fixtures, modular kitchen, bathroom fittings, woodwork, dining table etc while only few go for full interiors or complete home renovation.

How do you manage difficult clients?

See, the main problem is to convince elderly people with even the simplest of changes. The usual thing they look for in their house is plenty of storage space. Once they are convinced with the design and our ideas, they are okay with the expenses. But luckily, we haven’t encountered too many difficult clients till date.

Are there any current trends that you love?

We love wallpapers and so do most clients. Incorporating wallpapers is a must and so are blinds. Clients are invariably experimenting with these two elements and these are present in most homes nowadays.

How would you define your personal style?

Honestly, we do not impose our style on clients. We give them suggestions and try to incorporate their ideas into their homes. We are comfortable with contemporary and traditional styling both. While young settle for current trends, elders almost unanimously opt for storage space.

Best things clients say about you

Clients like our transparency and admire our patience and adjustability.

How long have you been associated with DesignBids?

It’s been four months since our association with DesignBids and we have already completed 2 projects through them, both were based out of Bangalore.

How have you benefited from DesignBids?

We got both the projects pretty easily; the first was Mr. Balasubramaniam’s villa in Whitefield, and the second was Mr. Kartik’s 2BHK apartment in Sarjapur. Both projects had their own challenges and specificities. We learnt a lot during the process and are really happy since the final look has come up exactly the way we wanted it to. Currently, we are working on Mr. Nitin Ganapule’s home project in RR Nagar. We are looking forward to more quality projects through DesignBids.

Team DesignBids wishes Tasmia and Gaurav success in all their future accomplishments.