THESE DAYS it’s not just the pris-tine beaches in Bali, Phuket and the Philippines that attract Indi-ans to South East Asia. The exotic Thai and Bali look is slowly creeping into Indian design sensibilities. That ex-plains why close to 10 stores selling furniture sourced from Thailand and Indonesia have opened in Delhi and Mumbai in the last year. Delhi-based Anjali Kilam spent 25 years in Indonesia. She speaks the lo-cal dialect and understands the cul-ture.After returning to India, she de-cided to start a store selling furniture and knick knacks from South East Asia. Her 40,000-sq-ft shop Chantik (‘beautiful’ in Malaysian) in Gurgaon, stocks an overwhelming variety of furniture made of bamboo, banana leaf and local teak.“The South East Asian look has been very popular in America since the 1980s. Urban Indians are discern-ing and looking for something new,” she says. Furniture at Chantik starts from Rs 15,000. Bali’s native art, craft and intricate inlay work has a great ap-peal on Indian sensibilities. Yet, it’s nothing like traditional Indian carv-ing. “That’s what works for South East Asian furniture in India,” explains in-terior designer Angalika Kriplani, adding, “It’s traditional yet different.” Delhi has two other stores in Ghi-torni, Mehrauli area—Asian Treasures and World Bazaar—which stock similar furniture.In Mumbai, Bungalow 8 on Carmichael Road and Palate in Maha-laxmi sell furniture from Thailand and Philippines. Furniture from South East Asia is made of bamboo combinedwith teak, thick bananaleaf rolled and dried, then roped onto lacqueredwood.Organic materials like water hyacinth and sea grass are also used. Lowcarvedtables, masksandlaughing Buddhas are popular exports from this region.Most interior designers recom-mend using Oriental furniture spar-ingly. “This type of furniture is great to accessorise with,” says Baba Dewan of Good Living India. “An odd piece here or there works, but too much will kill it.” A plus for this furniture is that it’s much cheaper than Indian teakwood. Therefore, if you’re furnishing your home right now, look East.
