‘An Interior is the natural projection of the soul’
– Coco Chanel
Interior experts opine that the idea behind designing a home is capturing the spirit of the client and the essence of the space. A staunch believer of the same mantra, Palak Satija, is an ace interior designer, who likes to put the soul of her client in that space!
She is phenomenally creative and knows her work well! Sharing her passion for interiors Palak says, “Every artistic work or a painting has a story hidden in it. The same way when you design spaces you are telling a story, without words, about the owner of the space.
A space can speak for the hard work, success, personality and the lifestyle of a person. So I chose to tell those hidden stories and experiences with my creativity.”
An Economics honours student otherwise, it was almost impossible for her to choose a career that was a contrast to what she studied! But going by the saying, ‘Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life’, she decided to pursue her passion for interiors.
With the support of her parents and her alma-mater INIFD Chandigarh she began working in the field of interior designing.
On being asked about her favourite interior designer, she replies “I don’t look upto a specific interior designer. I look up to many projects and designs because I think an interior designer should not constraint itself to only one designer.
Every interior designer have a different style in his or her work and when I look up to all the designers I can actually tell the stories of the people, though my designs, coming from different backgrounds.”
She believes in celebrating diversity and not limiting oneself to a fixed genre of designing.
“An interior designer should not limit himself with just one way of designing rather he should be open to different styles. Interior designing requires a vast imagination.
This gives the designer a chance to focus on making the client happy by giving him what he wants rather than just gaining money. Also a sense of adaptability to different styles is gained,” she adds.
The path however did not come easy for her, she did face her share of troubles while pursuing her passion! “At first when I started working as a freelancer, people didn’t really offer me projects.
There were not enough projects at hand. People believed that giving work to someone who has no experience will only cause a disaster. At that point of time I felt like I should quit. My father stood strong with me and explained me that our greatest fear lies in giving up.
The most certain way to success is always to give it another try. So I decided to overcome the fear of losing and accepted the fact that there are going to be worst scenarios coming my way in future and I have to deal with it no matter what.”
Palak believes that a home should be a place which reflects the dwellers’ personality. Design accordingly and you will never go wrong is her ‘mantra’ of designing a home!
It is the love for her work, which keeps her going day after day. “I like everything about my work. From dealing with new people to finding designs from every corner, I love it all about designing.
When you finish a project and your client is overridden with joy, brings a sense of accomplishment,” she shares.
So what does success mean to her? “Gaining respect and appreciation from all around the world for the designs I make. When your encouragement has a good impact on the lives of others is when you are successful,”
she adds. Designing homes and spaces gives her peace of mind, which she shares would not have been possible in any other profession. Dreams they say do come true, they have come beautifully and gracefully though in her case!