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| Edited By: Manish D Mishra |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 02, 2017, 06:20 AM IST
From decor, interiors and print/online writing, architect and interior design maven Ashiesh Shah makes a transition into TV with his own talk show called Design HQ on FoxLife. The man-about-town was approached by Conde Nast about doing a show and he was really excited about the idea. Since Ashiesh loves writing about art and design and giving his readers little insights and design hacks, being able to take this into a video format just seemed like the next step. B-Town’s go-to architect, who’s done up houses of the likes of Hrithik Roshan adds a new highlight into his already impressive resume with this outing. Over to the multi-faceted man, who’s clearly enjoying this new chapter in his life....
I have to say, I’m really pleased with the way it worked out and the format of the show in general. In addition to showing our viewers homes of really interesting personalities, we have a segment which we call, ‘Design decoded’ where we really break the entire process of designing down to a simple formula.
Of course, it’s a little challenging to convince them, like you mentioned, it’s a very personal space. The entire experience is quite different if it’s in a studio setting. Here you’re really stepping into someone’s everyday life and seeing the different things they live with. I’ve worked on most of these spaces and I’m very grateful that they did agree!
I think the show goes much further than just talking about design — it really gives our viewers a glimpse into the private lives of celebrities and what they do on a daily basis.
It’s hard to pick a favourite, and we did so much more than just talk! From a stand of Pool battle between Aditya and me, to Jacqueline attempting to teach me how to pole dance. I’ve had some fanatic times while shooting the show!
Of course Jacqueline! Your closest friends always play hard to get! Truth is she was extremely busy while we were shooting the show, so I’m very grateful to her for having made the time for us.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan, I think it would be an amazing experience to take our viewers into such an iconic space that’s so full of history.
We’re going to be taking our viewers into the homes of these celebrities. I think, it’s really different from doing an interview in a studio setting. It’s more candid, it’s more personal. We’re going to be discussing a lot of different things, of course we’ll be talking about design, but we’re focusing on how they live with design, their daily routines, favourite spaces.
It’s a bit of both, thought and format. We’re entering these celebrities homes and talking about their private lives and spaces but we’re also decoding design and talking about different hacks and tricks and taking our viewers into what we call the ‘design headquarters’ where we recreate these celebrity homes.
Yes, we’ll be featuring homes that I haven’t designed, but what’s really interesting is that these homes have been designed by the homeowners themselves! So they’ll be sharing a few tips with our viewers about how they’ve done it as well.
It’s all about what you’re looking for. In urban spaces though — I would always opt for my apartment to have a little access to a natural element — whether it’s a view of the sea or proximity to a green space. It’s best to opt for spaces with good natural light and if you can find a beautiful heritage property, there’s nothing like it!
(The show debuts on September 7 and airs every Thursday at 10 pm on FoxLife)
