'Everybody wants his house to look like a hotel'

Casa Forma, a London-based luxury interior design and architectural firm that started India operations in 2010, has been actively designing houses of its discerning clients in the country.

The firm, started by its chief executive officer Faiza Seth, is opening a show house in Delhi soon. Seth, a graduate from Northwestern University and a post graduate from Stanford University, had a brief tenure as a banker with Lehman Brothers, before she kick-started Casa Forma four years ago. The firm has completed 28 high-end projects in India and the UK. Born in a family of cardiologists in Hyderabad, Seth grew up in the US. She runs Soham for Kids, a school for orphans and underprivileged children in Hyderabad. Seth tells DNA about her plans for Casa Forma. Edited excerpts:

What are the projects that you are working on in India?
We are working on five high-end residential projects in Delhi. We want to be discreet about who our clients are but these projects are in Shanti Niketan and Chattrapur. Our clients are from royalty to celebrities and industrial families in India. In London, we have designed homes for people who are in news, celebrities, socialites and industrialists.

What kind of high-end materials do people look for while designing their homes?
Everybody wants a little bit of luxury in their house. In Central London, the houses in the prime location are extremely expensive and they attract wealthy people. They want the highest level of design and luxury. Luxury these days is not about buying branded furniture. It’s about designing differently and things that are bespoke to the owner of the house. Things incorporated in designing include pearl walls, or real gold in taps in the bathrooms which makes the homes stand out. Indians are aware of design trends. In India, we have to adjust the materials keeping in mind the environmental factors like dust and heat. So in India we have to change the materials. But other than that, everybody demands luxury in design and materials. People want eco-friendly paints. They want to control lights and music with an iPad. These days, hotels want to be like houses and houses want to be like hotels. There is a very fine line between the two.

Are you planning to enter new markets?
My strategy is to grow slowly. I would like to target China, but I would first set up the business in India. When we started four years ago, right before the property market crash, it was two years of complete difficulty. The fact that we survived that period really made us resilient.

How is the sentiment in the property market now?
Right now, the London property market is booming—-rental and sale. Lack of good properties is pushing the rents up. Everyone who makes money in China, Russia, Brazil, India or even in America wants a second home in London because it is an English-speaking financial hub. A lot of people want to buy a house for 30 million pounds within a week.

What prompted you to get into it?
I graduated in 2006 and the property market was booming at that time. So I thought why not get into the property market, buy properties, do them up and sell them and become a property developer. Initially, that was my plan. But, when the property market crashed I wasn’t able to sell those properties right away, I was able to rent them. Then I started doing architectural and interior designing services and that is how we adapted our business plan to keep it alive. Now, we increase the value of the property. We are a team of 15 people. Architects and designers of different nationalities, we have Germans, Swiss, Italians, Irish and Indians - brings a great mixture of design and aesthetics. In terms of revenue, we are growing rapidly. We are working on 17 new projects.

Tell us about your school in Hyderabad?
Soham for Kids is a school for orphans and underprivileged children. It is a UK and India registered charity. We provide free education, healthcare, and nutrition. We teach more by western methods, learning more by doing rather than memorisation. I always wanted to give something back, and children and older people are two causes that you feel for and want to help. I wanted to give children education whereby they change and they change the whole cycle of poverty and get out of it.

Do you plan to open more schools in India?
I hope to expand because I think it is a great concept because it helps people.