You know a brand is thinking big when it stops selling you things and starts selling you meaning. Enter Nilaya Anthology, Asian Paints’ sprawling, 100,000 square foot, multi-sensory design address in Mumbai. But don’t mistake it for a luxury mall. This isn’t about Instagram corners or Pinterest clichés. It’s about memory, materiality, and modern Indian identity. At the centre of it all is Pavitra Rajaram, creative director, historian of craft, and the woman who has spent the last five years shaping what might be Asian Paints’ boldest design experiment to date.
We sat down with her for a candid conversation on how the idea was born, what luxury means in post-pandemic India, and why homes today need more than just aesthetics.
Q&A with Pavitra Rajaram, Creative Director, Nilaya Anthology
Cassina Space Photo by Hashim Badani for Nilaya Anthology Large
Q: What sparked the idea behind Nilaya Anthology?
This has been in the works at Asian Paints for quite some time. We knew we were in a unique position, with a 70 per cent market share in paints, but we weren’t just a mass-market player. Our paints are often used in luxury contexts. So the question became: why not do the same in décor?
We realised we had a rare opportunity to build a brand that cuts across the entire spectrum. Not just mass or premium, but also super-premium. We didn’t want to create a gated experience for a select few. The idea was to stay non-exclusionary but aspirational. That’s where the brand promise of Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai evolved into something even more expansive. Every home, every story, no matter the price point.
Q: When did this move from a good idea to a serious project?
The push came from our CEO, Amit Syngle, in 2020. Right in the middle of the pandemic, when physical retail had all but disappeared. The brief was simple but radical. What does meaningful luxury look like today? Especially in a world where people had stopped walking into stores and started choosing wallpapers from WhatsApp PDFs.
The year 2021 was all about concepting. We started interrogating what Indian luxury really meant. What we found was that it wasn’t about bling or excess anymore. It was about pausing, feeling, choosing with care, and reconnecting with craft and nature.
The VIP Room photo by Sebastian-Boettcher for Nilaya Anthology.
Q: Can you define that version of luxury a little more clearly? What are we talking about here?
We distilled it down to four key ideas:
- Meaningful experiences, not just passive consumption
- Time to pause, and savour choices
- Craft and nature, where anything made by hand carries the weight of a human lifetime
- Personal storytelling, where homes reflect the people who live in them
The modern Indian consumer has matured dramatically. They are proud, rooted, and increasingly design-literate. They don’t want scripted aesthetics anymore. They want homes that say something real about them.
Q: And Nilaya Anthology is built to serve exactly that kind of consumer?
Exactly. This is not just a design store. It's a design movement. Every square foot is built around storytelling. Whether it’s The Candle Library, filled with Indian and international scent brands, or The Dining Room, which brings together curated ceramics from across the globe, the idea is the same. Pause, feel, and connect.
Then there’s The Cellar, showcasing antique and contemporary glass objects that carry provenance, process, and personality. And the debut of the Sabyasachi Art Foundation here? That’s a moment. It features works by Atish Mukherjee that reinterpret the Bengal School of Art through a contemporary lens. This isn’t just decoration. It’s narrative.
The Cellar photo by Hashim Badani for Nilaya Anthology
Q: You’ve brought in some serious international players.
We are placing Indian craftsmanship in dialogue with the best in the world. That means iconic names like Cassina, House of Finn Juhl, Zafferano, LEMA, and Ginori 1735.
One of the most exciting debuts is Nilufar, Nina Yashar’s legendary Milan-based gallery, coming to India for the first time. This isn’t just about import. It’s about integration. The idea is to make Mumbai a serious stop on the global design map.
Q: What’s the one space inside Anthology that captures its soul for you?
It has to be The Orangery. Imagine a lush, botanical retreat in the middle of Lower Parel’s urban sprawl. Planters, exotic greens, and a space constantly alive with design-centric events. It is green, quiet, and surprising. Which is exactly how we want people to feel here.
Q: And you’ve also built in a real ecosystem for designers and professionals?
Yes, and that’s critical. We wanted this to be a hub, not just a showroom. The Co-Working Space is designed for architects, interior designers, and innovators to work, ideate, and meet. And then there’s the Materials Lab, where you can touch and test premium surfaces, artisanal textiles, and rare woods. This is a space for prototyping, not just browsing.
