Eight years ago, when Palak Jalan decided to enter the interior design space, after graduating from INIFD, there were not many women establishing an interior design business. “I too started out as a freelance designer with a few handpicked projects in my court. Entrepreneurship was not the idea it has grown into now,” she recalls.
While freelancing, Palak met Kushal Goyal who was equally passionate about the field and they instantly got along. “Kushal has great taste in interiors. It is rare to find your partner interested in the same field as you. And this made us take the next big step. We got into business together establishing Evolve Design five years back,” she elaborates.
Today the creative couple has revamped luxury homes of many people, and businesses like Triveni Group, Alice Restaurants, RV Group, TEN Steels to name a few.
The couple makes a great balance: Palak is an expert in interiors while Kushal makes the right noise with his apt marketing skills. When asked about how they judge a “good” interior design, Palak says, “I have always maintained that you need to “curate” a space rather than just decorate it. During the design phase, it’s important to outline unique and personal environments and filter diverse styles, objects and preferences to create an avant-garde look. This process gives life to spaces that are both sophisticated and delicate extensions of a client’s interests.”
Kushal adds, “The goal is to create rooms with hints of high fashion while creating an atmosphere that make people happy. A space has to be an expression of what the client likes and really enjoys. The most important quality of a luxury home is that the owners see it as a true “home”. It should reflect their personalities, their ideas, and their interests in the most beautiful and functional way possible. Colours, motifs, furnishings, art, and accessories should mix perfectly with their surroundings while finding a rhythm that reflects the personal taste of the owners.”
In five years of working together, the couple has unanimously decided not to have a signature design style. “The design reflects the personality of the individuals living in a house and every individual is different; we need that aspect to come through in our design”.
What the couple loves about interior designing is also meeting and discovering the people they are working for, trying to know them in and out. “Our projects represent the interests and tastes of our clients. A huge part of our work consists in discovering who they are and then showing them how their style can be elevated to new levels,” shares Kushal.
With a design focus that marries aesthetics with functionality, the couple elevates the interiors using antique, vintage and contemporary pieces. Palak says, “Multifunctional furnishings help generate flexibility. Mixing the type of furniture, textiles, illumination, and art with different textures and complementary tones is essential to creating a unique space that is both transcendent and elegant”.
With a focus on growing their business, the couple has also launched a furniture studio called ‘ArtMaya’. Palaks shares, “Our idea is to bring global level design output in furniture making in Nepal and disrupt the industry to show how good things can be produced right here in the country.” ArtMaya has been leading the forefront on being trendsetters for materials like pressed cane in Nepal.
Leave a Reply