A home Mia Thermopolis would approve of!

Aasa Concepts repackages grandeur for a New Delhi apartment

19 Nov 2025

Picture a princess in exile, making her own mark in the city. She swaps palaces for an apartment. Gravitates towards decor that looks like it’d fit right into an antique shop, save for a 45-year-old Pichwai painting that occupies pride of place in her dining room. No palatial rooms. No mammoth scale or volumes. How do you reimagine grandeur in a run-of-the-mill space? You rethink your proportions. You sketch in the details with a light sleight of hand. And bit by bit, piece by piece, your new-age palace begins to materialise. For Aanchal Mittal of Aasa Concepts, this was the make-believe world they were building in this 2,100 sq ft Delhi apartment in Jorbagh, New Delhi.

Up came the sepia-tinged miniatures, jewel tones dialled down for everyday living, and elaborately crafted shutters that hide the flatscreen — because when has one ever seen a television in a palace? When the brief called for balancing maximalist touches with everyday functioning, the principal designer began dreaming bigger. Think “royalty, but make it apartment-friendly,” quips Aanchal.

Borrowing from the past

Despite the overarching theme demanding the extravagance typically associated with royalty, the homeowners were intent on keeping the space functional. But instead of shying away or playing it safe, Aanchal does the opposite. She appoints a multitude of “heroes” in one room, and pares the other details down — a true princess-meets-the-pauper moment. Think statement chandeliers topping low-profile couches. Rattan daybeds abutting maximalist gallery walls.

"The shift in tone makes the study one of the most distinctive spaces that I enjoyed designing the most"

— Aanchal Mittal

Furniture by House of Things and Gulmohar Lane, with select Carmen made pieces. Chandelier by Jainsons Emporio. Artwork by Aasa Living. Furnishings by Studio Orion; Photography by Rohit Mendiratta

This mixture of silhouettes from the present and the past, all conceptualised in earthy hues with dominant swathes of beige, allows multiple styles to be part of one cohesive spatial narrative. Statement pieces find room to breathe, without any of them jostling against each other for attention. Thus, the bulk (both visual and literal) that accompanies most antique pieces is absent from the home. In their stead, rich, contrasting hues and materials add drama without any of the excess or the weight.

Serving bite-sized heritage

A cosy dining space lies right beyond the home’s compact entryway, immediately setting the tone for what’s to follow later. The heroes of the space, undoubtedly, are the 45-year-old Pichwai painting gracing the wall, fronted by a custom-made chandelier in the centre. Anchored by a six-seater round dining table, the adjacent walls feature a minimalist console and a contemporary mandir — thoughtfully rounding off the statement pieces.

Abutting the dining is the study room, an immediate favourite of Aanchal’s. Custom oil-paint artworks cluster together to form a gallery wall here, each one wrapped in baroque frames. A rattan sofa-cum-bed allows one to turn the space into a guest room if needed. Heavily vintage-inspired, the room caters to a multitude of needs — dark, moody, romantic and yet functional. “The shift in tone makes it one of the most distinctive spaces that I enjoyed designing the most,” avers Aanchal.

A console custom made by Beyond Dreams peeks from one corner of the dining room, with a mirror above it from Beyond Designs; Photography by Rohit Mendiratta

All furniture in the room has been custom-made by Beyond Dreams. The wallpaper is from Life n Colors, resting behind pendant lights by Length Breadth Height; Photography by Rohit Mendiratta

Her other favourite? The living room, crafted from hues handpicked from a jewel box. Think emerald couches, rust-hued paisley armchairs, and rich, red pouffes. Hand-embellished prints of Raja Ravi Varma’s Maharaja and Maharani portraits coolly observe visitors from the wall. Contemporary accents like the scallop-edged coffee table and fluted marble fireplace co-exist with objet d’arts like a red-and-gold painted cabinet mounted on the wall. But peel away its shutters, and a television emerges in plain view!

What are some key ingredients that make a bedroom fit for royalty? Forget canopies or poster beds. Here, grand headboards do most of the heavy lifting, paired with dainty floral wallpapers and a subtle, overarching palette of white, beige and black — save for the guest room that adds a little rust and red to the mix.

The home’s thoughtful design interventions prove that when it comes to designing your dream space, a little ingenuity and imagination go a long way. No palace? No problem!