5 Questions with Hardesh and Monica Chawla of Essentia Environments on Essentia Home’s global yet homegrown vision

The proverb “Necessity is the mother of invention” best describes the culmination of Essentia Home. The newest feather in the cap of Essentia Environments, a design and build company founded in 1999, it aims to prove itself as a one-stop solution built by designers, for designers and design aficionados. The newly unveiled experience centre sprawls over 15,000 sq ft, with over 1,000 items on display. From furniture that appeals to modern aesthetics to soft furnishings, panellings and an imported curation of lights and other essentials — it is a comprehensive yet novel destination helmed by Hridik Chawla. All components made in-house are crafted from locally sourced materials, positioning Essentia Home as a homegrown brand with a global design language. 

At the helm of Essentia Environments, Director Hardesh Chawla and Creative Head Monica Chawla trace the steps that led to the birth of Essentia Home. In an illuminating conversation with ELLE DECOR India, hear from the duo about what makes the brand tick and how it all came to life, one creation at a time.

Essentia Home is a culmination of your 25-year journey. Could you tell us more about the pivotal moments or decisions that led you to this point and how they influenced the creation of Essentia Home?

As a design and build company offering exclusive interior solutions, at Essentia Environments, we experienced first-hand the shortcomings in products, both in terms of quality and design sensibility. We also experienced the lack of comprehensiveness of the deliverables, not just from one source, but from all. That’s when we began custom designing and manufacturing every furniture and accessory needed for our projects in-house. This capability completely streamlined the entire process of offering value-oriented interior solutions to our clients. 

We were in absolute control of the quality, aesthetics and budget vis-à-vis the furniture, panelings, joinery and accessories that added a distinctive creative edge to our projects. That was the turning point. If we increased the production capacity, we could offer fellow designers, architects and end-users the benefit of great quality and sophisticated design. It would make the task of finding the right kind of products easy for them. We also knew that in a globalised India, our products leaning towards minimalism would find great resonance, just the way our interior solutions have. It is this keen observation that influenced us to launch Essentia Home.

Essentia Home features imported elements like lighting from Melogranoblu and glassware from Ichendorf. What criteria do you use to decide which products to source locally versus internationally?

We are committed to “make in India” and the promotion of local artisans, traditional crafts and techniques – it is evident in the 95 per cent of products by Essentia Home created in-house. However, there are some processes and materials that we do not yet possess. So we are happy to have in our portfolio a select few brands in these areas, whose sensibilities and value propositions align with ours.

Moreover, if you take the example of Melogranoblu, we have been using their lights in our projects for a long time, for this very reason. These are products that we would like to own ourselves. The same is true for Ichendorf. Hopefully, in the future, we will make these products in-house, but until then, we are happy to have them onboard. 

How do you see Essentia Home contributing to the promotion and sustainability of local craftsmanship in India?

When we unveiled our products to the media fraternity, designers and end-users, we got a tremendous response. They all thought the collection was phenomenal as they genuinely could not find any difference between our products and those coming from Europe in terms of quality, aesthetics and finishes. Most people even felt that the quality far exceeds that of European offerings. We do agree that some of our products are superior to what you would find abroad.

This means that this pilot study, the initial attempt, has yielded great results. And we have achieved this by employing local artisans and craftsmanship. We have the talent and the techniques readily available, we just need to give it the right direction in order to create products that stand up to global standards. We just have to continue to do the good work to promote local craftsmanship. 

What are the measures you’ve taken to ensure environmental responsibility while maintaining luxury standards?

When we talk about sustainability, I’m of the opinion that by using less, you make the biggest impact. This aligns with our design sensibility that celebrates “less is more”. When we design, we introduce as few elements as needed to keep the spaces looking elegant and sophisticated. If we are introducing 30-40 % less products, it’s a step in the right direction. We also lay emphasis on using materials and resources judiciously, cutting down on wastage. Most of the materials we use are locally available, quite a few of them are sustainable too. We take care to filter any production waste before releasing them. Now that the collection is ready, we continue to improve upon our green endeavours.

At Essentia Environments, we strive to maximize the use of generated waste by repurposing it into practical, everyday products. For instance, stone waste from coffee tables and other items is creatively transformed into items like tissue boxes, trays, and coasters. Additionally, we are committed to using materials of Indian origin, with a particular emphasis on Indian stone as a key component in our designs.

How do you envision the brand evolving in the next five years, both in terms of product offerings and geographical presence?

We have always been a value-oriented organisation and one of the key attributes that I see among all our clients is that they are short on time. So, regarding geographical presence, by the end of 2026, we plan to be in all tier 1 and 2 cities, so that people are able to touch, feel and experience the products wherever they are. 

Regarding product offerings, we continue to build on the collections. The interior space is a dynamic field, not a static one. You can’t produce something and sit on it for 10 years. So we continue to refresh our collections periodically. We have also tied up with designers from across the world to introduce newer perspectives. So we’re hoping that by the end of 2025, we will have a collection of 2,000 products. We are committed to bringing in an element of freshness and novelty to our clients. 

To learn more and peruse through their creations, visit Essentia Environment’s website