Print exclusive: Iram Sultan scripts a home

The designer crafts her dear friend, late Gautam Baid’s New Delhi home

29 Aug 2025

Lets call it the chrysalis effect. In the beginning it is always a project, a site, a caterpillar that blossoms into the proverbial butterfly, a home. And then there is this home, Gautam and Ruchika Baid’s home in New Delhi, which was never a project. It is an ode to friendship, to shared dreams, to that magical rhythm that infuses even the smallest corner. Surrounded by lush green trees, filled with potential, fuelled by our dreams and conversations, the home took shape. Gautam and I met a few years ago for a small space he wanted designed.

It was during the COVID-19 lockdown that I got a call from him asking if I wanted to be the Art Director for a new furniture brand he was launching. That is how Sunday Designs happened. Which also meant that we met more and more, a lot of the time with Ruchika and my husband, and formed a bond that words fall short of. It felt only natural that we would design their home together. We dreamt of a home that was visually porous, yet felt like a snug embrace. It had to be filled with warmth, laughter, conversation, comfort, a sense of belonging, art and people.

“We dreamt of a home that was visually porous, yet felt like a snug embrace. It had to be filled with warmth, laughter, conversation, comfort, a sense of belonging, art and people”

— Iram Sultan

Ceramic and embroidered fabric jars by Mahbubur Rahman form the centrepiece atop a DeMuro Das dining table with noir finish base. The chairs are by B&B Italia; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

A house low on big statements and high on personalised, layered, textural spaces. We chose materials and created forms that echoed these emotions. Warm sesame marble floors with a natural pattern of large chips, mingled with toasty wood floors in a mix of scale and form. Glass bricks became the unifying factor across different floors, the very definition of that lovely paradox of solid yet clear. In a home spanning a few floors (four to be precise), the dazzling white plaster finished connecting the staircase held its own with staggered landings that play peek-a-boo, built in lamps that gleam at landings, and round glass punctures you could walk on and look through.

The love for all things crisp and graphic is seen in the scattering of tangerine and sky blue glass lights swooping in the stairwell, and the veneered stripes parading across passages, living rooms and a personal study. Gautam’s knowledge and generosity brought a wealth of gifts galore for me to play with, no holds barred — a rare veneer with the most exquisite subtle grain invites you to take a closer look at the drawing room walls clad in it. Tiny details create a sense of discovery along with the visual porosity. Apertures or peepholes allow you to glimpse through a strategically positioned glowing orb of light, as you walk up towards the drawing room, connecting the spaces and blurring boundaries. Miniature portholes invite you to place your eye against them and see the dining and drawing room in a new perspective. Each piece of furniture was an exploration, a discussion.

Osvaldo Gonzalez’s artwork on the wall adds a layer of depth and intrigue. Below it is a sofa by Flexform with a lamp titled Lampampe by Ingo Maurer adjacent to it. A centre table by B&B Italia is crowned by De Padova’s majestic ceiling light; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

At the entrance, a striped ceiling in veneer by Coast to Coast draws the eye forward, the stripes being a recurring detail throughout the home. A circular cavity in the wall frames a view into the living room; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

How would the kids lounge on the Edra sofa (and they do). Why did I want the coffee tables to be almost invisible (visual porosity of course). The nubby softness of the fabrics we chose, how by a serendipitous stroke of luck, Oreo, the little four-legged ball of fur, the beloved child of the family inspired the colour palette of the drawing room: Malteser, ivory, digestive biscuit with a splash of cola. Like everything in this home, it all stems from relationships and friendships. The massive Klove light installation festooned above a custom DeMuro Das dining table is a deep burgundy painstakingly created through multiple trials. DeMuro Das are responsible for most of the custom made furniture with special finishes and the beautiful cabinetry in the home.

You cannot miss the much loved embroidered cabinet by Rooshad Shroff, the gorgeous crescent lamp and moon mirror by Ashiesh Shah, tables from Ravi Vazirani and lovingly crafted marquetry millwork by Coast to Coast, Gautam’s in-house company. Not to say that we didn’t paint with large strokes of colour. Miniature explosions of colour in the form of artworks abound across the home. Deep reds to cheer you on, offset by pale jade carpets and honeycomb upholstery in the parents living space, a ray of sunshine bursting in the younger daughter’s bedroom, the green of the trees that envelope the home entering the master bedroom, and the deeply personal study, with cool aquas and notes of warm striped veneer.

Ceramic and embroidered fabric jars by Mahbubur Rahman form the centrepiece atop a DeMuro Das dining table with noir finish base. A deep burgundy chandelier by Klove had its colour specifically customised for this project, a poetic nod to Iram and Gautam’s love for wine. The chairs are by B&B Italia; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

A set of five artworks by Bhagyashree Suthar from Akara Art Gallery brings quiet cadence to the master bedroom. At the foot of the Ditre Italia bed is a bench by DeMuro Das; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

Debates about design are the foundation of this home. Why did I want the cult favourite red Revolving Cabinet designed by Shiro Kuramata for Cappellini? Instant agreement met my tentative proposal for eschewing the ubiquitous chandelier in favour of a large paper light that seems to have absorbed moonlight and calls to you like a homing beacon. Night and moonlight met in the noir powder room, with an entire wall covered in a silver framed Bidri inspired carpet and a delicate filigree metal chandelier. Each bathroom has its own character, designed with a wishlist that originated with the primary person whose room it is part of. I have a penchant for homes that play with washes of sunlight and shadows in the day and glow like lanterns in the evening.

It is ever more special in this home with its warmth and glow reflecting the people it belongs to. I don’t think this question requires an answer for me — is any home complete without art? Lovingly collected, hotly debated, each artwork carries its own anecdote. I flew free when I was designing this home, a gift as rare as it is special. The wind beneath my wings are my friends whose home this is, our passion, our interests, the desire for refinement, the journey of joy that this home is and the memory of a special friendship that is mine forever.

Choreographing curiosity and movement through its staggered landings, the staircase with its curved demeanour becomes a work of art in itself, revealing shifting vantage points as each level unfolds; A Rooshad Shroff console greets the main entrance, paired with a Jaipur Rugs runner. To the right is Sumakshi Singh’s artwork on the wall; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

Sourcing list

Furniture: Rooshad Shroff, Demuro Das, B&B Italia, Edra, Acerbis Design, Flexform, Poltrona Frau, Cappellini, Molteni&C, Ravi Vazirani, Baxter, Chippiwara, Sunday Design, Giorgetti, De Padova, Porada, Ditre Italia
Furnishing: Jaipur Rugs, Live Linen, Phillip Jeffries, Shiro Kuramata, Cappellini
Flooring: Foglie d’Oro
Lighting: Established & Sons, Klove, Davide Groppi, Isamu Noguchi, De Padova, Cassina, Ingo Maurer, Flos, ANDlight, Parachilna, Vibia, Marset
Decor: Ashiesh Shah, Eeshaan Kashyap, Pottery Barn, Dimensione Chi Wing Lo, Mahbubur Rahman
Art: Gallery Continua, Julien Segard, Biraaj Dodiya, Kirtika Kain, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mekhala Behal, Bhagyashree Suthar (Akara Art Gallery), Vipeksha, Divya Singh, Chandan Dey, Ricky Vasan, Osvaldo González, Joya Mukerjee Logue, Sumakshi Singh, Sahil Arora (Method Art Gallery), Shailesh B. R, Vipeksha Gupta
Finishes: Coast to Coast
Bathware: FCML