Sussanne Khan Paradise Is Not A Place, It's A Way Of Life

Every spirited woman who has arrived at her own paradise has treadmilled her way there. And Sussanne Khan is no exception. Hello! Chats with the Interiors Cantadora, for whom winning ‘Asia’s most influential designer’ was just a byproduct of making life her dream factory, as she continues to drive new design zeitgeists — quirky, irreverent and luxurious, but stamped with originality

-  Sangeeta Waddhwani

When one enters her colossus of an apartment, perched on the 15th floor of a Lodha high-rise in Juhu, there’s a sense of restrained elegance, layered and truly global design. Not to mention a sense of Atlas Shrugged non-conformity. Stained sycamore wooden door panels meet a ceiling featuring old-world beams and subtle lighting (she’s a big subscriber to the ‘lighting makes an interior’ philosophy). One’s eyes naturally migrate to sound-proof bay glass doors, beyond which lie a generous spread of greenery and a pre-monsoon sky.

The living room tells many a design story, even at a glance. We see a mirror held up by side bars moulded to look like tree bark, a limited-edition art print by Manjunath Kamath, dyed agate mini-tables, metal-plated tree bark tables, sofas by Andrew Martin dressed up with cushions featuring Dior and Hermès scarves, and elegant bric-a-brac everywhere, like African zebras standing in a cluster on a silver-plated side table. The details are all delightful and full of daring.

At the epicentre of her living room is a virtual shrine to her family, their photos set on a table by her friend and architect Rooshad Shroff. Completing the picture is fluffy Malibu, doing his own performance of jumping, licking, tail-wagging and loving… Infusing a sense of ‘hearth’ with his pure heart.