SABA KAPOOR

AN UNDERSTANDING OF GOOD DESIGN RUNS IN THIS TALENTED YOUNG LADY’S GENES, AND SHE USES HER KNOWLEDGE TO ENHANCE THE VISION OF HER FAMILY-OWNED INTERIORS BRAND. HELLO! GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE DESIGNER ON HER LOVE FOR CREATIVELY-CHARGED ENVIRONMENTS, INDIAN CRAFTSMANSHIP AND, MOST OF ALL, FINDING JOY IN HER WORK EVERY DAY

- NOOR ANAND CHAWLA

When most little girls were playing dress up with dolls, Saba Kapoor was learning the art of dressing homes. She’d accompany her father — popular interior designer Rohit Kapoor — to his workshop, watch him painstakingly design layouts and share detailed instructions with kaarigars to breathe life into his ideas. It’s no wonder then that she found her calling in design. After a stint abroad, Kapoor joined her father Rohit and mother Riti to complete the team that runs Delhi-based Nivasa, a luxury interiors, furniture, millwork and lighting firm.

“Design unintentionally became a part of who I am because I grew up around it. When I graduated from school, everyone thought I’d pursue finance because I was good at accounting, but I felt drawn to design. So I did summer school at Central Saint Martins and Chelsea College in London, pursued my master’s degree from Parsons School of Design, New York, and worked at BoConcept in the city before returning to India.”

“I didn’t want design to be the obvious choice of career for me because of my family’s connection with it, so I tested the waters first. But I really enjoyed every aspect of it and knew this was the field I was meant to be in. Design is now an inherent part of my personality. I’m so excited to go to work every day and feel so fulfilled,” declares Saba with a smile.

Nivasa is the brainchild of Rohit Kapoor, a chartered accountant who veered off the beaten path to pursue his true passion. Now, with decades of experience working closely with craftsmen, he’s evolved his practice into one that constantly discovers new materials and techniques to be at the cutting edge of the field.