So I moved to Dwarka in 2018, right? And man, it was weird. Everyone around me was living in these nice apartments but they looked like nobody actually lived there. Like, you’d go to someone’s place and it’d be super awkward—nice kitchen but they never cooked in it, living room but everyone just sat on their phones. That’s when I realized how bad interior design in Dwarka actually was. I started asking people about it and they’d say stuff like, “Yeah, I don’t know what to do with this space,” or “My mom decorated it in 2008 and I just haven’t changed it.” That happened over and over. Nobody seemed to understand that interior design in Dwarka wasn’t just about making things look nice—it was about making spaces actually functional for how people really live.
Then I started helping my neighbor organize her bedroom just for fun, and suddenly people were calling me. “Hey, can you help us figure out our place?” My friends’ friends. Their relatives. Eventually I’m like, okay, this is actually something people need. Not fancy stuff—just real help. Interior design in Dwarka isn’t some rich person thing anymore. It’s literally just people going, “I spend like ten hours a day here and it’s depressing, can we fix it?”
What’s Actually Going On With Apartments in Dwarka
Everything Changed After 2020
Before COVID happened, apartments in Dwarka were basically just bedrooms. Like, you’d sleep there, maybe eat breakfast, then you’d leave for work and come back late. It was a base camp, not a home. Then lockdown happened and suddenly everyone’s stuck at home. Like, stuck stuck. For months.
That’s when stuff got real. You realize real quick that your living room is actually where you’re going to spend sixteen hours a day. Your kitchen needs to be functional because you’re cooking three meals now instead of ordering. The bedroom is where you’re working. Your apartment became your world and everyone freaked out because they realized it was terrible.
I remember my friend Rahul calling me in April 2020 like, “Dude, I’m losing my mind. There’s nowhere to work, my kitchen is disgusting to be in, and the whole place feels like a cave.” He was exaggerating but also not really. His apartment legitimately wasn’t set up for actual living—it was set up for sleeping in.
People Started Actually Thinking About Where They Spend Time
Before, maybe one person in your building cared about their interior. Everyone else just threw stuff in and called it done. But now? Everyone’s obsessed. They’re scrolling through Instagram, asking friends what they did, watching YouTube videos at like midnight about how to arrange furniture. It’s kind of funny but also it means people finally get it—where you live matters.
The problem is they get five hundred different opinions and no idea what actually works for them. I had this girl, Shreya, she came to me with a binder. A physical binder full of printed pictures from Pinterest. It had minimalist Scandinavian stuff, maximalist Indian stuff, bohemian stuff, modern stuff. I’m looking through it and I’m like, “Shreya, you can’t actually live in all of these at the same time.” She’d just been collecting ideas without asking herself what her actual life looked like.
That’s the thing that took me years to figure out—design isn’t about copying pretty pictures. It’s about understanding how you actually live and then making that work better.
Money Started Flowing Into Home Projects
I used to see people hire interior designers like once every five years in the building. Now it happens constantly. Regular people, not millionaires. Young couples. Families. Older people refreshing their spaces. They’re saving up, doing it slowly, figuring out what matters most. It’s become normal.
My uncle kept saying, “Why would you spend that much on your apartment when you could travel?” But then he realized he was home way more than he traveled. So spending money on making that space actually nice made sense. Like, if you’re going to spend eight hours sleeping and another four or five at home, shouldn’t that space be good?
What’s Actually Looking Good in Dwarka Homes Right Now
The Messy Beautiful Thing
I went to this party at my friend Aditya’s place in Sector 9 and his whole apartment just felt right. It wasn’t overly designed or trying too hard. His living room was super clean and minimal—white walls, simple furniture, tons of light. But then there was this absolutely crazy beautiful Afghan rug his dad brought back from Kabul like thirty years ago. And that’s it. That rug was the entire story. Everything else just shut up and let it exist.
That’s what I’m seeing work. People aren’t doing the “ethnic corner” anymore where you throw everything Indian together like it’s a souvenir shop. It’s more like… you have a life. You have a memory. You have something that means something. Let’s actually integrate that into the space instead of either hiding it or going all-in on minimalism.
My neighbor has these old brass lamps from his grandfather. Honestly, they’re kind of ugly on their own. But in his bedroom, which is otherwise totally minimal and modern, they’re like the most beautiful intentional things there. People literally ask him where he got them because they assume he found them at some fancy designer store. He’s like, “Nah, my grandfather used them.” That’s the vibe that’s working right now.
Natural Light Is Like The Secret Nobody Talks About
Okay so I was dumb about this for like two years. My apartment would be absolutely freezing in the morning from the east-facing sun blasting through, then by evening it’d be an oven from the west side getting hit, and the north side was always dark. I just closed curtains and complained about it constantly. Then someone was like, “You could… buy different curtains?” And I was like, “Oh.”
Now when I talk to people about their spaces, the light conversation happens immediately. Like, your neighbor facing south? They’re getting absolutely roasted. Their AC runs constantly. Their furniture’s fading. Their energy bill is insane. Someone facing north? They’re in a cave all the time. Lights on at 3 PM. Feels depressing. East and west are their own problems.
Once you understand which way your apartment faces, you can actually do something about it instead of just suffering. Heavy blackout curtains if you’re getting fried. Light colors if you want to reflect heat. Mirrors in the right places if you’re dark. Plant stuff that likes shade if you’re gloomy. It’s not rocket science but nobody naturally knows this stuff.
Storage That Doesn’t Stress You Out
Every single person I talk to in Dwarka has this problem—where do I put my stuff? Beds with drawers. Shelves on walls. Cabinets under stairs. But here’s what took me forever to realize—just because you can fit storage doesn’t mean it should look like a storage unit.
I was at my cousin’s place last year and she had somehow made storage look actually nice. Like, her open shelves had books arranged beautifully, plants, some artwork. Her closed cabinets were just closed so you didn’t have to look at the chaos. Matching boxes for the stuff she needed to store. It was organized but it didn’t make you stressed just looking at it.
Compare that to another friend’s place where they literally stuffed storage everywhere and it looks chaotic and stressful. Like your brain is just processing visual noise the entire time you’re in the apartment. That’s exhausting.
So now I tell people—yes, get storage. But think about what people are actually going to see. Open shelves? Make them look nice because people are looking at them. Closed cabinets for the mess. Everything should either be beautiful or hidden, nothing in between.
Kitchens Need To Actually Work
This took me way too long to understand because I don’t really cook. But I started noticing patterns. My friend Priya has this absolutely gorgeous gray kitchen. Like magazine-worthy. White marble counters, nice lights, the whole thing looks perfect.
But then I actually watched her cook in it and it’s a nightmare. The counters are so dark she can’t tell if they’re clean. The storage is in weird spots. There’s no counter space to actually put stuff while you’re making food. She hates being in there even though it looks beautiful. So she orders food more, which is expensive, and she’s stuck in a space she doesn’t even like.
Then there’s my mom’s friend’s kitchen which is honestly pretty basic. Nothing fancy. But everything is where you’d actually want it. You can reach everything. There’s counter space. The lights let you actually see what you’re cutting. It’s functional. So she’s in there more, cooking more, actually enjoying it. The space works for her real life instead of being something to look at on Instagram.
Actual Problems People Face
Two People Working From Home in a Two-Bedroom Is Chaos
This is still happening to so many people. One person gets the second bedroom as an office. Cool. But then where’s the other person? Sitting at the dining table? In a corner of the bedroom? And when you’re both on Zoom calls you’re hearing each other’s background noise and it’s annoying for everyone on the call.
I’ve seen people solve this different ways. This one couple positioned their dining table so they’re literally back-to-back. You’re not staring at someone working, not hearing them as much because you’re back to each other. Another couple I know literally bought a nice room divider thing and put it in their bedroom so one person has a corner that feels separate. They said it helped psychologically even though it’s technically the same room.
The best solution I’ve seen? This couple just accepted that trying to both work from home was making them crazy, so they go to a cafe or co-working space like three days a week. They pay for it but their sanity is worth it. Sometimes the design solution isn’t a design solution, it’s just being real about what actually works.
The Heat Situation Is Legitimately Terrible
Nobody talks about this but May and June in Dwarka is like living on the surface of the sun. I’m not exaggerating. Your apartment gets so hot that you can’t think. The AC can’t keep up no matter what. Your furniture is getting damaged. Paint starts looking gross and sticky. Everything’s humid. It’s awful.
Design choices actually matter here more than people think. Light colors reflect heat. Dark colors absorb it like crazy. Some materials handle humidity way better than others. Wood swells and warps. Certain fabrics get mold on them. I’ve had to completely rethink how I recommend things based on what season it is. Light linen curtains sound nice in theory but in July? You need heavy blackout curtains or you’re literally cooking in your apartment.
Your Budget Is The Real Thing Stopping You
People come to me with these wild vision boards and YouTube inspirations but they’ve got like ₹1.5 lakhs for the entire apartment. I’m not saying that’s impossible because I’ve done nice stuff on that budget, but you have to choose. You can’t have a fancy kitchen, fancy bedroom, fancy living room, and a renovated bathroom on ₹1.5 lakhs. It’s not happening.
You need to pick what matters most to you and then keep everything else simple. Most people figure out pretty fast that the stuff you actually use matters more than the stuff you just look at. So spending more on a good bed makes sense because you’re literally on it eight hours a day. Kitchen counters? You touch them constantly. Bathroom tiles? You’re in there for like ten minutes total. So maybe the bathroom stays basic.
Questions People Actually Ask Me
So like, how much money are we talking?
Okay real talk. If someone comes to your place, looks around, and gives you advice, that’s usually like ₹5,000 to ₹15,000. If you want them to design everything—like actually manage the whole thing, pick all the materials, work with contractors, make sure it happens—that’s ₹1,50,000 and way up from there. Could be ₹10,00,000 if you’re doing a full renovation. Just one room? That’s ₹50,000 to ₹3,00,000. It’s all over the place depending on what you’re doing.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it—it’s expensive. But go to https://interiors-india.com/ because at least they’re straight about it instead of giving you some mystery number and then shocking you later.
How long before I can actually move back in?
Depends what you’re doing. Just painting and rearranging? Few weeks. Doing bathroom or kitchen stuff? Add another month easy. Then you’re dealing with contractors who don’t show up, materials arriving late, suppliers running out of stuff. Summer heat makes everything slower because contractors don’t want to work in 45 degrees and paint dries weird. I’ve seen projects that should take three months turn into five or six months. Just plan for it being longer than anyone tells you.
How do I know if someone’s actually good at this?
This is the real question. Look at what they’ve actually done, not just pretty pictures. Can you go see a space they designed? Ask them specific questions about how they’d fix your actual problems. Do they actually listen or do they just talk about what they want to do? Have they worked in places like yours? What do their past clients actually say about it? Not in their portfolio but like, call them up and ask.
I’ve seen designers who take beautiful photos but their clients are constantly frustrated about how things actually function. I’ve also seen designers who don’t have fancy portfolios but their clients love living in their spaces. That second type is better. Like, way better.
How do I work with someone without going insane?
Communication, man. That’s literally it. Find someone who listens instead of just pushing their vision on you. Someone who admits when they don’t know something instead of pretending. Someone who explains why they’re recommending stuff instead of just saying “trust me bro.” You’re going to spend a lot of time with this person. If they annoy you in the first meeting, they’re going to drive you absolutely crazy during the whole project. Take your time picking someone. It’s worth it.
Can I just do some of this myself or will I mess it up?
Totally do some of it yourself. Paint your walls? Go for it. Rearrange furniture? Yeah. Pick out artwork and decorative stuff? That’s actually fun. But pay for the professional help on the stuff that’s technical—figuring out how to actually use your space efficiently, working out storage solutions, dealing with lighting. Those are things where mistakes are expensive and annoying to fix.
Actually Making This Happen
So after spending enough time in Dwarka apartments, I stopped seeing them as individual projects and started seeing them as reflections of how people actually live. Like, someone who works till 9 PM and never cooks needs a completely different kitchen than someone who cooks every night. Family with kids needs different storage than a couple. Person who loves having people over needs different furniture than someone who just wants peace.
What I’ve learned is that the best spaces aren’t the ones matching some Pinterest board—they’re the ones where someone actually thought, “Okay, this is my actual life. How do I make that better?” And then designed around that instead of around some aesthetic fantasy.
Nobody tells you this but design isn’t permanent. You’re not creating some frozen perfect moment. You paint a wall a different color. You get new furniture. You add plants. You realize something doesn’t work and you change it. It’s constantly evolving. So don’t stress about making it perfect forever—just make a good foundation and adjust as you go.
Start by being honest about how you actually live. Where do you spend most of your time? What bugs you about your space right now? What would make coming home feel actually good? Don’t worry about trends or what looks good on Instagram. Just think about your real life.
When you’re ready to actually do something, go check out https://interiors-india.com/. They actually get Dwarka. They’re not going to push you to spend money on stuff you don’t need. They’re not going to force some design aesthetic that doesn’t fit your actual life. They’ll work with what you’ve got, listen to what you’re actually saying, and help you make a space that functions. That’s interior design in Dwarka done right. Go make your apartment somewhere you actually want to be.