The Auura : Creating a niche in luxury design

Husband-wife duo Shaily and Kalpesh Ganatra operate their design studio, Auura Design Studio out of Rajkot, Gujarat. While Shaily handles the creative aspects, Kalpesh takes care of the technical side. Their work primarily includes residential, commercial and hospitality interior design solutions in various parts of India as well as the Netherlands, Dubai and Africa. 

They also serve as a one-stop shop, connecting clients to vendors directly, offering the best rates. Currently a team of nine, they are known for their unique, customised, luxurious designs, and their efficiency.

Charting the path
A qualified interior designer, Shaily took a sabbatical after getting married and made a comeback after eight years, collaborating with other interior designers at their studios. Eventually, she started getting noticed and decided to open her own studio. Kalpesh, on the other hand, runs another family business. Spurred on by a passion for design and his eye for detail, he joined hands with Shaily and co-founded the venture.

The couple defines their style as eclectic, a mixture of textures, time periods, styles, trends and colours. They love exploring materials such as mosaic, stones, fiber and tree logs. “In one of our recent projects, the Gandhi Museum, we used ecofriendly materials such as cork, brick, wood, rope, jute and bamboo," they say. Shaily and Kalpesh draw inspiration from things that most of us would overlook, such as a bird sitting on a window sill and patterns in the sky on a sunny day.

“One of the major challenges we face is staying updated in our field,” says Shaily. Kalpesh adds that finding skilled and affordable labour to deliver the desired results based on their design is another challenge. Despite these hurdles, they try to maintain a positive approach. Says the duo, “We’ve always trusted our instincts and given it our best, which has worked wonderfully for us so far.”

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