Innovate to Keep Kitchens Beautiful Yet Functional: Kasturi Sawney, Interwood

Interwood, a renowned name in premium modular kitchens and wardrobes for over three decades opened its 16th exclusive outlet in Hyderabad. In an exclusive interaction with Deccan Chronicle, Ms. Kasturi Sawhney Executive Director, outlines the trends in kitchen interiors.

In a highly competitive marketplace, what makes your company stand out?

People come to us because we offer unique features in our kitchens. We can boast that our kitchens are of the highest quality, because manufacturing is our strength. Other kitchen players generally source from different places and put them together. But we are manufacturers, and that is our core strength. We manufacture the kitchen, and then we have franchisees through whom we sell. We are known for our quality and service. The service we offer is one of the best in the industry and because of that quality and service, we have customers who come back to us for their second home or third home, and maybe even the next generation. We have a lot of referral clients. We believe that when a client buys an Interwood kitchen, they will remain loyal to us forever because that's the kind of product we give. People generally use our kitchens for more than 20 years. And then they come back not because the kitchen has given up, but because they want a change in terms of new look or additions. And we have a whole lot of designs and finishes which gives architects and interior designers a latitude of options with which they can experiment. They can express their design sensibilities with the kind of options that we provide. We use state of the art technology. And if you have seen our features, you'll find them pretty much different from the rest of the kitchens as we pay a lot of attention to detail.

With interior trends changing by the day, how do you manage to keep on top of everything that's happening?

We work closely with our vendors to find out what is the latest in industry. We also take part in shows to learn about the latest technology to see how we can innovate. And then, we create prototypes and once we are happy with the prototype, we introduce it. By the time those products come into the market, because usually it comes into India a little later, after a year, we are ready. We keep changing our designs and even the displays in our boutiques because when people come again, they see something new. So, innovating is one of our USPs. In this industry, we must keep innovating to ensure the designs are fresh and attractive. Our kitchens are aesthetically beautiful, but at the same time, they're very functional because the quality is of utmost importance for us too. We make sure that everything we use is top notch— be it the hardware, accessories, pull-outs—everything is from German companies. So our product is very premium.

Hardeep Sawhney, Chairman, Interwood with executive director Kasturi Sawhney

What are the current trends in kitchen interiors?

Currently, Matt is in. People earlier preferred gloss and glossy finishes, but now it's more matt and a lot of walk-ins like a nine feet wardrobe with a single door. Those are the trends that are catching up. Contemporary is what most people want. But then, we also have a little bit of modern classic styling. Some of the architects are designing homes with a more classical finish. So, we have something like modern classical, which will fit in there too. People also like a lot of gold inlays, gold profiles, black and gold or something with a little bit of bling. New materials like matt fenix are in now. So, whether it's a matt glass or a matt finish board, people are moving towards matt finishes.

How do you define a wellness kitchen?

We are promoting ourselves as wellness kitchens because Interwood, for the past 34 years, has been fostering a feeling of well being and safety in each of our products. For us, sustainability and wellness is the essence of well-being. The whole Interwood process— from designs to raw materials, because we use all factory finished, phenol bonded boards, like MFCs, and MDFs, all the raw materials we use are sustainable. From production to execution, we keep in mind the safety and well being of our client. So you'll see our five point sales pitch mentions antifungal, antibacterial and anti-carcinogenic. The formaldehyde content is low. We take all these into consideration, which is why we call ourselves a wellness product. We have believed in that for 34 years and we continue to do that as it is very close to our heart.

What are the ways in which home life is changing?

Kitchen is now a part of the living space and people want to have a beautiful kitchen with a little bit of seating where the lady of the house calls her friends for a chat over a cuppa. So we make it look very beautiful and functional. Some homes have separate wet kitchens and dry kitchens too. The wet kitchen is where the cooking happens and the dry kitchen where they have a conversation going with friends. And now, the man is also cooking, which is a big change and good for the women. So, he is also involved in the decision. So, it's changing.

You mean to say when men have started taking interest in kitchen design?

Yes. Sometimes it so happens that the lady doesn't say much, but the man has queries because when the husband and wife have jobs, both of them have to help each other in the kitchen. So, things are definitely changing. People are paying more attention to kitchens in terms of look, functionality, storage etc. With respect to wardrobes too, we now have ‘his’ and ‘hers’, a very good concept. For example, a woman may want a cabinet inside for her jewelry. And the client may have blazers for which you have to give a long hanging, or may be a double hanging in the same space where you can fold up the sarees in order to increase the storage for her. And then you have to give detail to storage of handbags, of shoes, because women generally have a lot.