JJ Valaya’s luxurious store is a world of it’s own

But finally in April, the self-proclaimed royalist got the opening he deserved for his store. To display his luxe interiors you navigate the space from the living room, dining room and bar to the bedroom, like you would a home designed by him. And you will find yourself holding your breath in a visceral response to all the lush unabashed beauty—the art deco furniture pieces, the hand-painted walls, embroidered tapestries, grand arches, gleaming brass inlay floooring. The experience might be breathtaking to you and I, it’s still not enough for the man behind this. “Though this is an expansive space, it's still not expansive enough because an actual home needs a much larger space. But for us this is really to show the DNA of our brand. The idea is that in couple of years down the line, we will take a much larger space and then show the experience in its true essence,” says Valaya.

Read on for more details about the space, and click on the video below for a full tour by him!

BH: You have designed this store as a home. How would describe a JJ Valaya home?

JJ: Luxury is the unwritten law in the kind of spaces we do. It has to be luxurious but it has to be a home, which means that it cannot be an interior decorator’s preset formula—this should go here, that should go there. It's very important to understand what the family has, what are they extremely fond of, and then I often weave my story around those objects. Sometimes a single object can inspire an entire space if they feel strongly enough about it. But what is most important to me is the element of surprise, because I find homes which look the same in every room, very boring. And it's very important that when people walk from one space to the other, they should not know what to expect, because the unexpected is what creates the drama. And the awe-factor, and it's something you enjoy for years to come.

BH: What according to you is a Beautiful Home?

JJ: The concept of a beautiful room has become even more relevant post pandemic. because after being imprisoned in their spaces people suddenly realised the importance of those spaces. And homes are also where memories are made, memories are stored, memories are shared. So I think if you want a home to really treasure and probably pass on to the next generation, it should really be full of memories.