Pandora Bharti
Pandora's interiors style is creative, quirky, adventurous, spiritual, a meeting of East and West. Rumi (the Sufi mystic poet) meets Harry Potter. She likes to transcend the mundane and create an experience of entering another world. She loves unusual objects, things that tell stories, that share a human experience, hold a symbolic spiritual or hidden meaning and possess the possibility to transport us to other dimensions.
1. Who is your style hero?
I do not really have a style hero as such but I have drawn inspiration from many things of my life especially my travels, Papua New Guinea, India and Africa. The natural world is a continual source of inspiration and amazement to me and for my work.
2. If you had an unlimited budget to spend on your home what improvements would you make?
I would make a glass walkway, a transparent box that would connect my living space with the guest room. The glass floor would hang high above the alleyway garden that is filled with palms, banana trees and wild ferns from New Zealand. At night the sky clouds stars would be the mantle above. It would make a wonderful dinning experience furnished with transparent Italian chairs and table, spectacular in the rain. I love rain on glass!
3. Would you have the room you created in your own home?
Yes
4. What did you learn from taking part in 鈥榊our Home In Their Hands 鈥�?
It was a learning curve working with production whilst organising the work force within a time limit and having complete faith that it was all possible and doable. Keeping it fun and creative whilst the camera crew were constantly there, that took some getting used too but it鈥檚 all about relaxing! It's actually a great privilege to be able to work in such a way and I learnt a lot.
5. What is your golden rule when it comes to interior design?
Experiment. Don鈥檛 be afraid of mistakes as they provide the platform where new and unexpected ideas are borne. Push boundaries. Everything is possible. Be flexible with ideas and remain open to new possibilities at all times.
6. What is your DIY tool that you just can鈥檛 live without?
I like to draw my ideas out during my creative thinking process, so I guess its a simple pen and paper but I love my new drill, its so handy!
7. What is your biggest DIY achievement?
Collecting sticks from the woods and using them in the plasterwork to make a balustrade. I peeled off all the bark and was left with a smooth pale wood, the texture of which complimented the plasterwork, giving it an unusual and natural feel. There are some things that you can鈥檛 buy.
8. What鈥檚 your biggest DIY disaster?
The thing about disasters or things not working the way in which they were planned is that they often give way to new ideas so the journey is always important. We gain experience and be open to new possibilities.
9. If you could design a room in any building in the world, what room would you design and why?
I would love to create a temple to humanity, a sanctuary of peace and unity, bringing all cultures together a celebration of our differences but also of the oneness of humanity. All religions would be banned! The energy of the design would activate a feeling of reverence, connection and the celebrating of the privilege to be alive in the present. This space would be an invitation to reflect, connect and shed our facades.
