Choosing a Designer

How to Find Interior Designers with Specific Style Expertise?

6 June 2026 · 5 min read

"I can do any style" is one of the most common things you'll hear from designers in Pune. It is also, in most cases, not quite true. Our guide to design styles that work in Pune apartments will help you clarify your own vocabulary before you start meeting designers.

Every designer has an aesthetic sensibility that has been shaped by the work they've done, the images they've absorbed, and the decisions they make instinctively. That sensibility shows up in their work whether or not they're consciously expressing it. Finding a designer whose natural aesthetic aligns with yours is one of the most important decisions you'll make.

The Problem with "I Can Do Any Style"

A designer who says they can do any style usually means one of two things: they're experienced enough to successfully execute a range of aesthetics (less common than claimed), or they'll try anything because they don't have a strong point of view (more common than admitted).

The difference shows up in the details. A designer who's genuinely fluent in Japandi will specify the right proportion of negative space, the right warmth in the timber, the right restraint in accessorising. A designer who's trying Japandi for the first time because you asked for it might nail the broad strokes but miss the texture of what makes it feel right.

How to Read a Portfolio for Style Alignment

Look at a designer's portfolio with this question: does the work have a consistent point of view across projects, or does each project feel disconnected from the others?

A designer with a strong aesthetic produces work that feels like a coherent body — different clients, different budgets, different spaces, but an underlying sensibility connecting them all. That's what you want. You want their sensibility applied to your brief.

A portfolio of wildly different aesthetics can mean versatility — or it can mean the designer just executes whatever the client brings in, without adding their own expertise.

Style Vocabulary: What Things Actually Look Like

A quick cheat sheet for common styles in Pune right now:

Warm minimalism — pale wood, limewash walls, warm white light, furniture with organic curves, very limited accessories. NOT cold white and chrome.

Japandi — Japanese restraint + Scandinavian function. Natural materials, neutral palette, deliberate imperfection (wabi-sabi), no visual clutter.

Contemporary Indian — traditional motifs reinterpreted in modern form. Jaali patterns, brass accents, handwoven textiles, without looking like a period reproduction.

Industrial warm — exposed concrete or brick alongside warm wood and leather. Pendant lighting, metal shelving, high ceilings preferred.

When you use these terms with a designer, ask them what specific decisions they'd make in each style. The answer reveals whether they understand it or just recognise the word.

Instagram Over Website

A designer's website portfolio is their best work, curated for maximum impact. Their Instagram feed is what they're into right now — current projects, current aesthetic preferences, what genuinely excites them.

If your aesthetic aligns with their feed, that's a strong signal. Browse our interiors portfolio to see if our aesthetic resonates with yours.

The Right Question to Ask

"Can you show me three projects in [style] and walk me through specific decisions you made — material choices, layout calls, anything that reflects your thinking in that style?"

A designer who's genuinely fluent will have specific, confident answers. A designer who's faking it will be vague.

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