The ‘Diwali Aunty’ behind art-filled Victorian villas and a truly global design residency

“It’s all about bringing the warmth. It’s why I never go for whites and silvers. Instead, I love a candle-lit sit-down filled with colour, artisanal detailing, and a low-lying centrepiece with plants over florals. I want my guests to be in conversation with each other, over and across the table,” says award-winning interior designer Shalini Misra.

Whether she’s practising chakra meditation everyday, strolling on her built-in walking path with seven moon gates based on Vedic philosophy at her sprawling Delhi farmhouse, or proudly stating that “well-being” is at the core of her practice, Misra is all about the vibes. But not in a performative woo-woo girl or WitchTok way; she’s serious about the philosophical moorings anchoring her design practice.

Encompassing meditative pathways and high-altitude luxury, Misra’s global practice spans London, New York, and Dubai. Her portfolio boasts everything from transforming a Bombardier Global XRS into a 14-seat private jet to reimagining an expansive 1850s Victorian villa with an art collection that includes Marina Abramovich, Tracey Emin, and David Hockney and designing a pied-à-terre in Manhattan inspired by the city’s iconic skyline.

Earlier this week, she launched a special Diwali-themed collaboration with de Gournay, unveiling the Chhint thali that brings together the Indian decorative tradition and Chinese porcelain artistry. “I love thali meals; I think they generate great conversations and collaborative ideas,” she says. At the heart of her practice, much like her stellar reputation for hosting (she’s known as ‘Diwali Aunty’ in London for a couple of decades now, with people jostling to get on her very discerning invite list), is the concept of “bringing the warmth”, or, in common parlance, “being vibey”.

“You know, early on in my career I had clients who would come to me and say, ‘Can you add some warmth and character to our home?’ These are two very basic words, but it’s come to define my practice,” Misra adds. Her secret to adding both is simple—integrating the artisanal and handmade into her design repertoire. “What my country can make, no one else can. But the world of craft needs to be dynamic,” she says.

We’re seated in her library, suitably cosy and packed with books that range from the collected works of Goethe to Claude Debussy’s biography. As wide-ranging as her reading is the philosophy that runs through her work, applying to the spaces she creates as well as the creative community she hopes to build around them.

In May 2024, Misra launched her fully realised concept of community-building with the Shakti Design Residency. This residency is an annual international creative and mentorship programme that connects emerging global designers with Indian artisans and ateliers, with the final works from the residents exhibited in Milan, New Delhi, and Venice. She is currently hosting the 2026 class of residents and jurors at her farmhouse in Delhi, where they spend a week in “critique sessions” where each of their ideas is presented, dissected, and discussed before the larger panel. Held in her family den, the sessions are less trial-by-jury and more an intense but safe space for creatives to share and introspect. Here, you get to see the residents and jury engaging throughout, from examining prototypes and brainstorming to playing the piano together and enjoying an al fresco meal out on the lawns. Misra’s aim has been to create a safe creative space for a larger cultural exchange.

Karishma Swali, designer and creative director, Chanakya International, who is currently mentoring furniture artist Caleb Ferris, who is in-residence at Jaipur Rugs, explains how downtime is as important as the residency itself. “His biggest finding lay outside the atelier, in the villages that surround it. The charpai has become the cornerstone of his product-making,” she adds. “What Shalini is doing in bringing these converging contexts together—modern thinkers and contemporary practitioners with more traditional crafts and ateliers—is wonderful.”

Apart from Swali, this year’s jury also includes Aric Chen (director, Zaha Hadid Foundation), Nada Debs (designer), Rodman Primack (architectural designer and art advisor), and Suchi Reddy (architect and designer). The six residents are Paris-based jeweller and embroiderer Joseph Arzoumanov, London-based material designer and artist Ella Bulley, New York-based furniture artist Caleb Ferris, Paris-based artist-designer Marisol Santana Marandjian, Mumbai-based designer Priyadarshini Kakade, and London-based furniture designer Paddy Pike. They are each paired with an Indian atelier, which include Jaipur Rugs, Tarun Tahiliani, and The Gem Palace, among others. Their works will debut next spring at Salone in Milan.

“I created Shakti as an homage to the creative force, a way to create new pathways between global design and Indian craft that lead to new creative products,” says Misra. For her, the entire point of this residency was to create a more robust dialogue between Indian craft and the rest of the world. “So, I think the next thing to do is to build a very strong Shakti community. Yeah, very strong,” she concludes, thoughtfully.