Hidden Realities of Interior Industry

Why Everyone’s Home Looks the Same Today ?

Not long ago, design magazines and architectural books were the primary sources of inspiration. Today, clients walk into meetings with a phone full of screenshots. The intention is innocent, but the outcome is problematic.

A Scandinavian living room created for a cold climate ends up being forced into a hot and dusty Indian city. A Japanese-inspired minimalist home gets squeezed into a 600 sq ft apartment where storage needs are completely different. An international kitchen layout is recreated without considering the everyday realities of Indian cooking, ventilation, and heavy-duty usage. We keep importing looks, but not the logic behind them and design without logic is just decoration. 

The bigger concern is how easily many designers give in. It’s quicker to replicate than rethink. It’s easier to please than educate. It’s more profitable to install trendy elements than design a context-led space. The result is a copy-paste culture where homes start becoming clones of one another. 

The Illusion of “Luxury” That Most Firms Sell 

The rise of large, assembly-line design companies has added another layer of confusion. They market “luxury interiors” at scale, but what they actually offer is mass-produced modular systems with fancy names. Simple plywood is sold as engineered European carcass, ordinary quartz becomes Italian-inspired premium stone and basic modular wardrobes are labelled as bespoke craftsmanship.

The language has become more luxurious than the product itself.

Clients pay extra because they assume higher cost equals higher quality, but true luxury is not about imported finishes, It’s about how intelligently the home is planned. It’s about how materials behave over time. It’s about comfort, flow, natural light and ease of living. Luxury is in the invisible decisions, not the glossy layers on top.

Unfortunately, the market sells the gloss, not the substance.

When Interior Design Becomes a Factory Line 

The industry’s biggest players function less like creative studios and more like production units. They run on standardised templates because templates are faster, safer, and easier to scale. Designers in these firms often have little creative freedom. Their role becomes more transactional than conceptual.

The client believes they are hiring professionals for originality. The reality is that they are buying a pre-decided combination with minimal personalisation. A home deserves more than that. It deserves authorship and reflection, an understanding of the people who will live there, not just the spaces they occupy.

The Commission Culture That Undermines Trust 

• One of the strongest undercurrents in the Indian interior industry is the system of commissions. Many material choices are influenced not by design value but by vendor incentives. Every laminate, light fixture, accessory or stone recommendation might include a hidden margin. This creates a silent conflict of interest.

• What’s best for the client is no longer aligned with what’s best for the designer’s earnings.

• It’s an uncomfortable topic, but an important one. Without transparency, trust weakens and, trust is the foundation of any design relationship.

Trends Are Winning Over Timelessness 

• Interior design has become trend-driven rather than purpose-driven. You see designs with impossible-to-clean grooves, excessive paneling, complex ceiling cutouts, showpiece storage that no one uses and color palettes that look good only through filters.

• These choices may look appealing in photographs, but real life is very different. A home is not a backdrop, It is a living system, It should breathe, adapt, and age gracefully. 

• The best designs are the ones that remain relevant long after trends fade.

• Good design shouldn’t exhaust you. It should support you.

How Clients Have Been Conditioned to Look at the Wrong Things 

Years of aggressive marketing have trained homeowners to judge design by what they can visually count:

• How many materials?

• How many lights?

• How many panels?

• How many accessories? 

• How many square feet of carpentry?

But the real value of design lies in everything you cannot immediately see, It lies in proportions, circulation paths, workflow planning, ergonomics, acoustics, ventilation, and the comfort that emerges from well-thought-out decisions. These elements determine how a home feels five years later, not just on handover day. Yet consumers rarely ask about these aspects because the industry rarely teaches them.

A Better Design Culture Is Possible 

At Ambic Studio, we meet many homeowners who are frustrated with the superficiality of mainstream design. They want clarity, not confusion. They want to understand, not be dazzled. They want homes that express their identity, not someone else’s Pinterest board.

True design is not about how many elements you use. It’s about using the right ones. It’s not about overspending. It’s about investing smartly. It’s not about producing a “wow moment.” It’s about creating a sense of ease every single day. Most importantly, it’s about honesty.

India is full of potential and talent. What we need now is a shift towards ethical design practices, original thinking, and a deeper respect for the people whose lives we shape through spaces.

If the industry begins to value meaning over mimicry, Indian homes will finally start reflecting Indian lives in the most beautiful way.