It seemed like a standard assignment for interior designer Purvi Padia: a 5,600-square-foot luxury loft in Tribeca, owned by a family with three small children. But the clients — both keen philanthropists — lobbed her an additional request: They wanted the common areas to do double duty, to function both as a cozy family hideaway and a workable venue for hosting benefits.
The ask didn’t faze Padia. She’s been fielding similar requests lately from wealthy New Yorkers across the city, who want to go beyond conventional entertaining to focus on opening up their homes for formal, charitable events.
“There is now a subset of my clients who ask me to design spaces with the intention of entertaining people they might not know that well,” she explains. Handily, that includes Padia herself, a fervent UNICEF supporter who has thrown bashes for the charity at her own home — where she has workshopped the techniques that she now applies to her clients’ spaces.
A designer assembles an all-star team to fulfill her vision of the perfect Bridgehampton retreat.
Long before land was secured or pen was put to paper, designer Purvi Padia and her husband, Harsh, knew what they wanted out of their dream house. They imagined pavilionstyle living, with a cohesive transition between inside and out. There would be a consistent materials palette, an open floor plan and ample space for both family and visiting friends. In short, they wanted something evocative of a resort, akin to the Amanyara in the Turks and Caicos. So once they found their just-right parcel, Padia conceived the abode’s interiors. “It was important for me that it was a home thoughtfully curated from beginning to end with a clear, concise concept,” she says.
In the same way that fashion is cyclical, home decor trends come, go, and come again. Who could have guessed that chintz wallpaper would make such a notable comeback decades later, but here we are in 2019 busting out roll after roll. With expert insight, we’re highlighting seven notable interior design trends that peaked decades ago, eventually faded out with time, and are now experiencing a major revival in homes across the globe.
Purvi Padia grew up traveling back and forth between America and India, where she would spend weeks at a time with extended family. And while she claims to have an otherwise shoddy memory, there are a series of images that have stayed burned in her brain: People living in abject poverty and children abandoned and suffering on the streets. She was so affected that her parents considered stopping the visits for a time when she was young. But she insisted on returning and trying to help. “I simply felt like I couldn’t just sit there while there were people right outside my door who were hungry. It was really hard for me, so I did what I could, even when I was little.” Now a mother herself (to Rehan, 10, and Reven, 7), living in NYC and heading up her own thriving interior design firm, Purvi Padia Design, her commitment has only grown. A longtime UNICEF board member, she spearheaded Project Lion, a UNICEF-affiliated program created to protect children living in institutions throughout India and give them a better chance to grow up in loving, stable, and nurturing environments.
“I never take this necklace off, and I get stopped every day asking where it’s from. This incredible piece gives back to the children of India, while it makes me feel like a lioness. It makes me feel decorated with strength and goodness while actually helping others.”
A chic Sienna Miller enjoyed the view at Purvi Padia’s Mother’s Day brunch, which celebrated the launch of the designer’s Lioness Collection that supports Unicef’s Project Lion.
“Being a parent and imagining the conditions and the poverty that many of the children are living with in the world, it seems insane to not do everything you can to support initiatives like this,” said Sienna Miller at last night’s launch of UNICEF’s Project Lion. The campaign serves to protect and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in India and is the brainchild of Miller’s friends Purvi and Harsh Padia. Joining the English actress—who was dressed in a sleek slip dress designed by her sister, Savannah—was her mother, Josephine, and her cohost, Today anchor and former First Daughter Jenna Bush Hager.
Raised in the United States, UNICEF USA New York board member Purvi Padia made many childhood trips to visit family in India. The poverty she saw there made a deep and lasting impression on her. Even when she was small, she was determined to find ways to help. Now a mother herself, she’s working with UNICEF to improve the lives of children growing up in residential care institutions in India, and teaching her own children the importance of giving back to those less fortunate.
Interior designer Purvi Padia has a lot to celebrate. This year marks her eponymous firm’s 10-year anniversary, and she has recently taken a successful leap into humanitarian work with Project Lion.
As a first generation Indian-American, Padia recognized that she had access to opportunities unavailable to many, especially in her parents’ country of origin. “Everything that I’ve done in life has been informed by this first generation hard-working mentality, never forgetting what my roots are and where I come from,” says Padia.
