As i wait for the two fashionably late delhi designers, I take in the tasteful opulence of the showroom – feather-fringed heavy drapes, a captivating Husain canvas and a Sunil Das charcoal floating on the walls, a Laurence Brabant ‘bijou bijou’ Murano crystal chandelier and the designers’ favourite – the unobtrusive and handsome art deco corner. From the moment one steps through the leather door with gold leafing, a bold creative statement hits the eye. As each corner of the spacious first floor in a heritage building at Colaba (which took 14 months to restore) calls for attention, I realise why Mumbai is the retail arm, while the Delhi studio, is more about customised, bespoke work.

Speaking out to a society that doesn’t bat an eyelid when dropping numerous zeroes for designer tableware, 24-carat gold-rimmed Limoges French porcelain, if you must, The House of Raro is overflowing with unusual designs with a non-commercial and exclusive feel. It is not surprising then, that the two sisters, Raajeeta and Mahicka Gupta, who established this brand nearly a decade ago, chose the name Raro meaning ‘rare’ in Italian, that describes the distinctive appeal of their pieces.

Taking the best from all over the world – African ebony, leather from small Italian tanneries, embellished sterling silver; and adding their vivacious personality and depth of knowledge of interior design (Raajeeta) and fashion (Mahicka), they put together the handcrafted pieces, which are assembled in Delhi. As the sisters agree, the furniture must have utility value and be technically sound, but they believe in throwing in a factor of indulgence to go with aesthetics and comfort; in what they term ‘serious design.’

The sisters believe in making a mark with Indian designs and are proud to be exporting their pieces abroad. As Raajeeta points out, Indians are spoilt by customisation, like in clothes for instance. Why not that into furniture? Taking this a step further, they decide to make the pieces one of a kind in their bejewelled Musee collection. As I walk around, I am particularly entranced by a chest of drawers cased in leather with antique-style turquoise handles set in gold leaf plates.

As Mahicka remarks, the pieces are close to their personality – young, trendy and bold. They are confident this would appeal to the Mumbai chic set, particularly the Bollywood crowd. From animal skins – nothing endangered, we are assured – the Amazon bed in ebony, plump with silver sequinned cushions signifies the glamorous touch of Raro.

The sisters are obsessively fond of travelling, inspired by French art deco, meeting unusual people in their travels and haunting international antique markets. They avoid the Milan Fair, where many a designer turns up, as they are firm about not getting typecast as bearers of Italian knock-offs. That said, they are not beyond reproducing work of international masters, albeit with a personalised touch.

The designers do not visualise an entire house filled with their signature pieces. They believe that a Raro piece has personality and would add character to a room – probably a room with a classic outlook – with a touch of one of their pieces to make the space feel creative and different. The sisters believe that their customer must fall in love with the design and that whilst choosing a piece it should be something that calls out and makes one want to own it.