HELLO! Exclusive: Mayyur Girotra's house of treasures

The simplicity of the façade — wood-panelled, with Japanese architectural flair — belies the cornucopia of art, memorabilia, textures, and colours that await indoors. Birdsong permeates through the resounding quietude, the call of peacocks piercing through the air periodically. Through the sliding gates lies a multitude of stories patiently waiting to be reconnoitered, wherein every wall, every artwork, and every novelty piece has a tale prepared to be imbibed. And behind this extraordinary, museum-esque home is couturier and newly-turned interior designer, Mayyur Girotra.

As we enter the archival home, at the end of a quiet lane in Delhi’s Chhattarpur neighbourhood, we’re greeted by Mayyur’s lovable Shih Tzu, Soho. Past a chrome yellow tapestry from Paris with a Hogwarts-like logo is the formal dining area, dipped in a striking red. We’re instantly drawn to artist Tauseef Khan’s take on The Last Supper, custom made for the room, and the antique Suzani (“60 to 70 years old”) sheathing the table. Tying the space together are utensils his grandmother brought across the border from Pakistan, Tibetan jars artfully arranged, walnut wood tables from Kashmir, bronze candle stands from a Spanish flea market and a set of assorted chairs.

“I mix and match everything. There’s no definition, no rules. I first make things and then decide how to arrange them. In my old house, this was lying somewhere,” Mayyur says, pointing to a bench in the room. “I decided to make use of it here.”

When we spot the AC painted over in the same red, he laughs, “That’s the OCD in me kicking in. It wants everything in one format.

‘OTHER KIDS PLAYED CRICKET. I LOITERED AROUND COTTAGE EMPORIUM’

Despite having moved in with his mother and canine companion only a year ago, there’s a lived-in quality about the house. Mayyur has turned every part of it into a conversation starter, revamping much of the architectural details, adorning the space with a smattering of art, antiques and objets d’art, and enhancing it further with his own furniture and furnishings. There’s a riot of colour and luxurious details in every direction, and a collection of art that could put the biggest galleries to shame.

“The things you see weren’t just bought. Most of them were in my old house. They’ve moved with me from home to home. So within a week or 10 days of moving in, it went from a cold, blank space to something soft.”

Mayyur’s inclination towards interiors was evident since childhood, a trait that his mother honed and encouraged over the years.

“While other kids played cricket, I’d loiter around the Cottage Emporium in Janpath. I’d save up and buy beautiful things made of terracotta and brass. Like Krishnamurtis or Buddhas. Even back then, I was houseproud… I’d sit with the gardener and have them make me little bonsais.”

‘I FIND CALM IN CHAOS’

After a 10-year stint as a private investment banker in Dubai (“I was the only son, and didn’t want to hurt my parents”), Mayyur finally went down the path of his true calling — fashion design. And there’s been no looking back ever since. Today, he’s moulding his rich sartorial sensibilities into interiors with Mayyur Girotra Homes, specialising in floating interiors, and guiding one through end-to-end home styling. “It happened accidentally,” he shares. “My houses have always been beautifully curated with depth and stories to tell, and my friends knew I had an eye for it. So they pushed me to design their homes. I’ve done two, so far, and have two more projects coming up.” Mayyur used his own home as a practice run to test his formal skills — and the results speak for themselves. From the use of his signature motifs and every shade to ever exist, the overlap between his discernment towards fashion and interiors is evident, the imaginative touches illustrating a man unafraid to express himself through any available medium.

“I’ve always been a maximalist. That’s my way of life. My mom is a maximalist, and that’s how she brought me up. I find calm in chaos. I add 60 to 70 colours in one outfit. That’s how I live. That’s how my brand is. That’s how my office is!” Mayyur doesn’t believe in taking on the reins of designing a home solo. He pushes for a personal touch every step of the way.

“Home is an extremely sacred place to me. Even when I’m designing a home, I tell the owners not to leave it all to me. I need them to be involved…”

“People don’t realise the beauty in mixing and matching. This table might not make sense to a lot of people,” he says, gesturing to the chaotic charm before us in the outhouse, “but to me, everything just works. There’s not one thing around the house that can’t start a conversation. Like those two brass stands,” he points to a corner, “are the legs of a diwan. And I picked up that angry-looking Hanumanji outside a random shop in Udaipur while on a walk, and got the bhala made later.”

‘MY WALLS ARE EMPTY!’

Skillfully curated, craftily displayed, such is the Girotra residence that it’s a task to focus on any one astounding curio at a time. However, it’s the art, true masterpieces, that arrests our attention. A Mata Ni Pachedi work by Sanjay Chitara, an enviable lineup of Tanjore paintings — his mother’s private collection — a 120-year-old wall-length French filet work, one by Jai Zharotia and Pakistani artist Irfan Khan, two spectacular Husains, four Vaikuntams, and several other classics share the space with contemporary works, like Debashish Paul’s gender-fluid art and more by Bobo Calcutta.

“I still feel my walls are empty! So I keep buying things and moving the paintings. I move them to my office if I don’t enjoy them anymore, and bring them back later. I’m that kind of a crackpot,” says the ardent art collector, a taste he acquired from his mother.

Remarkable, though, is the fact that all the art is the family’s personal collection — none of it was curated by an outsider. “A lot of the art in my house is very religious and spiritual. That’s me as a person,” adds Mayyur, pointing to a French filet Pichwai work depicting the Krishna Leela, “one of our most prized possessions.”

Alluding to the sentiment is an old Afghani jama at the top of the stairs that Mayyur designed into a wood-and-veneer installation. It bears Arabic words for patience and faith. A little ahead on the first floor is a Pichwai more than a century old with a dot of sindoor on it “from our puja,” and a portrait of Shirdi Sai Baba that evokes reverence.

‘A HOME NEEDS TO FEEL LIVED IN’

Patang-style black-and-white floors guide us from room to room. From the powder room bearing his signature elephant, peacock and Patola motifs, to the casual dining area with another Tauseef Khan and wall plates from their travels, both swathed in wallpaper by Mayyur Girotra Homes. From the alcove under the stairs redesigned into a reading nook, brimming with collectibles like Matryoshka dolls, pots and planters, books (“my father was an avid reader”) and photographs, to the glass-fronted garden room and courtyard fringed by bougainvillea. Here, we gravitate towards an antiquelike mirror on the far wall, partly hidden behind raw, rustic pots.

“The mirror isn’t antique. It’s just been designed that way,” he shares, amused at our bewilderment. “I love this area of the house. It opens up to every other part of the ground floor. When I host parties, I keep all the doors open so people can move about with ease.”

Through these doors, we walk into a lounge area, where stark on the charcoal walls are two bright, expressive Pradipta Chakraborty paintings, hung up in perfect harmony with vibrant furnishings and treasures such as a 250-year-old Tibetan rice box, a limited-edition Frieda Kahlo bust by Lladró, and a ceramic piece custom-made in Cappadocia, Turkey.

In the adjacent outhouse, once part of the lawn, natural light filters through the glass rooftop and sliding doors, highlighting every memory-laced trinket. There’s character in the wroughtiron chandelier that the designer artfully draped with dried roots, and the dog figurines speak of the animal lover in him. Also conspicuous atop a number of coffee-table books is a melted candle, raw, unscraped and unusual, but poetic in itself.

“Why should I scrape it off? It has a memory. The melted wax signifies that there was a celebration late into the night,” stresses Mayyur. “A home needs to feel lived-in, have a story and memories. That’s how it speaks of who you are, where you come from, what you do, and how you live.”

Photography by Ashish Chawla 
Styling by Amber Tikari 

This interview was featured in the August '25 issue of HELLO! India. For more exclusive stories, subscribe to the magazine here.