In this masterclass session, Saniya Tadha, interior stylist and decorator, takes us through her inspiring journey from her early passion for photography to her transition into the world of interior styling. She shares insightful case studies, personal experiences, and the creative elements that continue to fuel her passion.
In a world where design is often dictated by structure and layout, Saniya Tadha adds a missing layer of soul—styling. A chemical engineer turned stylist, Saniya has a story as layered and textured as the interiors she styles. In this masterclass, Saniya unpacked the world of interior styling that is not often discussed, delivering a personal and professional paradigm to aspiring creatives and established designers alike.
Saniya’s story begins in the technical halls of Nirma University and IIT Madras, where she trained as a chemical engineer. But her true passion was always orbiting the world of visuals. A poorly composed DSLR photograph might have sparked it, but what followed was an obsessive pursuit of photography, shooting food, lace, and architecture with little more than instinct and a study lamp.
With Ravi Mistry’s mentorship, Saniya rapidly developed her style. He would regularly ask her to do 100 setups—every day, real-world styling, before someone would even call her a professional. These tasks started building a base for a career based upon practice and narrative-building.
From unpaid gigs to magazine features, from food photography to rug styling, Saniya’s body of work began to reflect her visual intelligence. Eventually, photographers like Vinay Panchwani introduced her to larger-scale commercial shoots, including projects with architecture firms and premium home brands.
Styling, Saniya insists, is not just placing pillows on a couch or candles on tables. It is the medium of visual storytelling. She compares architects and interior designers to couture designers like Sabyasachi. They make the lehenga, but the stylist is the makeup artist who brings the bride to life.
For her, things like rugs, beddings, art, and decor are more than just decorations—they are emotional triggers. She thinks about the space, as well as the identities of the people living there. She points to how traditions reinterprets in modern spaces, how Scandinavian minimalism humanizes with warmth, and that styling should always complement the architecture, level what exists, and not supplant it.
Saniya discusses two ways to style: a way for photo shoots in which things are sourced already, and a way that she has sourced and styled every detail herself (everything from crockery to books that will cost lakhs). She enjoys creating stories drawn from context; for example, using South Indian instruments in designs and photo shoots to tell homeowners’ identities.
She illustrates that styling is as much about storytelling as it is about forms in space. Whether it is putting a blueprint together to optimize light, the placement of furniture to showcase a single piece of art, or simply to source the right jute rug to sit under that ambient wicker ceiling, every decision should be based on empathy and understanding.
In a landscape where design often stops at function, Saniya’s work reminds us of the feeling. The comfort of a good bedsheet, the joy of a handcrafted vase, the nostalgia of a photograph—all become part of the space’s emotional blueprint.
Saniya Tadha’s story is much more than a styling lesson; it is a story about determination, instinct, and visual narrative. She connects spaces and souls while using significant objects. In doing so, she convinces us that styling is not optional; it is compulsory.
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