In this episode of the Happy Home Loan Podcast by Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited, we dive into the realities of designing a home with practical insights from Saloni Khosla, Vice-President – Retail Offline Expansion & Growth, B2B Design Development & Merchandising Strategy at Pepperfry.
The conversation explores the most common mistakes homeowners make while planning their homes, from overlooking functionality and storage to following trends without considering long-term usability. The episode also addresses one of the biggest dilemmas for homeowners, balancing design aspirations with budget constraints, and explains how smart planning can help achieve both comfort and aesthetics without unnecessary overspending.
Listeners will gain practical guidance on how to realistically budget for a new home or renovation project, including where to invest wisely, where to save, and how to avoid costly design errors. The discussion emphasizes that a well-designed home is not about luxury alone, but about creating a space that reflects lifestyle, functionality, and future needs.
Whether you are buying your first home, renovating an existing space, or simply looking for smarter interior planning ideas, this episode offers grounded, experience-driven insights to make your home journey more informed and stress-free.
Disclaimer
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the Happy Home Loan Podcast with Saloni Khosla are solely those of the host and guest based on their experience and knowledge and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or official position of Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited or any of its affiliates. The content shared in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or investment advice.
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[00:00:07] We have with us Saloni Khosla, VP of Design for Retail Expansion and B2B Projects at Pepperfry with over 15 years of experience in interior design. When it comes to interior design, decor work, what are the mistakes you've seen people make up front and therefore should be avoided? So the mistakes I've seen people make up front is planning for step 7 or 8 before actually going through the first 4 or 5 steps.
[00:00:37] What are those? Those steps are essentially your plumbing, your internal wiring, your flooring, the pipes or the wires that go into the wall in order to not cause seepage, your ceiling. So in our language we call it the white box or the skeleton as I said. So first plan the core, like plan everything related to civil, plumbing, electrical well.
[00:01:03] Aesthetics of course are very important, I wouldn't say that we can ever ignore that side. But first get this right, you know, and then everything else eventually would fall into place. So you're saying the stuff that we can't see? Stuff that you can't see is most important, yes. So I see homeowners rather, even my friends right, so achha we've just bought a new house, I like this sofa, I like this. Okay and I ask them okay have you done your layout planning?
[00:01:32] Have you gone into the technicals? Have you seen what are the hardware or what are the fixtures that the builder is giving you? Would you like to change those? You know there are so many materials available today which are energy saving, sensor based right? So have you figured out those basics before actually moving to which sofa or which decor piece you want to buy? So they're equally important but there is a stage that one has to do that. It's all stage wise absolutely yes.
[00:02:00] So under those circumstances, if one is going to do up their house, say newly purchased house, functionality, design or budget, what should be prioritized first? As per me everything goes hand in hand but it's always the budget. Okay. I think we underestimate how much that can go into your entire services which are not visible. Do you want to sound proof your walls?
[00:02:27] Do you want to use copper piping instead of PVC piping? Okay. Do you want to use poly cap wires instead of local wires right? Because few years down the line these are unseen materials but few years down the line if they cause issues, your budget shoots up right? Absolutely. So always prioritize your budget to begin with, functionality and budget very close to each other and then of course design.
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