Born in Delhi to Savita and Colonel Ramesh Chandra Chibber, Gauri Khan met the then-aspiring actor Shah Rukh Khan in Delhi in 1984. The two lovebirds got married in October 1991, giving us the ‘first lady’ of Bollywood.
How it all started
Khan, who holds a degree in history and art, discovered that interior design was her true calling when she was redecorating her sea-facing bungalow, Mannat, which obviously needs no introduction. Later, in 2012, she took the proverbial plunge, with a furniture line in collaboration with fellow star wife Sussanne Khan—and eventually went on to launch her own super successful eponymous label. The fabulous Bollywood wife duo worked on a couple of projects, including one in Vadodara.
Trusting her eye for design and passion, Khan went ahead and created a revered, luxury interior design and décor brand. Today, her brand, Gauri Khan Designs (GKD), has designed spaces belonging to notable names in the country including the Ambanis, Bachchans, and other Bollywood A-list actors, filmmakers and designers like Karan Johar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra and Ranbir Kapoor. The founder aims to weave magic with her blend of opulent, contemporary, and highly personalised designs.
In 2014, the star wife launched her first concept store The Design Cell in Worli, Mumbai, which showcased luxurious furniture pieces designed by her and other famous Indian interior designers.
Two years later, Gauri was invited to the prestigious Maison et Objet show in Paris to present her designs and concepts, after which set up her own design studio in Juhu, Mumbai. For home accessories, Khan collaborated with stalwarts like Roberto Cavalli and Ralph Lauren. Adding another feather to her already crowded cap of achievements, Khan was awarded the Excellence in Design Award at the HELLO! Hall of Fame Awards in 2018.
More recently, she launched her reality TV show Dream Homes With Gauri Khan, which focuses on luxury décor and the thought process behind designing magazine-cover-worthy celebrity homes. In the six episodes of the show, Gauri gives viewers a glimpse of how she transforms the boudoirs of celebrities.
Dream Homes With Gauri Khan premiered on Mirchi Plus’ YouTube channel in September. The doting husband that he is, Shah Rukh Khan shared a promo clip of the show around its release date, which garnered a positive response from the audience.
The show revolves around Gauri remodelling and designing other celebrity homes, live in action, while she shares her interior design fundamentals with us. The star wife is seen decking up and designing the homes of multiple A-list celebrities including Katrina Kaif, Malaika Arora, Farah Khan, Kabir Khan and Manish Malhotra, among others.
Apart from being a celebrated interior decorator, Khan also has a production house Red Chilies Entertainment with her husband Shah Rukh Khan. Some of the films produced under the banner include Main Hoon Na, Badla, Don 2, Dear Zindagi, Om Shanti Om, and Devdas.
In 2021, the ace designer debuted as an author with a book about her journey as a designer titled My Life in Design, which is surely a must-read for young, aspiring creatives.
After all these years, the first lady of Bollywood and boss-girl, Gauri Khan has created her own empire and how! Launching her Mumbai-based flagship design studio in 2017 was a huge milestone, and there’s been no looking back for her.
Having designed aesthetically pleasing and magnificent spaces, the designer has some of the most high-end projects in her kitty.
Celebrity Homes Designed by Gauri Khan
Here, we look at the top luxury spaces designed by her and take home some much-needed design inspo.
Karan Johar’s penthouse terrace
Production giant Karan Johar and Khan have famously got along since the dawn of time and are each other’s closest friends. When KJo’s plush Carter Road penthouse needed a revamp, it’s no surprise that ace designer and bestie Gauri Khan took it upon herself to design it. The 8,000 sq.ft. duplex now features a sprawling rooftop and a vibrant kids’ nursery envisioned by Khan. Splashed with stunning colours, Khan used wooden accents for the seating area in his terrace, and created a unique bar counter illuminated with warm and inviting yellow lights. She also incorporated patterned marble tiles, and loads of beautiful plants that added an aura of warmth, freshness and intimacy to this relaxation area.
Karan Johar’s kids’ nursery
The doting father that he is, Johar never misses the chance to show off his two adorable kids, Yash and Roohi, and has made them the stars of his Instagram profile. He always shares glimpses of their heartwarming moments, and gives his fans their daily dose of serotonin.
But did you know that his children’s nursery was designed by Gauri Khan? Set against a plain white tone interspersed with colourful jungle-themed decals, the nursery houses a comfortable bed, a sofa set and wooden furniture painted in the same white shade. The space also sees some printed cushions thrown in to match the vibe of the room. Apart from this, the nursery also has a cheerful wall area filled with soft toys, books and photo frames.
Ranbir Kapoor’s bachelor pad
Ranbir Kapoor purchased his plush and swanky apartment in 2016 in Vastu Pali Hill, Bandra and it was designed by none other than Gauri Khan. While minimalistic hues and pastel colours dominate the colour palette of the walls, the muted paints are contrasted with a maroon sofa, a heritage traditional rug, and an oversized light fixture hanging diagonally from the ceiling, giving the place a classic Gauri Khan touch.
Alia Bhatt’s vanity van
Alia Bhatt’s vanity van had been the talk of the town when she first gave her fans a sneak peek of its luxurious interiors. The design perfectly reflected Bhatt’s fun and quirky personality thanks to Khan. Adorned with whimsical decor, colourful cushions and a statement art piece, the Brahmastra star’s vanity van exudes dreamy, Pinterest board-worthy vibes and captures the actress’ bubbly personality.
Featuring geometrically partitioned reflective glass panels, disco purple lights and wooden flooring, its interiors give off a perfect millennial vibe. The van also houses a lot of artwork in the form of rustic, vintage books. Giving the young, sleek vanity more depth and character, there’s a framed art piece that shows half-read books piled onto one another.
Bar lounge at Antilia
One of the most luxurious spaces designed by Gauri Khan is the bar lounge at the Ambani mansion. Even Khan herself has labelled this one of her biggest and most ambitious projects. Speaking about her experience, the design maestro said, “It’s been such an incredible experience working on this space at Antilia. This has definitely been one of our top bespoke projects and working with Nita and her keen eye for design has been truly inspiring.”
Alia Bhatt’s Bandra Home
Bhatt’s gorgeous home, which is located in the Vaastu Pali Hill complex, the same as her husband Ranbir Kapoor’s pre-marriage bachelor pad, was reportedly bought by her for a whopping INR 32 crore. For the Gangubai Kathiawadi star’s space, Khan opted for millennial aesthetics and made use of wooden and pastel elements to create a sophisticated look.
Sidharth Malhotra’s Pali Hill abode
Next on the list of Khan’s A-list clients is Sidharth Malhotra’s Pali Hill house. The actor’s space is doused in understated neutral colours like cream, mauve and beige and exudes a calming yet funky energy, perfectly in sync with the actor’s personality. The ace designer opted for chevron flooring, wooden accents, quirky artwork and black and white striped walls for the Shershaah actor’s luxe abode.
The house also features geometric patterns, mismatched paintings, offbeat light fixtures, warm-hued sofas, stylish wallpapers, floor-to-ceiling windows and a spacious, well-lit dining area that serves lessons in understated elegance and minimalism. Khan has accentuated these elements with larger-than-life mirrors, and posters of Malhotra’s favourite films including crime thrillers from the 1980s adorning the walls. Notable examples include illustrations of GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese) and Scarface (Al Pacino). The artworks are neatly positioned above a charming wooden table that is dotted with antiques and lamps. Malhotra’s sea-facing bachelor pad, which is located in Pali Hill in Mumbai, epitomises class.
One of the actor’s favourite spaces is his gorgeous balcony which comes with a spectacular view of its own. Malhotra’s balcony offers a lovely sea view and it once had a white hammock in a corner that Shah Rukh Khan jokingly said was stolen from his possession, in a tweet addressed to the actor. This outdoor space features a black sunburst mirror complete with al fresco seating options, with floor-to-ceiling windows maximising the views outside. The Ek Villan actor even quipped, “now I have a place to chill while looking at Mumbai”.
Jacqueline Fernandez’s Juhu Home
Khan is also the brains behind the redesign of Jacqueline Fernandez’s vintage-themed Mumbai home. Featuring racks of books, a floral and neutral-toned bed-cum-seating area, vibrant pillows, and an aesthetic rustic tiny ladder as the centrepiece, the actress’ space has a universal theme of clean, cosy, comfy and white. Just like most of us, Fernandez too has a favourite spot in her home—it’s next to the windows that offer sweeping views of the cityscape and the potted plants in the balcony.
The space sees a large daybed with cushions on three sides and a huge ceiling lamp that adds warmth to the corner. The actor loves to relax and read her film scripts here. One of the walls is covered with framed family photos and artwork, while the other has shelves to keep books. A decorative ladder lies on the bed where she has displayed magazine covers featuring the star and a tiny table with floral upholstery that matches the cushion covers.
Khan has designed the actress’ living room to be spacious and filled with curios. While the clean décor keeps clutter at bay, shades of white, pearl, and eggshell dominate the room, with spruces of floral motifs and planters here and there. Lighting fixtures also draw attention since the ceiling isn’t too high. Ample natural light filters in through the windows, and corners are utilised with daybeds, ottomans and chairs. Given Fernandez’ love for pilates and dancing, Khan has provided enough room for a spontaneous dance off in her apartment, which we adore.
SRK’s Delhi house
One of Gauri Khan’s most intimate projects has been the renovation of her husband Shah Rukh Khan’s Delhi house. Located in Panchsheel Park in South Delhi, the abode screams elegance and regality with opulent chandeliers, spiral staircases, French windows, couches, and plush gardens. SRK’s sophisticated palatial mansion is brimming with memories of the Khan family captured in nostalgic photo frames and keepsakes.
Arth Lounge Bar
Not a celebrity home, but worth mentioning nevertheless is the stunning lounge bar in Bandra designed by the star wife. Khan channelled glamour and high-style for the interiors of the sprawling 5,000-square-feet space.
Launched by Aallia Hospitality, the interiors of the Bandra restaurant effortlessly bring together raw design elements with luxe decor accents, all under the slick eye of Khan.
This might have been the designer’s first design venture for a restaurant, but she definitely knew what she was doing while decorating it. “I’ve taken a classic approach. Design can often be too quirky and OTT, and then it doesn’t serve to enhance the dining experience, but distracts from it,” said Gauri Khan in an interview.
The luxe bar features statement decor pieces like the beautiful Rex Diamond installation, an opulent, diamond-shaped pendant light, brought down from England’s historic Rex Cinema. Another avant garde element is a 2.4-metre lit mirror handcrafted from 361 backlit triangular prisms installed on the ground floor of Arth.
The rest of the restaurant, however, despite its theatrical spiral staircase, speaks of a space, which in Khan’s words, is “inviting and warm and reflects the culinary philosophy of blending traditional techniques with innovation.”
Raw wood walls and panels repurposed from old doors are seen throughout the space, which sports a palette done up in classic blue, beige and flashes of gold. “I don’t have a set aesthetic. It [ultimately] depends on the vision a client has for a space. With Arth for instance, Aallia Hospitality (the people behind One Street Over and Bastian) wanted to create a space that was inviting and warm,” said Khan.
Where can you purchase Gauri Khan’s home decor items?
If you want to experience the celebrity designer’s aesthetic and style in person, or even buy some of her signature decor items for your home, you need to visit her flagship store in Juhu, Mumbai. The luxe store, where you can safely expect her signature glam aesthetic, crystal-studded bespoke lighting, and the chance to bump into more than a few famous names at the checkout counter, is frequented by Bollywood bigwigs regularly.
Over the years Khan’s store has served as a hotspot for shutterbugs, with stars including Sussanne Khan, Varun Dhawan and Karan Johar casually dropping in to shop. While Sussane was spotted popping in to pick some outdoor urns for her terrace, Johar dropped by for a walkthrough and showed his approval with a trademark selfie.
The design studio found its first client in Varun Dhawan, with his mom spotted picking out wallpapers for his new pad a few years ago. Funny woman Farah Khan rang in the flagship outlet’s first official sale with some luxe towels, while Rani Mukherjee casually visited the store to browse Khan’s curated collections.
In addition to her collaboration with Tisva for a range of premium lightings, Khan’s flagship showroom features glimpses of Peruvian art nestled alongside home decor bigwigs, including Roberto Cavalli and Ralph Lauren home accessories, which is perfect if you’re looking to splurge on your home this festive season.
From part-time hobby to full-time profession, Khan, whose travels have exposed her to design of international standards, has carved a niche in the world of interior design which she can call her own.
