By Richa Wadhera
When I was younger, every time we went furniture shopping, I’d fling myself onto cushion after cushion, launch myself in swing sets - generally just test durability. But even after my rather thorough checks, there’d always be discussions about space constraints, and how THAT chair just wasn’t THE chair mom had imagined in THAT nook of the terrace.
When someone recently told me about this gentleman who does custom cane and bamboo furniture, I knew I had to try this new way of furniture shopping. I spoke to Sonu on the phone, and he even came over to the office with images of his work.
Sonu’s been in the business for 18 years, and learnt the skill from his father. Quite popular in the embassy and farmhouse circuit, he doesn’t retail, but custom designs chairs, swings, dining sets, beds, bars, chicks for windows, laundry baskets and other storage, both for indoor and outdoor areas. He even fabricates bamboo roofs for outdoor bars or sitting areas, swinging chairs, and these super awesome huts for your terrace or garden {in the picture above} that even I’d crawl into with a book and a coffee. The adult version of these huts is the bamboo pagoda, for which he uses the safede ka ped as support. He can even do you a cute picket fence, in the interest of aesthetics, or just privacy.
While he has design brochures to browse and choose from, he is open to any alternative design and/or dimensions you give him. The cane and bamboo furniture he makes survives all weather, and can be polished in colours like teak, coffee and cherry, with lacquer to add shine. He even increases the life of old furniture with your choice of paint, making it resistant to rain.
His take on store bought cane furniture – you never really know how old what you’re buying is; so he guarantees new, custom made pieces. The simpler cane chairs take about a week to fabricate, and the slightly more complicated pieces that need a frame and then a weave take about 15 days. The best part - after a year or two of delivery, if you feel a chair or swing is coming apart in places, he’ll come back and fix it, and only charge for labour! Talk about a personal touch.
He tells me he’s waiting to come across a sturdy enough tree to do his first tree house. No prizes for guessing who’s already struck a deal to test its durability!
Notes in our Little Black Book |
We’d get in touch with Sonu to custom design our cane or bamboo furniture, and design a roof or a bar for our terrace or landscaped gardens. He will come to your home to discuss designs, and is happy to make trips back to fix minor kinks, even up to 2 years later!
Contact | Sonu doesn’t retail, but you can contact him at 9313196091
Price | Depends on size and design.