Home Truths: Sussanne, Farah and Simone

Text by Sitanshi Talati-Parikh. Photograph by Rohan Shrestha

What do the doyennes of design, Sussanne Khan, Farah Khan Ali and Simone Arora, have in their homes?

On Your Table
Farah “Sunday lunch with my family.”
Simone “Happy times on the table.”
Sussanne “Books and food.”

In Your Closet
Farah “Lots of shoes and bags.”
Simone “Clothing, evening-wear, business-office wear, shoes, accessories, jewellery.”
Farah “Simone’s closet is as big as a bedroom.”
Sussanne “Diaries.”

In Your Teapot
Farah and Simone “Green tea.”
Sussanne “Black coffee.”

On Your Breakfast Table
Farah “Lots of eggs, protein, dry fruits, brown bread. Eat healthy in the morning after a workout.”
Simone “My favourite and largest meal is breakfast, soon after a 7 am swim. Dry fruit, fresh fruit, cereal, eggs, mixed vegetable juice.”
Sussanne “Cheese, honey, yogurt…cold foods.”

In Your Bar
Farah “Not much of a drinker. So champagne, Moet or Dom Perignon.”
Simone “I don’t drink. Occasionally, wine. I do enjoy keeping a bar with exquisite glasses bought over the years from different parts of the world.”
Sussanne “French red wine.”

In Your Fridge
Farah “Chocolates, fresh fruit, fresh salad, lot of fish, milk.”
Simone “Cheeses, dessert, sauces and things for the children.”
Sussanne “Chocolates, food, things to snack on – as if it is games night.”

On The Wall
Farah “A lot of my designs, in my cabin. Post-its. Books, awards, creative things.”
Simone “Family pictures and abstract international artists. Workplace: books on interiors, design, catalogues, references.”
Sussanne “All my art, my photo art, antiques, my cheap-and-cheerful art that I get from flea markets, collectibles, moments.”

In Your Library
Farah “Books and films. Not fiction; rather philosophy, spirituality, business.”
Simone “International movies. Recordings from The National Geographic and Discovery channels.”
Sussanne “Illustrated books on the history of art and architecture, thoughts. How To Steal Like An Artist, Pantone books, children’s books like those by Julia Donaldson, Roald Dahl, Dr Seuss.”

On Speedial
Farah “I memorise all the numbers, I prefer dialing them.”
Simone “Kids, family, workplace.”
Sussanne “My son, Hrehaan, my store, store manager and my ‘gladiators’ at the store and my home, nicknamed, ‘Nest’.”

On Your Guestlist (apart from family)
Farah “My friend Bonnie, Anna or Monica. Whoever I remember that day.”
Simone “Close group of friends.”
Sussanne “Haven’t invited anyone over for a long time, but probably my closest friend Salpi and Vishal.”

In Your Browser History
Farah “Instagram. I’m very into social media.”
Simone “Nothing at all.”
Sussanne “Look up on world trends, blogs; whatever comes up on Google alert for my name. It’s nice to be aware, and it’s occasionally amusing. I like understanding the perception of people. And recipes.”

In Your Recipe Book
Farah “Mom’s recipe book. I like experimenting and cooking Continental food.”
Simone “We refer to our mom’s recipe book all the time when we instruct our cooks.”
Sussanne “All kinds of recipe books. My mom’s book of treasures with all different cuisines (soon to be published). The Nutella cookbook.”

Watch the behind-the-scenes video of the cover shoot here.