FOUNDING OUR INTERIOR IDENTITY

For our interiors, this meant using local materials, culturally relevant design and local craftsmanship. We’re proud to say that everything that makes up our design inventory has been sourced or made in Gujarat.

But in our book, authenticity doesn’t equate to a strictly traditional aesthetic. While it’s informed by local culture, Aramness Gir is distinctly design-led and sophisticated, using simplicity and subtlety to convey its message. This equilibrium has been intentionally tweaked to give our visitors a taste of authentic India within the context of comfort and luxury.

Navigating the interior design of Aramness Gir was Chris Browne and Debra Fox of Fox Browne Creative. The couple’s knack for luxury experiential design is well-established with a string of noteworthy hospitality properties to their name dotting the globe. On their visits to the nearby Gujarati villages, their inspiration was sparked by the mix of raw materials used and the high level of local handiwork visible. Many of the details you experience at Aramness Gir are infused with the local vernacular, but they’ve been elevated and pared back for contemporary appeal.

The materials for the lodge are characteristically honest: limestone cladding, traditional stucco plaster, molded terrazzo, Indian teak, sandstone and marble inform the look and feel of our interiors – all of them natural and native to the region. Similarly, our colour palette is drawn from the lodge’s natural context and is made up of saffron, bone and oxblood – an earthy mix that is both unpretentious and rich.

Throughout the lodge, guests will notice handcarved sandstone jali screens that cast dappled shade in intricate patterns.

Used for ventilation, privacy and decoration, they’re a traditional element of design, but their pattern is unique to Aramness, having been inspired by the perforations of dried sal (teak) leaves in the surrounding forest. Our 18 one-and two-bedroom kothis are very generous and appeal to a modern sense of tradition by combining honest materials with clean-lined form. Bolder expression comes in measured doses by way of vintage applique scatter cushions, beaten brass tables and hints of mirrored, traditional braid that edge our curtains. Our built-in seating, for example, is backed by a striking wall of Kutchi lipan plasterwork with its intricate inlaid mirrors handcrafted by local artisans.

Throughout the lodge you’ll become familiar with some of Gujarat’s iconic quotidian elements like charpoys (day beds), fabric printing blocks, reclaimed hand-carved timber doors, vintage textiles, Gujarati dowry chests and more, all of them sourced from nearby villages to infuse Aramness Gir with cultural relevance.

As the first boutique lodge of its kind in the region, Aramness Gir is setting the bar high with its Gujarati inspired, design-led aesthetic. Drawing from a unique village concept, it’s loaded with local cultural references but is consciously restrained with a modern sense of sophistication.