Meera Pyarelal’s Temple Town is a design haven for the connoisseurs of refined luxury

Meera Pyarelal’s spaces are evocative of her distinct design vocabulary—one that pays an ode to traditional aesthetics without alienating contemporary ethos. The designer is committed to creating designs that are rooted in India yet have a global appeal. “Temple Town is an attempt at preserving and protecting our Indian craftsmanship and making it appeal to a larger audience,” explains Meera as she talks about the ethos of the brand.

Nestled in the heart of the city of Thrissur in Kerala, Temple Town is a haven for design aficionados. Spread across 8,000sq ft, this immersive store is a grand showcase of the brand’s unique design ethos. Located inside the Museum of Kerala History, the store has been created by renovating an old Kerala house. A walkthrough across the two floors gives customers a peek into the brands’ design aesthetic and helps them visualise their homes designed by Temple Town.

“The ethos of our brand is to make well-crafted pieces of furniture for traditional interiors that are sustainable and have a global appeal. In a contemporary set up, we mix our straight-line wooden furniture with Indian art forms or antiques, making it chic. Colonial furniture is the best collaboration between the East and West. Similarly, any design classic can be mixed with an Indian piece and yet hold its own charm. The only way to establish Indian designs is to make ourselves visible on an international level, connect our artisans with the international market and offer competitive prices on quality products,” says Meera.

Temple Town’s journey started in 1999. Meera discovered her love for interiors while doing up her own apartment. When she couldn’t find what she was looking for in the market, she decided to design it herself. Meera set up a small furniture unit in her garage. After two decades of earning a name in the interiors industry, she conceived her own brand called Temple Town, with the aim of designing and manufacturing sophisticated pieces of colonial furniture. “The objective of the store is to preserve and promote traditional Indian designs and craftsmanship.”

Talking about the design of the space, she says, “Temple Town is not designed just as a showroom; it’s designed as a house. The intent was for our customers to really understand our Indian design language. Walking through the store evokes the feeling of experiencing a home designed by us, replete with a living room, dining, bedroom, everything as it should be in a home,” says Meera as she takes us through the space. “Temple Town is an extension of who I am, how I design, and how I live.

The latest collection draws its essence from the stunning landscapes of Kerala. Handcrafted furniture reflecting the swaying palms on the beaches, the vibrant hues of exotic flowers, and the earthy tones of the spice plantations makes this collection unique and fascinating. Going by the brand’s ethos, the collection has been designed utilising natural materials like rattan, bamboo and reclaimed wood, each sustainably sourced and showcasing the inherent beauty of the region. “As a country, India has so much art from all over, and at Temple Town, we love to bring these colours and textures while fusing them with modern elements of the West and the latest designs and technologies.

Meera Pyarelal

Founder and Creative Director, Temple Town

Everyone thought medicine would be the obvious career choice for Meera Pyarelal, the daughter of a Padma Shri award-winning surgeon; however, destiny had other plans for her. Armed with a Masters in English literature, she discovered her love for interiors while doing up her own apartment way back in 1999. She decided to give it a try and set up a small unit in her husband’s garage 20 years ago, giving wings to her creative side. After two decades of earning a name for herself in the interiors industry, she conceived her own brand — Temple Town — with the aim of designing and manufacturing sophisticated pieces of colonial furniture.