Aspire Design and Home | Designer Travels: Laurie Blumenfeld In Udaipur, India

“Wish you could see the world through the lens of a designer? Our newest column ?Designer Travels ? will allow you to do just that. Follow along as our first contributor, interior designer Laurie Blumenfeld shares her expeditions, cultural experiences and international finds, and learn of the power travel has to influence interiors once one returns home.” – Aspire Design and Home

The plan: Two weeks? vacation with my husband
Destination: Rajasthan, India. Five Cities; Udaipur, Narlai, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Jaipur
Month traveled: February
Temperature range: Low 80s in the day; 50s at night.
First visit or repeat destination: This is my fifth trip to India.

First Stop: Udaipur
I am drawn to India because…
When I turned 13, we took a family trip to India where I celebrated my birthday at the Rambagh Palace in Rajasthan. To celebrate a milestone birthday in 2024, my husband and I decided to travel back to Rajasthan. We immediately tapped Erica Gragg, travel planner extraordinaire and founder of Escape Artists Travel. Erica assigned Vishu Singh as our travel guide, and he was incredible.

Must-sees for design and architecture enthusiasts…
City Palace is a must-see. A gorgeous palace filled with ancient artifacts and art. The design and architecture are stunning. Mirrored walls, over-scale chandeliers, vintage furniture? Endless inspiration. The palace overlooks the lovely Lake Pichola with its romantic island palaces.

The white marble temples at Ranakpur. These Jain temples are set in a wildlife preserve. The main temple is the attraction here. Architecturally it is called a Panchayatana style of Indian temple ? an interesting array of courtyards and corridors with 1144 pillars, each with its own distinct hand carvings.

Postcard moments…
Honestly, the entire trip was breathtaking! Every day in every city was an epic adventure of culture, color, design, history and amazing chaos. Each hotel Erica from Escape Artists chose for us was steeped in the history of that area with the most stunning Indian architecture and design, fused with glam and modern amenities.

That said, the City Palace with its ornate details is truly awe-inspiring and the sun setting over Lake Pichola was magical and transcending. I felt a deep spiritual connection to the soul of India.

Shopping for objects, furnishings, textiles, and more…
As part of the travel planning, we asked Erica to pull together the best shops in each area. We also discovered a few on our own. The colors and textures of all the fabrics in India are incomparable to anywhere else in the world!

We purchased a vintage, 150-year-old Buddha made of carved stone and a 150-year-old brass Lakshmi sculpture at Shyam Arts. The Ganesh Emporium was full of stunning rugs, tapestries, and wood-sculpted artifacts. The craftsmanship and the experience of learning about their spiritual history inspired us to purchase these pieces to be part of our travel objects collection.

India continues to light my soul on fire with every visit. Each day was a full education of Indian history, the people, architecture, incredible meals and local craftsmanship.

Next stop: Narlai…

Read the second installation here.

– by Laurie Blumenfeld in Aspire Design and Home