There is a moment in Chandra Agarwal and Dipesh Jain’s story that says everything about how ambition works. They were sitting in their first office — a 10×10 room near Prahlad Nagar that also happened to include a bathroom — meeting a potential client to discuss a bungalow renovation. Somewhere in the conversation, the client casually mentioned that his bathroom was roughly the same size as their entire office. That comment hit differently. Within that same month, Trio Diseno moved into a bigger space. And they never looked back.
On this episode of The HJ Show, host Harsh Joshi sits down with both co-founders to trace the complete journey of Trio Diseno — from a single room renovation worth ₹12,000 to one of Ahmedabad’s most trusted interior design firms, with offices in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Surat, a team of 30, and over 400 projects delivered.
How It All Started
Chandra and Dipesh met as flatmates — the kind of beginning that sounds like the setup for a friendship story, not a business empire. Chandra had studied interior design, completed a master’s degree at INFD Ahmedabad, worked a job briefly, got bored, and decided to start something of his own. Dipesh joined as a business partner. Together they started Trio Diseno out of a tiny office and found their very first project through an online platform called ID Prop — a single room in a bungalow in Navrangpura. Blank walls, a mattress on the floor, an old iron cupboard. Limited budget. But they took it. The philosophy from day one: it does not matter how big or small the start is. Just start.
That first project taught them the most important lesson they carry into every project today — a small or limited-budget client is still a client, and delivering well on that project is what gets you the next one.
What Interior Design Actually Involves
One of the most valuable parts of the conversation is Chandra and Dipesh’s honest breakdown of what interior design actually is — and what most people confuse it with. Interior design is not decoration. Decoration is putting things in a space to make it look better. Interior design is creating the space itself — understanding the structure, the lifestyle of the people who will live or work there, the material choices that will last, and the ergonomics that will make the space function well for years.
The glamour of interior design that people see on Instagram — perfect color combinations, flawlessly styled rooms — is the result of enormous, unglamorous behind-the-scenes work. Managing teams, coordinating plywood, laminates, color codes, civil contractors, furniture vendors, delivery timelines. None of that makes it to the Instagram post. All of it determines whether the final result holds up.
Three Things to Know Before You Start
For anyone planning a home interior, the founders share a clear framework. First — timing. The best time to involve an interior designer is at the civil stage itself, when walls can still be moved, spaces can still be restructured, and the designer can truly shape the layout rather than just decorate an existing one. Second — materials. Material selection reflects your budget and determines the longevity of the design. Making that decision in consultation with a professional prevents costly mistakes. Third — hire a professional team and compare multiple agencies before committing. And the most common mistake? Trying to do it yourself. The difference between DIY and a professional outcome in interior design is enormous.
Why AI Cannot Replace Your Interior Designer
The conversation takes an interesting turn when Harsh asks about AI tools — and whether homeowners could simply use AI to design their own spaces. Chandra’s answer is measured and clear. AI can show you what something might look like aesthetically. But it cannot understand your lifestyle, your family’s age groups, their habits, their emotional relationship with the space, or how the design needs to work ergonomically over years of daily use. A good interior designer understands emotion — and designs accordingly. That is a human skill AI cannot replicate.
How Office Design Drives Business Growth
One of the most practically compelling insights in the episode is about office interiors and their direct impact on business results. When Trio Diseno designs an office, the first step is understanding the nature of the business. From there, the design serves three simultaneous purposes: it creates a work culture and vibe that attracts quality talent during hiring; it builds an immediate trust factor with clients who walk in; and it creates a money flow environment — a space that feels professional and invested-in, which signals to clients that this team will treat their work with the same care. Several of Trio Diseno’s clients report measurable improvements in client conversion and team productivity after office redesigns.
The Shyam Sundar Chandi Wala Case — A Design Patent Story
Perhaps the most striking story from the episode is about brand identity through interior design. Trio Diseno was commissioned to design the interior for Shyam Sundar Chandi Wala — a jewellery brand with strong identity requirements. The design they created was so on-brand, so specific to the company’s visual language, that the client requested a design patent on it. Today, that single design is running across 20+ branches of the same brand — a remarkable example of how interior design and brand identity intersect.
400 Projects and Growing
Trio Diseno currently operates from Sankal Square on Sindhu Bhavan Road in Ahmedabad, with additional offices in Gandhinagar and a newly opened presence in Surat. The team has grown from the two founders in a 10×10 room to a 30-member operation. They offer pan-India design services — clients outside Ahmedabad can access their services through a structured remote consultation process. And through their new venture, Agencywale.com, they are building something entirely new: a platform that connects clients with verified interior designers and architects across India, working like a Just Dial for the design space.
Watch the full episode of The HJ Show with Chandra Agarwal and Dipesh Jain on YouTube, or listen on Spotify and Amazon Music.
