The Yellow Slide Origin Story
As I celebrate my birthday month and reflect and reminisce on turning the big 4-0, it feels like the right time to share The Yellow Slide’s origin story. Why did I chose this as my company name? Why Yellow? What’s with the slide? For all of that, I need to take you back 40 years.
I was born in New Jersey to very young parents. My dad had just graduated from a Masters program in Civil Engineering, my mom was home sick and sleep deprived from taking care of a new born. My dad tried every possible option but was not able to secure a decent job in his field of work. They were getting impatient and running out of time and money. Simultaneously, back in Mumbai, India, my grandfather, also a civil engineer, had left his job with the state government after working for many years on infrastructure projects. They both decided and concluded that my parents were to return back to India with me and start a family construction business.
One of the first projects they worked on was a residential building, where they decided to build our new multi-generational family home. This new home would house 12 adults and a very spoiled first granddaughter. By move-in time, my younger brother was also on the way. This was a beautiful home, not only meeting the functional needs of so many people, it had architectural details and interior design elements that were ahead of its time. In the order of priorities and with limited square footage at hand, my brother and I did not get our own rooms. But my dad compensated for it by using the space adjacent to the stairs + the hallway to create an awesome play room! He worked with the interior designer to install a yellow slide that ran adjacent to the stairs, with a reading nook under the slope.
WDYM you have a slide INSIDE the house?! It was where ALL the kids always gathered. My friends, cousins, anyone who ever came home would be stunned by the yellow slide. I remember spending hours in that little corner, reading, playing, crafting, just having a wonderful childhood. As we grew up, at some point in our teens, we realized that we needed more space for sleeping and studying and eventually that slide had to go. As a teenager I probably did not value it as much as I do now. Yearsssss later when I decided to start my residential interior design company, I wanted a name that was not only personal to me, but an homage to my dad, who not only thought of this insane idea, decided to spend money on it and found someone who would actually build it. Yellow also happens to be my favorite and a signature color that I use in every design project.
This is the OG yellow slide from my childhood home, with the circular cut-out aka reading nook. This photo was taken in the late 1980s.
This is my company logo + front page of my business card - inspired by the yellow slide in my childhood home, a literal translation of the yellow triangle with the circular cut-out.
Philosophically, my logo also represents the basic geometry of architecture and design with the square, triangle and circle being the foundational shapes on which anything and everything is built.
In 2025, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the office of the design firm that built our family home 40 years ago. I met with the lead architect/designer who conceptualized this idea and brought the yellow slide to life. When I handed him my business card, I said that his design made such a deep impact in the heart and mind of a 3 year old girl that 35 years later, it manifested itself as a whole new professional chapter. I spent 3 days learning from him, absorbing every action and word he was sharing with me. It was a magical, full-circle moment.
Me and my childhood yellow slide are living proof that a thoughtfully designed space can make such a positive impact on someone’s life. This is why as an interior designer, I am focused on helping families unlock the hidden potential in their homes, by making everyday spaces more functional, purposeful and always full of personality! No project is too small or too big, based on my personal experience, I can guarantee that if we dream it, we can build it and make someone very happy!