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Sunita Kohli Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 15, 2026 • 4 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth28 December 1946

Age76 Years

BirthplaceLakshmi Mansion (the Victoria Building), Lahore

ProfessionInterior Designer, Architectural Restorer, Furniture Manufacturer, Author, Social Activist

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseRamesh Kohli

FamilyChildren: Suryaveer Kohli (son); Kokila Kohli (daughter); Kohelika Kohli (daughter)

Sunita Kohli Biography

Sunita Surya Kohli is an Indian interior designer, architectural restorer, furniture manufacturer, author and social activist known for restoring and re‑im

Early life and background

Sunita Surya Kohli was born on 28 December 1946 in what was then Lakshmi Mansion (the Victoria Building) in Lahore. Her family relocated to Lucknow after Partition, and she grew up in that city. Her father, Indar Prakash, came from a Rajput background and her mother, Chand Sur, was from a Hindu Balochi family in Quetta. Kohli completed an undergraduate degree in English Literature at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, and pursued a Master of Arts in English at Lucknow University.

As a child she accompanied her father to sales and auctions, an early exposure that kindled an interest in historical lights, chandeliers and antique furniture. That interest developed into a practical skillset when she learned furniture manufacturing from a master craftsman in Lucknow and began restoring and selling period desks and tables.

Career

Kohli launched her professional practice in the early 1970s. In 1971 she founded Sunita Kohli Interior Designs and a year later began Sunita Kohli and Company to manufacture contemporary-classic furniture. Her work grew from restoring individual pieces to advising clients on complete redecorations, at a time when interior design was establishing itself as a profession in India.

Over subsequent decades Kohli built a portfolio that blends restoration of historic buildings with the design of hotels, private residences and hospitality projects. She has been engaged in conservation and redesign work on a number of prominent New Delhi commissions associated with architects of the Lutyens and Baker era, including projects at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Prime Minister’s Office, Nos. 3 and 5 Racecourse Road, the Parliament House Colonnade and Hyderabad House. She also worked on the bungalows of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum.

Her practice extended beyond India. In 1989 she designed the National Assembly Building in Thimphu, Bhutan, and has worked on conference and cultural centres and hotels in Bhutan. In Egypt she undertook designs for luxury hotel boats on the Nile for the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels and for the Oberoi Group. She also restored and furnished the Naila Fort in Jaipur for the Oberoi Group.

Kohli has written on subjects ranging from design and architectural conservation to literature and cultural heritage. She contributed a chapter on Lutyens and New Delhi to a Millennium volume on the city and has authored a series of children’s books on Indian culture and crafts, including titles on Delhi architecture, traditional lamps of India, Tanjore paintings and world heritage sites in India.

In 2005 she founded, in association with the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in India and serves on the museum’s National Advisory Board. In 2010 she and her daughter Kohelika Kohli established K2India, a multidisciplinary firm that combined her earlier interior design, architecture and furniture manufacturing activities with Kohelika’s architecture practice. K2India works across hotels, resorts, private homes, offices, restaurants, luxury hotel boats and aircraft, and in the restoration of forts, palaces and public buildings.

Public profile

Kohli has been recognized with awards for her contributions. In 1991 she received the Mahila Shiromani Award and in 1992 she was conferred the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her work in architectural restoration and design, making her the only interior designer at that time to receive that civilian honour. Her company K2India has been acknowledged in industry awards including the Architectural Digest AD50 list and other design prizes across the 2010s.

Beyond design, Kohli has engaged in social causes. She is a founder and trustee of the Satyagyan Foundation in Varanasi, an organisation affiliated with World Literacy of Canada that focuses on women’s economic empowerment through vocational training and literacy programs. She has held institutional leadership roles in education, including serving as Chairperson of The School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal in 2014, the first woman to hold that post.

Latest updates

In 2017 Kohli co‑authored The Lucknow Cookbook with her mother, a 230‑page collection of nearly 150 vegetarian and non‑vegetarian recipes drawn from family and regional traditions. In 2019 she spoke publicly about the book and the culinary heritage it documents.

Kohli continues to be associated with K2India, which lists completed projects in Bhutan, Egypt, England and Sri Lanka, and remains active in writing and advocacy related to heritage, design and the recognition of women artists.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Sunita Kohli, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

The Lucknow Cookbook

Co‑authored a 230‑page book of Lucknow recipes with her mother, published December 2017.

2017
K2India (co‑founder)

Co‑founded a multidisciplinary design and architectural firm with her daughter, consolidating earlier businesses into K2India.

2010
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Career Highlights

  1. Founded Sunita Kohli Interior Designs (1971) and Sunita Kohli and Company (1972)
  2. Restoration and design work on Rashtrapati Bhawan, Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament House Colonnade and other Lutyens-era buildings in New Delhi
  3. Designed the National Assembly Building in Thimphu, Bhutan (1989)
  4. Received Padma Shri from the Government of India for architectural restoration and design (1992)
  5. Co‑founded K2India (2010) and served as Chairperson of The School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal (2014)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Sunita Kohli born?

Sunita Kohli was born on 28 December 1946.

What is Sunita Kohli known for?

Sunita Kohli is known for interior Designer, Architectural Restorer, Furniture Manufacturer, Author, Social Activist.

What is Sunita Kohli’s marital status?

Sunita Kohli's marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Sunita Kohli married to?

Sunita Kohli is publicly listed as married to Ramesh Kohli.