Designer Switches for Home: What Makes Them Designer, and Our Range
Key takeaways
- A switch looks designer when plate shape, finish, rocker style, indicators and colour all agree with the room.
- The plate carries most of the look. Ours are UV-protected, non-yellowing, carry a 5-year warranty and fit all major modular systems.
- We make 13 plate designs, plus matt black Ebony: Orchid, Aster, Daisy and Peony in KEMPS; Royal, Teyoma, V-Wood, Decore, Cristal, Cherry, Aqua Cherry, Glasso and Slim in VIZA.
- A 4M plate runs from ₹80 * (Decore) to ₹620 * (Glasso silver); a 10A or 10AX 1 way switch costs ₹56 to ₹68 * across our rocker styles.
- The best switch for home is rated for its load first: 6A or 10AX for lights and fans, a higher rating for heavy appliances.
What are designer switches for home?
Designer switches for home are modular switches chosen for how the whole board looks as well as how it works: a shaped or finished cover plate, a rocker style that suits the plate, indicators where you want them, and colours matched to the wall, the furniture or the other metal fittings in the room.
The electrical part underneath does not change. A designer board carries the same 6A or 10AX switch for a light and the same sockets; what changes is the plate, its finish and the face of each module.
So a white compact plate and a glass-style plate in Z Black can sit over identical switches. Below we explain what makes a switch look designed, then walk through the plate designs and rocker styles we make at our Mumbai works, with codes and MRPs.
What makes a switch “designer”: the five things you see
A switch looks designer when five visible things agree with each other and with the room: the shape of the plate, its finish, the style of the rocker, where the indicators sit, and how the colours match the walls and fittings around it, and none of those five choices changes the wiring behind the board.
Plate shape Arched, flat to the edge, compact or oversized. Plate finish Gloss, metallic, wood texture, glass-style or acrylic. Rocker style The switch face, chosen separately from the plate. Indicators A small light showing a geyser or pump is on. Colour match Colours that pick up something already in the room.
Same wiring All five are front-of-board choices. Decide early Size is the one thing to plan: the module count sets the plate, and the plate sets the wall box.
If you only change one thing, change the plate. It is the largest visible surface on the board and it is the part people remember; the switches behind it can stay in a plain white or grey face.
Our guide to modular plate finishes compared goes deeper on finish alone; this piece is about the whole look.
| Standard board | Designer board | |
|---|---|---|
| Plate shape | Flat rectangle | Arched, edge-to-edge, compact or oversized |
| Finish | Gloss white | Metallic, wood texture, glass-style, acrylic, matt black |
| Rocker | Whatever comes with the range | Chosen style in white, grey or matt black |
| Indicators | Rarely fitted | On geyser, pump and outdoor circuits, or as a night light |
| Colour match | Not considered | Picks up wood, metal or wall colour in the room |
| Wiring behind it | Same | Same |
| 4M plate MRP example | Decore white ₹80 * | Peony glass ₹505 * |
Designer switches for home in India: why the plate carries the design
In a modular system the switch, the frame it clips into and the plate are separate parts, so the look lives in the plate, which can be changed without rewiring anything.
Our plates are UV-protected and do not turn yellow, which matters on a sunlit wall. They carry a 5-year warranty and they are made to fit all major modular systems, so a plate upgrade does not tie you to replacing the switches behind it.
Same size The one rule is that the new plate must have the same module count as the board it replaces: a 4M board takes a 4M plate. 1M to 18M Our designs run from a single-module plate up to 18M, with some adding 16M, 10M or vertical sizes.
Before you order a plate for an existing board, count the modules on the old one, including blanks. Our plate size calculator and the guide to modular plate sizes both work from that count.
Prices below are catalogue MRPs, marked *, inclusive of all taxes.
Thirteen plate designs, from compact Decore to oversized V-Wood, in white, metallic, wood, glass-style and acrylic.
Our plates are UV-protected, do not turn yellow and carry a 5-year warranty.
Plates fit all major modular switch systems, so an upgrade is a front-of-board change.
Every KEMPS and VIZA plate and switch is made at our own works in Marol, Andheri East.
KEMPS designer plates: Orchid, Aster, Daisy and Peony
KEMPS has four plate designs, each with its own shape idea.
Orchid K301 blends arched edges, a slim profile and a chrome border. It comes in Moon White, K Grey Metallic, Z Black Metallic and Walnut Wood Texture, from ₹102 * for a 1M plate in white. See the Orchid plates.
Aster K341 starts from a flat, even face that runs right out to the plate’s edge. Colourways are Pearl White, Rose Gold Metallic, Space Blue Metallic and Oak Wood Texture, from ₹110 * at 1M. See the Aster plates.
Daisy K371 is sold at one all-colour price, ₹380 * at 1M, in Cool White, Sky Blue, K Silver and American Blue. See the Daisy plates.
Peony K381 is our glass design; the catalogue page is written around “the power of glass”. It comes in Pearl White, Sky Blue, Z Black and Bronze Copper, all at ₹350 * for 1M. See the Peony plates.
Daisy and Peony are priced the same in every colour, so in those two designs the choice is purely about looks. In Orchid and Aster, white is the cheapest line and texture the dearest.
VIZA designer plates: nine designs from compact to oversized
VIZA covers our widest spread of shapes, from a compact plate to an oversized one.
Royal In Teak Wood Texture, Mocha Brown Texture, Fossil Grey Texture, American Blue Metallic, Olympic Blue Metallic and Pearl White, including a vertical 6M plate V374. See the Royal plates. Teyoma White, with a 16M size. V-Wood The largest face we make, 116 mm high. Decore The compact one, 87 mm, white only. Cristal Our acrylic plate, in nine shades including Golden, Jungle Green and Z Black.
The other four are Cherry in white, black or white chrome, Aqua Cherry in metallic and texture, Glasso with its glass-style face, and Slim in white, silver, metallic and texture. The Cristal and Glasso pages show each shade.
Height of a 1M plate, by design (mm)
Heights printed on our catalogue design pages. Bar length is height as a share of 116 mm, rounded to the nearest 5%. A 4M plate is 147 mm wide in Decore, 150 mm in the 95 mm designs and 181 mm in V-Wood.
Replacing an old board with chipped plaster around it? A taller face such as V-Wood covers more of the damage than a compact Decore plate.
Designer switch board for home: what a 4M plate costs in each design
A four-module board is the everyday bedroom board, typically lights, a fan and its regulator, so it is the fairest size to compare designs on.
MRP of a 4M plate by design, top finish in each (₹)
Catalogue MRP of each design’s 4M plate in its dearest finish. Bar length is MRP as a share of ₹620, rounded to the nearest 5%. Switches are extra.
Budget Decore, Cherry and Teyoma keep a designer shape at or under ₹125 * at 4M. Mid Wood and metallic textures in V-Wood, Royal, Slim, Orchid and Aster sit between ₹248 and ₹305 *. Premium Cristal, Peony, Daisy and Glasso run from ₹395 to ₹620 *.
A sensible split for a flat: a premium plate on the living-room board, a textured one in the main bedroom, white elsewhere, and the same switches throughout.
For a full board with switches and sockets priced in, see modular switch board price.
Rocker styles: Peony, Daisy, Orchid, Vinca, Piano, Mirchi and more
The rocker is the face of the switch, the part people touch, and each series offers several.
KEMPS Switch faces named Peony, Daisy, Orchid and Vinca in 1M, plus Aster, a 2M module that puts two switches side by side, for example K171 at ₹140 *. KEMPS switches come in white or G.Grey: Peony K101 at ₹65 * in white against K501 at ₹70 * in grey.
VIZA Piano, Mirchi, Cherry, Vivo, Sumo, Slim, Royal and Royal Big Flatty. VIZA Black Adds the twin-switch Air range.
MRP of a 10A or 10AX 1 way switch, by rocker style (₹)
Catalogue MRPs, KEMPS in white. Bar length is MRP as a share of ₹68, rounded to the nearest 5%. The rocker style moves the price by a few rupees; the plate moves it by hundreds.
Match the switch colour to the plate before you buy. A grey switch face on a pearl-white plate, or a white one on Z Black, is the most common reason a new designer board looks unfinished.
VIZA Black: matt black switches and black plates
Black boards suit dark accent walls, charcoal kitchens and wood panelling. Our VIZA Black modular series offers switches, sockets and accessories in matt black.
Switches The 2M Royal range runs from a 10A 1 way at ₹114 * up to the V1338 32A DP with indicator at ₹327 *. The Air twin switches start with V1291, two 10AX 1 way switches on one 2M module, at ₹165 *. Sockets Include the V1269 6A 3 pin with shutter at ₹85 *, and there is a V1303 USB charger at ₹690 *.
Plates The matt black Royal front frame starts at ₹120 * for 1M V1321; the Ebony plate comes in matt black from ₹110 * and in matt black with rose gold from ₹120 *. Z Black shades also run through Peony, Orchid, Cristal and Glasso.
Dark plates show fingerprints more than white. On a busy board by the door, matt black hides them better than gloss or glass-style.
Indicators, night lamps and the small details that finish a board
An indicator is a small light that shows a circuit is on: useful for a geyser or pump, and a soft point of light at night.
Built in In KEMPS Peony, the 20AX 1 way K106 is ₹107 * and the same switch with indicator K108 is ₹120 *. In VIZA Black Royal, V1228 is ₹98 * and V1230 with indicator is ₹125 *.
Separate module For a separate light there is the KEMPS K217 6A red indicator at ₹95 * or the VIZA Black V1251 neon indicator at ₹83 *. Night lamp The KEMPS K216 2M night lamp with 3 LEDs is ₹280 *, and the VIZA Black V1314 4M foot light, marked new in the catalogue, is ₹460 *.
Fit an indicator on any switch whose load you cannot see from the board: a bathroom geyser, a terrace pump, an outdoor light.
The types of electrical switches guide covers what each switch type does.
Designer electrical switches for home: matching colour and finish to the room
Colour matching separates a designer board from a merely expensive one: the board should pick up something already in the room.
Wood rooms Walnut Wood Texture in Orchid, Oak Wood Texture in Aster, Teak Wood Texture in Royal and Rey Wood Texture in V-Wood follow wardrobes, panelling and doors. Metal fittings Rose Gold Metallic, Bronze Copper and Dakota Copper suit warm brass or copper handles; Space Blue Metallic, Olympic Blue Metallic and K Grey Metallic suit steel and chrome. Plain walls Pearl White, Moon White and Cool White let the wall do the talking.
Take a sample Wood and metallic shades look different under warm LED light. One family per floor Where two boards are visible together, keeping them in one design looks deliberate.
Choose the finish after the paint and laminate are fixed; a plate chosen against a paint card often looks wrong on the real wall.
Room-by-room colour advice is in switch board colours for every room, and layout ideas in switch board design ideas.
Latest electrical switches for home: what is new in our range
What is new on a switch board is rarely the mechanism; it is fitting more onto one board, and new plate finishes.
Twin switches Two switches on one 2M module, in KEMPS Aster and VIZA Black Air, leave room on a crowded board for a socket or a regulator. USB charging The VIZA Black V1303 puts a USB charger on the board itself; our USB socket for switch board guide explains where one is worth fitting. Twin socket The VIZA V269 6 & 16A twin PC socket, ₹150 *, is marked new in the catalogue.
Lighting on the board The V1314 4M foot light lights a passage at floor level. Finishes Wood, metallic, glass-style and acrylic plates.
A twin switch or USB module earns its place where space is short; on a simple 2M board, a plain switch in a good plate is enough.
How switches got here is covered in the evolution of modular switches.
Which switch is best for home?
The best switch for home is one rated for the load it controls, carrying a genuine certification mark, fitted in a plate with the right module count for your wall box and finished for the room it sits in, which for lights and fans means a 6A or 10AX switch and for heavy loads a higher rating.
6A or 10AX Lights and fans. 32A DP A geyser or an AC is usually given a 32A double-pole switch, which disconnects both wires; our range has these with an indicator, such as KEMPS K516 in grey at ₹392 *.
Certification Check the mark on the product and its packaging; our guide on how to spot a fake ISI mark shows what to look for. Plate fit Our plates fit all major modular systems. Finish Matt for busy boards, glass-style for feature walls.
A designer plate cannot make an under-rated switch safe. A 6A switch on a geyser circuit will heat and fail however good the board looks, so settle the rating before the finish.
For the full buying checklist, read how to choose a switch board.
How to plan and buy a designer switch board
Plan a designer switch board in the order an electrician builds one, function first, module size second and look last, because that order avoids the most expensive mistake, a plate that does not fit the box in the wall, and lets you buy the finish once the rest is fixed.
Step 1 List what each board controls: lights, fans, regulators, sockets. Step 2 Count the modules and add one spare. Step 3 Pick the design and finish for each room. Step 4 Match the switch colour, white or grey, to the plate.
Buy through a dealer We do not sell online. You can buy our KEMPS and VIZA ranges from a dealer, by phone, or by visiting us; the contact page has the details. Mumbai made Made at our works in Marol, Andheri East. Replacing one Changing a switch in an existing board is covered in how to replace a switch in a switch board.
Take a photo of each existing board with the module count before you visit a dealer. It makes ordering the right plate size a two-minute job.
FAQs
What are designer switches for home?
Which switch is best for home?
Which designer switch plate is the cheapest?
Do designer switch plates turn yellow?
Can I put a designer plate on my existing switches?
Are black switch boards a good idea for home?
Why buyers choose Vinayak Electricals
- Manufacturing since 1995 at our own works in Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai.
- ISO 9001:2015 certified, with 2000+ products made in-house. Our switches are made to IS 3854 under ISI licence CM/L-7567794.
- 13 plate designs across KEMPS and VIZA, from compact to oversized.
- Plates are UV-protected, non-yellowing and carry a 5-year warranty.
- Plates fit all major modular switch systems.
- Public MRPs in our catalogue, and dealers across India to buy from.
See every designer plate and switch
Browse KEMPS and VIZA plates, switches and colourways with codes and MRP, then buy from a dealer near you or call us.
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