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Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar is an internationally published architecture, design and art journalist.

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Vaishnavi works out of a sunny studio called Mangomonk where she writes for publications big and small.

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Latest Articles

Architectural Digest India •

This home in Pune is an extension of the Earth with natural finishes and its meditative spirit

They say that those on the path to enlightenment have few worldly desires. This was true for Mayuri Jadeja and Vishwajit Gohil, who had it on their heart to pursue salvation and self-actualisation—eventually, sure—but also have a home back on earth to tide them over in the meantime. By the time they reached out to architects Tejas Shintre and Ojas Hiwrekar of Pune-based Koriv Design Studio, they already had a clear vision for their home in Pune’s Wakad: something with natural finishes and an ear...
Architectural Digest •

This Historic Queens Apartment Takes Inspiration from NYC’s Cobblestone Streets

For one New York City–based finance professional, coming home to her apartment in Forest Hills Gardens is the ultimate form of therapy. “My favorite thing about it is the serenity you feel the moment you step inside—it’s like being transported back in time,” she says, admitting that the peaceful vibe of the home, built around 1930, and the neighborhood at large—designed like a traditional English village—cast a spell on her during the first visit. In her eyes, in those moments, nothing else mattered: not the tired bathroom fittings, the worn kitchen floor, or the light-starved living room layout. “Plus, discovering that the kitchen garbage chute is fully functional was an unexpected bonus,” she jokes. The home needed updating, sure, but it was nothing a light refresh couldn’t fix. She entrusted Paulina Hospod and Albert Rutkowski of AhA!nteriors, a family-owned design-build firm based in Queens, to work their magic and bring the 1,000-square-foot home to life.
Architectural Digest India •

This set designer’s New Delhi home evokes the magic of the movies

“My design process is all about colour. So when we were figuring out the mood and tone for each room, I knew I wanted colour drenching to be the focus, allowing each space to have its own unique vibe.” It was one thing to draw inspiration from her job, but quite another to replicate that style entirely. “One of the biggest challenges I faced was breaking out of my usual set design mindset, where everything looks great but doesn’t always feel right. In set design, everything is temporary—you’re c...
The Local Project •

Flatiron NYC by Heather Hilliard Design

Five hundred feet above New York City’s Flatiron District, impervious to Manhattan’s constant hubbub, NYC Flatiron by Heather Hilliard Design simultaneously reflects the twinkling city and the soft sky.
In its previous life, the home now known as NYC Flatiron was distinguished by one hallmark: glass walls that showcased the twinkling city below. The golden light, panoramic views and peaceful atmosphere served as the inspiration for the renovation by Heather Hilliard Design. The San Francisco-bas...
Architectural Digest India •

This farmhouse in Tamil Nadu’s Rajapalayam is a labour of love by three generations

Textile designers are well-versed in the art of dyeing with mango leaves, but the tincturing effects of the tropical evergreen, except maybe during festivals, are lost on most architects and interior designers. The architects at Kollam-based The Design Room don’t claim to be the exception. “We learned it the hard way,” laughs principal Nanda Kishor, the we in question being himself and fellow principals Vivin Shankar and Sebastian K. John. It wasn’t until some mango leaves yellowed the grey oxid...
Architectural Digest •

A 900-Square-Foot Prewar Brooklyn Apartment Gets a Kaleidoscopic Spin

Thea Traff doesn’t consider herself a quitter—but when the Minnesota native set out to buy an apartment in the Big Apple, she nearly threw in the towel (and tossed out the plan). “When I began looking, everything I saw felt too small for the price it was listed at. I gave up on the search until the day my apartment came on the market,” recalls the editorial photographer, whose work has been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone, among others.Although the Brooklyn Hei...
Architectural Digest India •

This Mumbai home proves that downsizing doesn’t mean downgrading

Fund managers are no strangers to bearish outcomes, but when it came to designing the Juhu, Mumbai, home he shares with his wife and their 9-year-old daughter, one Mumbai-based financial analyst didn’t need the slightest help feeling bullish. “This was our first experience designing a home from scratch, so it felt a bit daunting at first, but the excitement of creating something uniquely ours outweighed everything,” says the finance professional, who, along with his wife, entrusted interior designer, Dhvani Shah, from her namesake Mumbai-based studio, to guide the design direction for their home. The couple, both in their forties, had a clear idea of what they wanted: something modern and luxurious, yet homely and uncluttered, with a largely monochromatic palette. Their non-negotiables? A clean, open living area, a well-integrated bar setup, and a spacious balcony that could comfortably seat several people.
The Local Project •

The Hampton House by Page Stewart

At first blush, The Hampton House, named after the eponymous beachside Melbourne suburb it inhabits, appears to be in harmony with its neighbours. It has the same weatherboard facade and the same Edwardian hallmarks, yet a closer glance reveals a distinction: a modern dwelling hides in plain sight.
The collective structure is a meeting of the past and present, achieved by the Melbourne-based design studio Page Stewart, which redesigned the existing home and conceived a monolithic extension to se...
The Local Project •

The Annex by Collab Design Studio

Toronto’s sophisticated neighbourhood, The Annex, is a palimpsest of Victorian architecture, characterised by semi-detached heritage homes, each providing a brilliant glimpse into the past.
Among these, one stands out as an exception to the standard blueprint, offering as much a tribute to history as a vision for the future. Reimagined by Toronto-based design practice Collab Design Studio, The Annex steps into the present while making room for a young, growing family.
Ever since the current owne...
The Wall Street Journal •

A Photographer’s Childhood Dream of Living in a Round House Comes Full Circle

Owning a round house had always been high on fine art photographer Richard James’s wishlist. “It started when I was a little boy,” says James, 65. “A teacher at school asked the class to design a house. I pulled out a compass and drew a big circle and divided that circle up into areas for living and dining and sleeping. This drawing still exists, buried away in my memory boxes.”
The childhood fantasy took on a life of its own some years later when a fifty-something James took a tour of the Phillip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, CT, and returned with photos to show his wife, equity trader Annette Koberlein-James, now 56.
As Koberlein-James recalls, seeing those images inspired in her an epiphany. “As I took in the pictures and listened to his stories from the experience, I could see myself living in that home, which was very unexpected, because privacy is important to me. The house had a lovely, reserved quality, one that was open and expansive yet quiet and intimate. I appreciated how open natural landscape encircled the glass structure,” she says.
Vogue •

[Print] The Art of Living

In November 1955, Libia Lobo Sardesai went missing. There was no letter, no witnesses, no investigation. And yet, nobody worried about her whereabouts. To her credit, Lobo hadn’t given anyone reason to worry. She staged her disappearance carefully, fabricating a transfer to Belgaum, adopting a pseudonym and trudging through jungles in the Western Ghats to evade detection. When she surfaced six years later in December 1961, she had earned a new identity as an activist, a freedom fighter and the voice of Goa—although nobody knew her name yet.
The Local Project •

Kabine by Wellard Architects

The Victorian coastal town of Venus Bay – part of the Cape Liptrap Coastal Park on the South Gippsland coastline – is an oasis of pristine beaches, rugged landscapes and wildlife. The dwellings that do exist appear to grow out of the earth, hiding in plain sight.
Kabine, the home of Melbourne-based interior and prop stylist, Bek Sheppard, falls into this proud minority. Designed by Harriet Collins of Wellard Architects, the once worn and weary 1970s cabin is restored and takes a leaf from its su...
Vogue •

As The Asiatic Society of Mumbai’s first woman president, 83-year-old Vispi Balaporia wants books to live forever

Even though it has been exactly five years and two-and-a-half terms since she assumed the presidency at The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Vispi Balaporia has nary a clue as to why she is the first woman to do so. She looks around her Breach Candy apartment, almost as if the answer is written on the walls half-haloed by the westerly sun. “I think it just boils down to challenging the status quo,” the 83-year-old eventually says, the evening light gilding her crown of silver curls.It’s not that there...
Vogue •

Bakula Patel almost drowned in the Tapi River. At 80, she is now a medal-winning swimming champion

Most people with a phobia would tie themselves in knots to avoid the trigger that causes it. Bakula Patel isn’t like most people. The 80-year-old swimming champion was once an aquaphobe. As for what prompted her to dip her toes—and the rest of her body—in the water, she reveals it was a bid to rediscover joy and a more authentic version of herself. “I was into sports and athletics from a young age, but I lost my parents early, was married off at thirteen and became a widow when my children were still young. I felt all alone,” she shares over the phone from her Surat home. When her children flew the nest several years later, she didn’t know what to do, she recalls, her voice laced with melancholy. “So I thought I would distract myself with a sport.” She picked swimming, as much to overcome her fear as to numb her heartache. A month later, she nearly drowned.
Vogue •

The sprawling gardens at this Bengaluru resort made me feel like I was in Bridgerton

The summer I turned eight was the summer my dad made a thrilling announcement: we were headed on a holiday to the American East Coast. The dates were set, the tickets booked and the accommodations arranged. We were based in London at the time, but we had family in the US, and my dad, ever the saver, was determined to economise on lodging wherever possible. The itinerary was packed with familiar places and names: Washington D.C. with this aunt, New York City with that uncle, Maryland with a recently resurrected second cousin. The only exception was Buffalo, home to the Niagara Falls, which, by some minor miracle—and to my insurmountable joy—had no relative to host us. Instead, the schedule displayed another name: Marriott—a company my uncle worked for, and one that would, in the years to come, remain emblazoned in my cerebral hard drive.
Vogue •

At 100, Goan freedom fighter Libia Lobo Sardesai still has plenty of fight left in her

In November 1955, Libia Lobo Sardesai went missing. There was no letter, no witnesses, no investigation. And yet, nobody worried about her whereabouts. To her credit, Lobo hadn’t given anyone reason to worry. She staged her disappearance carefully, fabricating a transfer to Belgaum, adopting a pseudonym and trudging through jungles in the Western Ghats to evade detection. When she surfaced six years later in December 1961, she had earned a new identity as an activist, a freedom fighter and the v...
Architectural Digest India •

This bungalow in Bengaluru is an ode to its owners’ roots in Kerala

Being from one place and living in another is a fate unwittingly bestowed upon many urban dwellers, whose jobs, fortunately or unfortunately, keep them tethered to the pace and frenzy of big-city life. It was no different for one Bengaluru couple, Malayalis by heritage, not birth, whose upbringing across various Indian cities left them yearning to reconnect with their roots—at least mentally. They reflected on their calling through conversation and contemplation; then, still feeling none the wis...
Architectural Digest India •

This Mumbai apartment is an Aladdin’s cave of gleaming treasures

The thing about being empty nesters is that you begin to see things in a new light—corners of the home you never really noticed, a wall that seems emptier than it used to, and rooms that suddenly feel too quiet, like they’re waiting for the next burst of life. When their sons flew the coop and moved to the U.S. a few years ago, Mumbai couple Chetan and Falguni Shah had a similar revelation. They’d lived in their Kandivali West apartment in Mumbai for over twenty years, and it was a home they and their boys knew well—so well that the Shahs decided, with the junior members gone, that it was time for a change. “Over the years, we hadn’t changed much from the original design, just a few minor tweaks here and there. With the boys away, the space had become more of a retreat for the two of us, and we felt it was time for a much-needed update,” says Chetan, though by we, what he really means is she. “In our family, whatever Falguni says goes—she has a much better eye for design, and I was more than happy to leave those decisions to her.” As for Falguni, she entrusted the project to interior designers Nidhi Shetty and Nidhi Chawla of Mumbai-based Dusq Studio to help bring her—nay, their—vision to life.
The Local Project •

Inside Peter Frampton’s Humble Tennessee Home

Tucked away in a pastoral pocket of Nashville, Tennessee, rock musician Peter Frampton’s farmhouse is a dreamscape of hushed hues and accessible design.
Designed by friend and interior designer Robin Rains, the home is customised to meet the needs of the music star, who lives with inclusion body myositis (IBM), impacting his movement and mobility. When Robin took on the redesign, the home had just been built and was a blank canvas. However, it needed to be updated to meet Frampton’s needs. “When...
Architectural Digest India •

This bungalow in Karnataka’s Kundapur reimagines the ancestral home that stood before it

When it came to the interior design, the Shettys expected the bare minimum. They wanted simple layouts, minimum furniture, and little to no decor for their bungalow in Karnataka. Their prudence, however, made an exception for the sun, which they wanted in abundance, and the kitchen and entertaining areas, which they wanted large. Of course, as Suchith’s wife, Vasavi, explains, not everything went according to plan. “We got a big surprise the day we walked in when we saw brick walls in the living...
Architectural Digest India •

[Print] Glass Half Full: Lobmeyr x Douglas Friedman

What do Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the phonograph, and photographer and tastemaker Douglas Friedman have in common? Besides being trailblazers in their respective fields, the two Americans, born over a century apart, both collaborated with the 200-year-old Austrian glassware company Lobmeyr to create things the world had never before seen. In Edison’s case, it was the world’s first electric chandelier; in Friedman’s, a collection of exquisite hand-painted glasses inspired by the spectacular views behind his home in Marfa, Texas.
The Local Project •

Light Well House by Simone Haag

In modernising the home, Simone remained faithful to its heritage. “There isn’t a plaster wall in the house. It’s all brick or timber veneer,” she notes. In addition to the walls, she also retained the original tiled benchtops in the kitchen, quaint basins in the bathrooms and vintage tapware fittings in both. “In terms of materials, the emphasis was on authenticity and honesty,” she adds. Her materials of choice were natural and organic, including wool, brick, timber, glass, leather, stone and...
Clever by Architectural Digest •

An Interior Designer’s LA Spanish Revival Evokes Her “Offbeat Chic” Aesthetic

Interior designer Julia Sobrepeña King is a firm believer in enjoying the chaos before the calm. “I’m an obsessive researcher, so I end up having to sort through lots of ideas and images before choosing a direction,” admits the AD PRO Directory member and founder of LA- and San Francisco–based full-service design firm Studio Roene. But last year, when it came time to redesign her 1920s pied-à-terre in LA’s Carthay Square, the frenzy, admittedly, reached a new standard of epic proportions for the...
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AD Visits

Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Diipa Büller-Khosla's canal house in Amsterdam is a postcard from 1614

Even from 6,000 kilometres away, Diipa Büller-Khosla’s energy is palpable through the screen. It’s morning where she is, and she and her husband and business partner, Dutch former diplomat, Oleg Büller-Khosla (the couple legally adopted each other's last names when they married in 2018) are perched in the kitchen of their Amsterdam home, in the company of their pet pooches, Kubii and Bimbo.

By their own admission, it’s a scene that just a few years ago, was a figment of their imagination. “We'd
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Ishaan Khatter’s Mumbai apartment is a sunset sanctuary

When he isn't busy filming or promoting or air-dashing off to exotic locales, Ishaan Khatter likes to appreciate the little things in life. “On Sunday mornings, when time permits, I slip off for a bike ride. In the evenings, I like to watch the sunset with some music and coffee,” says the actor, who was last seen in supernatural comedy Phone Bhoot, alongside Katrina Kaif and Siddhant Chaturvedi. So when he moved in a three-bedroom apartment along the Bandra sea face, naturally, his first priorit
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Actor Aahana Kumra’s Mumbai apartment is a pretty-in-pink princess pad

In a building full of identical brown doors, Aahana Kumra's entrance is the only non-brown curiosity. "I absolutely love pink. It's my all-time favourite colour—that's why it's right at the front," she laughs, holding open the candyfloss-coloured opuscule as she ushers me inside. For Kumra, the home is a manifestation twenty years in the making, and one that nods equally to her Lucknowi roots and her life in Mumbai. "There are whiffs of Kashmir, London and Delhi too. It's a collection of all my
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Actor Aparshakti Khurana’s Mumbai home displays drama in the details

Even before they had finalised their house, or decided who would design it, actor Aparshakti Khurana and his wife, events entrepreneur Aakriti Ahuja, had a chandelier picked out and stowed away in storage. "I had spotted it some years ago in Delhi and just knew I had to buy it," laughs Aakriti, and Aparshakti chimes in, "We had no idea what our future house would look like. Nothing was set in stone, except this big, blue bhaisahab." The bhaisahab in question now occupies a corner of their living
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Singer Armaan Malik’s Mumbai home is halfway between London and Los Angeles

At 10 AM on a Sunday, the last thing you'd expect is for Armaan Malik to be crisping the edges of a frittata. And yet, that's exactly the sight that greets me as I step into his kitchen, a California-cool bolthole with a London-esque edge. "I love making breakfast and treating myself to a good spread," he says, drizzling butter on bruschettas. Dressed in a casual button-up and chinos, he looks like a laid-back version of his on-screen alter ego, who, as fans of The Voice (on which Armaan appears
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Actors Aditya Seal and Anushka Ranjan’s newlywed nest is a storybook come to life

At the door of actors (and newlyweds) Aditya Seal and Anushka Ranjan Seal's new Mumbai duplex, the nameplate is conspicuous by its absence. What is not is the cheery (LED) baby seal that takes its place, animating the wall and nodding to its namesake owners. “It's fun to watch people guess," says Anushka. "Those who get it, get it. And it makes for a great conversation-starter." But the unlikely sea creature isn’t the only thing setting the entryway apart—because if the peach-toned front door (a