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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

Clever by Architectural Digest •

A Circa-1899 Carriage House in Brooklyn Gets a Luminous Refresh

When one designer-academic couple toured a property in Brooklyn, they never expected to fall in love with the circa-1899 carriage house across the street instead. “We said to our broker, ‘Now that’s something we’d love!’ He asked around and found out it belonged to the same owner. We made an off-market offer and it was accepted,” says one half of the couple.

As charming as it was, the 1,000-square-foot interior needed serious work. The layout felt crowded and there were several shortcomings, in
Yellowtrace •

Bedazzled: A Jewel-toned Home in Cork by Kiosk Architects and Kingston Lafferty Designs.

When the pandemic hit and people went into hibernation, Irish interior designer Roisin Lafferty did the opposite. She was enlisted by a young family—a couple with a little boy—to redesign their home in Cork, Ireland, over the lockdown. The family lived overseas and were planning at some point to move back to Ireland. But they first needed a place to call home. “We initially got to know them over Zoom,” recalls Roisin, principal at Kingston Lafferty Designs, who took up the project in collaborati
The Local Project •

[Print] The Great Outdoors — Abey Australia's New Al Fresco Collection

With more than 3,500 products, Abey Australia offers the largest range of kitchen and basin taps and
sinks in Australia, in addition to exclusive Italian collections from Gessi, Armando, Vicario and Barazza
Appliances. It is noted for its ability to curate end-to-end solutions to fit a range of designs and budgets.
Abey’s latest introduction, the Alfresco Party Sink Collection, successfully parlays this design legacy to a
range of outdoor environments.
Architectural Digest •

[Print] States of Matter: The Interference Table by Splendour

There is no element in the world that can exist at once as two states of matter—liquid yet solid, moving yet still. Aimed as an exception, perhaps, is a sleight of hand by Splendour in the way of a monolithic marble table that exemplifies, in equal measure, the stillness of stone and the fluidity of water. Christened “Interference”, and part of a larger series that goes by the same name, the sculpture’s surface is characterized by two formidable ripples, one larger than the other, representing fallen raindrops frozen in motion.
Architectural Digest •

Inside a Miami Beach Home Where Nostalgia Never Ends

Few people have the privilege of experiencing their parent’s childhood home. Fewer still have the privilege of reexperiencing it years later. Attorney Eli Poupko belongs to the latter category, although as he explains, the second time around was thanks to a stroke of serendipity. “We were living in New York and thinking of moving back to Miami,” says Poupko, who likes to make music when not in the courtroom. “We were on Zillow one day and stumbled upon a listing for a house my grandparents owned
Yellowtrace •

Art Deco Gem: Mumbai Apartment by Atelier Varun Goyal.

The thing about designing a home with a sea view, of all places in a concrete megacity like Mumbai, is that the view trumps all else. No one stops to admire the decor or compliment the art or ooh and aah at that century-old lamp, rumoured to have been owned by a long-ago maharaja but in reality scavenged from Chor Bazaar (one of India’s largest flea markets). Architect Varun Goyal had none of those problems (nor, for that matter, did he scavenge a lamp from Chor Bazaar).

“He had a unique vision
Architectural Digest •

This nostalgic Kochi home features centuries-old art, soulful curios, and reclaimed wood

No matter how hard they tried, Joseph Karukapally and Sherly Jose just couldn't picture a black front door for their new Kochi home. “The idea sounded preposterous,” remarks Joseph, taking a long sip of freshly brewed tea, impervious, it seems, to the steam it has sent rising up his spectacles. He is seated in the living room of their new apartment, in the company of a breeze and the morning sun. Ahead of him is a coffee table with tchotchkes, behind him, a black front door. “From the very begin
The Local Project •

Savage Design Expands the Maddox System

Designed by Joel Savage and James Groom, the original Maddox unit was launched in 2022 with individual metal components engineered to assemble like a Meccano set. Resembling its six Maddox counterparts, the new drinking glass rack is crafted in marine-grade stainless steel or brass and also available in two finishes: aged bronze and blackened brass. Echoing the company’s ‘no-size-fits-all’ philosophy, Maddox can be tailored to suit a customer’s individual needs with the help of the Design with M
The Local Project •

Faucet Strommen’s New Bathroom Collection

Founded in 1999, Australian-made, family-owned tapware manufacturer Faucet Strommen has emerged as a brand of choice among designers. The company’s bathroom collection has become a market leader, with the solid brass fixtures acting as an overarching solution for architectural tapware, fittings and accessories. The collection – which includes mixers, accessories, showers, cabinet handles and pulls, three-piece tapware, outlets, baths, basins, shower hardware and flush plates– is available in 20 colour finishes and a spectrum of different styles. Through such attention to detail, the collection addresses the need for a complete and cohesive design solution across all bathroom touchpoints.
Vogue •

This deep and dramatic duplex in Bengaluru subtly nods to its owners’ Assamese heritage

You can take the person out of the place, but you can’t take the place out of the person. Or so the adage goes. In this case, the person was ‘people’, and the place Assam, but the sentiment much the same. “Every great story begins with people deciding to fly the nest and follow their aspirations. Ours was no different,” says graphic designer Pooja Dihingia, one half of Bengaluru-based UI/UX design studio Yellowchalk. When she and her husband, Rajiv Kakati, Yellowchalk’s other half, moved from As
Domino •

A "Nothing Too Shiny or New" Mantra Led These Designers to a Turmeric-Hued Kitchen

Most people who remodel want to bring their home into the present, not take it back to the past. But creative couple Jolene Ellis and Chris Graves aren’t your average renovators. When the cofounders and principals of London-based interior design studio Clarence & Graves bought a pair of adjacent apartments in Somerset, England, the first thing they did was turn back the clock. The kitchen was clearly stuck in the 1980s (the walls had spots, there was no sink, and the ceiling was too low for comf
The Local Project •

Abey Australia’s New Alfresco Sink and Tapware Collection - Collection Feature

From intimate soirées to boisterous backyard barbeques, a common challenge that underscores most outdoor gatherings is adequate infrastructure. Food forgotten indoors or a warmer-than-average beverage can be enough to dampen the spirit of an otherwise pleasant get-together. Abey Australia’s Alfresco Sink Collection seeks to solve this problem, with a selection of sinks crafted from 316 marine-grade stainless steel designed to withstand the elements and provide an outdoor alternative for food and drink storage. Their rust-proof nature makes them ideal for high-humidity and coastal environments.
Architectural Digest •

In this gorgeous Mumbai duplex, architecture and art get equal pride of place

It’s not everyday that you come across a project born out of multiple briefs—four to be exact; not that the team at AD100 firm Sanjay Puri Architects was counting. The project, a Mumbai duplex, was somewhat familiar territory for the firm. They had designed the Bafnas’ previous home some twenty years prior, though many things had changed since. The Bafnas had grown by two members, as had the lead architecture team by one: the latter in the way of Ayesha Puri Kanoria, who took up the design reins
Clever by Architectural Digest •

Inside a Portland Bungalow Where Summer Never Ends

When interior designer Anna-Jaël Hotzel and her husband, designer and engineer Evan Livingston, first toured the Portland bungalow that would be their next home, it was the garden that sold them. “We had been to about 60 open houses, and when we walked into the garden of this one, we knew right away we wanted to live here,” recalls Anna-Jaël, who worked in advertising and prop styling before establishing her own Portland-based interior design firm, Kollective. To be fair, it was the 10-foot-tall
Architectural Digest •

Inside a Minimalist Hawaiian Home That’s Organized Around Vastu Principles

The land had a storied past. It had once served as a pathway for the natural flow of lava from mauka (mountain) to makai (ocean), and it had glorious kiawe trees—some thousands of years old—dotting its outer edges. Keen to echo this environment into the built form, the couple tapped architects Greg Warner and Sharon Okada of San Francisco–based Walker Warner, landscape architect David Tamura, and interior designers Marion Philpotts-Miller and Anne Tanaka of Honolulu studio Philpotts Interiors.
Sotheby's •

A Spotlight on Indonesia's Burgeoning Art Market

T here was once a time when the Indonesian art landscape was shrouded in mystery, seemingly shadowed by its larger Southeast Asian cousins. That has changed in recent years, with the archipelagic state joining an avant-garde of art markets in the global spotlight. The galvanisation of Indonesian art and artists is a reflection of the country’s economic prosperity; its GDP grew by 5.31% in 2022, the greatest rise in nine years. By 2026, it is expected to replace Russia as the world’s sixth larges
Domino •

This Arkansas Cabin Rental Was So Groovy, a Guest Bought It for Himself

When interior designer Whitney Romanoff, her husband, Stephen, and their 2-year-old daughter, Sofia, moved from California to Arkansas in late 2020, they never mentally checked out of the Golden State. So when they chanced upon a circa-1972 cottage in Beaver Lake, nestled in a cliffside grove, they were immediately charmed by its Laurel Canyon–like vibe. “We were looking for a little holiday oasis where we could do things at our own pace,” says Romanoff, the founder and principal of Meet West St
Elle Decor •

[Print] New Delhi: Postcard from Paradise

In New Delhi’s Chhatarpur, where verdant lanes and fortress-like facades are par for the course, there’s a 12,000-square-foot weekend home that gives little away. As an urban farm turned weekend retreat, its fine details and natural materials exude a warm and earthy quality reminiscent of the landscape. And yet, its identity is entirely its own, with geometric shapes and organic forms that at once complement and contrast one another, conjuring the illusion of a larger-than-life sculpture. When designer Preeti Kaur, founder and principal of her Delhi-based design firm Studio Prefix, was enlisted to create the retreat for a family of three, the focus was on conjuring up a sanctum that echoed the natural environment. Courtesy of the original builder, two of the home’s three storeys were already in place when she took on the design reins. Her role was adding another and weaving the home into a cohesive whole.
Elle Decor •

[Print] Once Upon a Fort: Kumar and Yehali Sangakkara's Peaceful Galle Hideaway

When retired Sri Lankan cricketing legend Kumar Sangakkara and his wife, Yehali, purchased a villa in the island precinct of Galle Fort a few years ago, its state of disrepair was the last thing on their mind (the home was originally built as a residence in the fort and fortified by the Portuguese in the late 1500s, then subsequently captured by the Dutch in the 17th century). The first, was getting on board an interior designer who would match their sensibilities—a cinch, considering they already knew whom they wanted. Having worked with her on their Colombo home sixteen years prior, they were keen to rekindle a working relationship with Annika Fernando, founder and principal of Colombo-based multidisciplinary practice Annika Fernando Design. And so they did, trusting her to combine their vision with her own.
Domino •

Laying Out a Studio Is Like Tetris, But This Rug Trick Makes It Easy

When Lisa Viergutz moved to Michigan during the height of the lockdown, she hadn’t planned on returning to New York City. But, of course, life had other plans. “After many months away, I just had this feeling it was time to get back,” recounts Viergutz, a primary therapist. Discovering a 30th-floor studio on the Upper West Side in a co-op building adjacent to Lincoln Center and overlooking the Hudson River felt like a sign from the universe. “The view was a game changer and helped make the decis
Architectural Digest •

Ahmedabad: This UFO-shaped weekend villa is an otherworldly escape

About forty minutes from Ahmedabad, not long after the highway has been replaced by fields and the pigeons by plum-headed parakeets, there is a village by the name of Jaspur. It’s nondescript by most standards, no different from the village before or after it. Or so a first impression will have you believe. But inside, past the paddocks of peanut and sesame and the matchbox homes that line the street fronts, is something most locals avow can be found nowhere else in the world. “It’s locally know
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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