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Architectural Digest •

New Delhi: A builder floor gets a second life as a palatial family residence

When Shalini Ganguli boarded a Kolkata-bound flight in 2019, the London-based designer had little inkling that the trip would be a one-way deal. Ganguli, who was expecting at the time, had planned to deliver in India. What she hadn't planned on, or expected, was a pandemic that would change her life in more ways than one. "I realized I would be in India indefinitely. And then, one day, a few months into the lockdown, I received an email from a family who had recently acquired a property and were
Architectural Digest •

This terracotta-themed Mumbai apartment is a warm and serene sojourn

Living in Mumbai, more often than not, can feel exhausting. And yet, the secret to staying sane in a city that is always on the move, as a 30-something couple found out, is to find an escape that sloughs off the din of the metropolis'. "We decided to give it a terracotta spin," says Mahek Lalan, who stepped in to give their apartment an earthy makeover. "We designed an aesthetic rooted in organic tones that nod to the earth. Terracotta was a perfect reference because of its impermanent and trans
Architectural Digest •

How a childhood home in Mumbai was redesigned to make it more senior-friendly for parents

As we settle into the living room, it's obvious that the Shahs have a thing for understated luxe. "We wanted the house to look lavish but contemporary, with lots of wooden and marble textures. Now that Dhvani and her sister are married, the focus lay on reconfiguring the primary layout to accommodate just my husband and me," says Dhvani's mother, when Dhvani chimes in, "And I had to figure out how I would create a house that echoed their sensibilities, but also, grow with them as they got older.
Architectural Digest •

Ashiesh Shah becomes the first Indian designer to debut on The Invisible Collection

Dominated by brutalist tribal hallmarks, Shah's design objects hold a mirror to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi (an aesthetic concept rooted in impermanence and imperfections). And yet, their identity is distinctly Indian, making frequent references to a sacred and time-honoured Indian form: the lingam. "Revered as an emblem of generative power, the lingam is a form unique to Indian geometry. Its essence is translated to these functional sculptures, lending them a timelessness and ensuring
Architectural Digest •

This cozy, eco-conscious villa in Uttarakhand grows out of the Himalayan hinterland

The villa tips its hat to Uttarakhand's time-honoured wood carving traditions, in the way of artisan-cut timber frames at the entrance, Kumaoni wood leitmotifs, and hand-carved ornamental details. "The material palette of timber, slate, and local stone builds on the lexicon of the region’s Kumaoni vernacular," says Arora. Remarkably, the interior design scheme mirrors the experience of a treehouse, thanks to classic hand-crafted woodwork underpinned by modernist angles, clean lines, and contempo
Architectural Digest •

Kerala: A Thalassery bungalow takes root in a childhood vegetable garden

There's something about the first floor that whispers of the wild. Parrot green tiles vivify the passage, while the colours of the coastline are channelled in the blue-and-yellow oxide bedroom floors. The landscape continues in the four-poster bed and the clay ceiling tiles, eventually culminating in a petite al fresco garden. Not to be outdone, the bathrooms showcase similar palettes: While one has rubble-like natural cladding in the shower area, a stone basin, aqua blue accent tiles, and a sky
Architectural Digest •

Mumbai: A 30-year-old apartment gets a black-and-white facelift

When the clients, with whom Thomas has crossed paths almost ten years prior, came knocking, no one could have predicted what would happen next. "The lockdown meant that we had to conceptualise the entire project remotely. No site visits, nothing," rues Thomas, who orchestrated everything from her Bangalore-based studio. But as far as concerns went, the lockdown was the farthest thing from the clients' minds. "They were more worried about how, or whether, we could maintain a bare minimum palette.
Architectural Digest •

A Surat apartment that opens up like a jewel box of colours and textures

What's interesting in Marwah's production is that the floor has star value. In the entrance, for example, a black-and-white piccolo mosaic parlays into a blue vestibule area with white marble inlay. The common spaces luxuriate in black Belgian marble, whereas a gilded monochrome tapestry unfolds in the transitional spaces. Herringbone flooring gives the living room the air of a genteel gentleman's club, while custom rugs offer a tactile edge. "The flooring at once coalesces and divides the space
Architectural Digest •

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
Architectural Digest •

This brand is leading the revival of the indigenous art of Kutum Katam

When Aanshiki Mittal stepped out for a stroll within her Gurgaon apartment complex last year, little did she know that she would 'stumble' upon her calling–in the unlikely way of a fallen tree branch. "Gurgaon had been hit hard by the monsoon and uprooted trees and branches lay everywhere," says Mittal. "One such tree had a very unique form that instantly started talking to me." The chance encounter turned out to be serendipitous for Mittal, who always knew she wanted to create art . "The questi
Architectural Digest •

Behind the scenes of Ritu Kumar and Ashiesh Shah’s latest homeware collection

For Shah, launching a prêt line had never featured on his order of priorities. "It requires a great deal of infrastructure and huge marketing budgets," he explains; so when Amrish Kumar, director and creative director of Ritu Kumar—to whom he was introduced by mutual friend and entrepreneur Aparajita Jain—reached out in 2018 to propose a creative collaboration, he was understandably hesitant. But the partnership was written in the stars for Shah. "Amrish wanted to forge a direction for the brand
Architectural Digest •

A fashion line by architects brings together Indian technique and Persian motifs

For designer-architect duo Ayush and Geetanjali Kasliwal, co-founders of interdisciplinary lifestyle design studio AnanTaya, launching a clothing line that reimagined ethnic block prints was merely an extension of their architectural ambit; a blueprint transmogrified from walls to wearables. The garment collection, christened 'Naksha', is an outré take on ancient Indo-Persian architecture. The inspiration for the collection is the Persian architectural abstraction of hasht-behesht, or 'eight he
Architectural Digest •

Here’s how a newlywed designer created a home in a rented Mumbai apartment

It's not everyday that you come across a rental that's dressed to the nines. So when you enter interior designer (and newlywed) Shonali Mahajan's apartment, the first thing that strikes you is the larger-than-life Riyas Komu canvas. Then there are the many beautiful objects in this tastefully decorated cocoon–most of them upcycled, recycled, or inherited "I knew from the get-go that I didn't want to spend money or time on doing any work to the house that we couldn't take away with us when we mo
Architectural Digest •

A Bandra apartment where minimalism gets a tropical touch

In Bandra, a young couple looking for their first home, found an apartment which ticked all their boxes. It had great bones, remnants of its glorious past, excellent fenestration to let in ample sunlight, and the promise that it could turn into their dream abode. Then they turned over the space to Farheen Nanji's table, who created a sunlit, two-bedroom home for them. With characterful moulding, cornsilk walls and pared-back palettes, the apartment, tailor-made for the pair, could easily pass o
Architectural Digest •

The heritage of Chettinad is alive in this Chennai apartment with unmatched views

On Chennai's East Coast Road, is a 3000-square-foot pied-à-terre with unparalleled views of the Bay of Bengal. The coast on one side, the city on the other, in between, an idyll, exactly as desired by its Mumbai-based owners. “The home was christened ‘Nesavu', a Tamil word which loosely translates to ‘a weave’ and that is what we created here, a tapestry of new and old,” says Gayatri Gunjal, founder and creative director of YellowSub Studio who crafted this space along with a team including Prem
Architectural Digest •

In this colourful Surat apartment, art reigns supreme

In the living room, a floor-to-ceiling ensemble of over 50 abstract artworks, inspired by American artist Allan McCollum's The Shapes Project, plays the starring role. It channels the look of an uptown New York art gallery—esoteric, mystical, almost like a scene out of The Da Vinci Code. That is, until the room shifts to ocean-toned cocoons, blush accents and vintage minimalism. Clearly, this 3,650-square-foot Surat apartment is a smorgasbord of flavours. Some new, some old. But all equally tim
Architectural Digest •

This Hyderabad bungalow maximises space by adding volume

Wood and white, cool and warm, dark and light–the interior is underpinned by a constant visual duality. The living room and lounge are defined by warm palettes, natural wood floors, polished veneer ceilings, warm lighting, and metallic tones. The private zones lie on the other end of the spectrum, with white floors, white ceilings and walls, and cool lighting. "It was a design experiment gone right," Simeen admits, "to see if contrastingly treated spaces can sit side by side and still look inter
Architectural Digest •

In Hyderabad, an eco-friendly weekend home that defies conventional rules of architecture

In the backwoods of Hyderabad, on a downland of rolling grass, rests an A-frame farmhouse that appears to have risen from the depths of the earth. And yet, it's far from down-to-earth. Its contemporary arrowhead roof and triangular proportions could easily have you mistaking it for a tee-pee-style cabin in the Californian outback. “The most striking feature of this house is the roof,” says Simeen Quraishi, one-half of Hyderabad-based design studio Moriq, adding, "It is composed of two triangular
Architectural Digest •

A Raipur farmhouse that houses flamboyant treasures

“The area, which double-hats as a home theatre, has been designed to host bigger gatherings as it is connected to the lawn.The highlight here is the monkey wallpaper by Raseel Gujral; a humorous juxtaposition against the solemn shell,” notes Bothra. Adds Gehani, “The interior approach focused on keeping the common areas connected, to offer flexible spatial configurations. This way, the rooms can operate independently or together to suit the occasion.” Dappled in shades of grey, the den channels
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