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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.
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.
Architectural Digest •

Glass Half Full

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.
Architectural Digest India •

This 3,500-square-foot bungalow in Kerala’s Karunagappally is an oasis in nature

Everyone in Karunagappally, Kerala, a bustling municipality in Kollam just shy of two hours by road from Alleppey, has a story to share about the town. Wise elders will proudly recall seeing the making of the first ever kettuvallam, a traditional barge invented in Karunagappally, known for its idiosyncratic thatched covers. Their children will tell you about the Sree Narayana Trophy boat race, a spectacular backwater competition held every Onam, where colourful snake boats, decorated with silk u...
Architectural Digest •

A 1960s Arkansas Bungalow Gets a Cinematic Glow-Up

Ten years ago, Anna E. Cottrell walked into a hillside home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and knew in her bones that it was the one. She didn’t mind that the bungalow was a circa-1961 build, or that it hadn’t been restored for decades. “I immediately felt a very cool California vibe,” the creative director recalls.“I could imagine myself being happy and inspired here. The black concrete floors, clean lines, and floor-to-ceiling windows that wash the space in natural light really sealed the deal.” F...
Architectural Digest •

This Memphis Home Is the Picture of Eternal Spring

Anyone who knows David Quarles, whether in person or through his brilliantly bohemian Instagram account, will tell you that the Memphis-based interior designer loves living his life in technicolor. “I’m a synesthete,” David says of his preternatural talent. “I see sound and hear color.” Which is why, when he meets clients for the very first time, the first thing he does is ask them their favorite songs. “It comes in especially handy when they can’t express how they want their space to feel or lo...
Architectural Digest India •

AD Small Spaces: An 800-square-foot childhood home morphs into a newly-wed nest

On paper, the idea was great; in reality, not so much. The Prabhadevi abode, after all, had served another version of herself, a younger version, and the aesthetic, now, “just didn’t scream us,” says Lodha, the us in question being herself and husband, digital marketing strategist Pushkarraj Mehta. To give it a voice that did, she turned to architect and interior designer Rochelle Santimano of Goa-based Studio Praia, whom she met through a mutual friend—though Santimano admits she hemmed and haw...
Architectural Digest •

A Midcentury Aesthetic Brings Out the Best in This Circa-1900 Apartment

Meet Ukrainian fashion director Gennadii Pyvovar, and it’s hard to believe that he has experienced—and continues to experience—the hardships of war. He leads an active social life, never misses a day of work, and fearlessly lives in Kyiv’s historic city center, close to cultural and architectural landmarks like the Kyiv Opera House, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Saint Sophia Cathedral, among many others. “It’s what keeps me going, the routine,” says Gennadii, who created his ne...
Architectural Digest India •

‘Thank you God’ singer 76th-floor’s 76th-floor Mumbai apartment is an oasis of calm

Any designer will tell you that the job comes with occupational hazards, but none in recent history has reported oxygen deprivation as being one of them. For singer Dhvani Bhanushali's new home however, AD100 interior designer Darshini Shah may or may not have run out of breath, as much from exceeding her clients’ expectations as from being on the 76th-floor of a Mumbai skyrise. “It took us a while to figure out why everyone got a headache on site only to realise that the low oxygen levels at th...
Architectural Digest India •

This 6,000-square-foot apartment in Gurugram is a modern monochrome masterpiece

Designing a home, and then redesigning it years later, can throw even the niftiest of interior designers into a creative conundrum. For an apartment in Gurugram, however, product and interior designer Saba Kapoor of New Delhi design studio Nivasa was entrusted to overhaul a space the firm had designed almost two decades prior - and she was thrown, instead, down a different kind of rabbit hole. “It was the positive kind,” she insists when asked whether good or bad—the kind where she took inspira...
Architectural Digest India •

This 4,500-square-foot villa in Chennai harks back to the Allepey backwaters in Kerala

Memories are a funny thing. At this villa in Chennai, they linger as fleeting shadows in your mind, creeping up when you least expect them—in the whiff of a grandfather’s long-ago Old Spice; in aluminium tins of still-sealed packets of Parle-G and potato wafers on high kitchen shelves, closed so tight that they can scarcely be opened; or, as in the case of one family in Chennai’s Defence Colony, in the gentle creak of a lone wooden swing. “It’s their favourite—and mine,” shares interior designer...
Architectural Digest India •

This tropical modern villa in Chennai winks to its seaside locale

The thing about moving from one country to another, more often than not, is that there are some things you will miss and some things you won’t. “The things you won’t are never as memorable as the things you will,” jests architect Raghuveer Ramesh, one half of Chennai-based architecture practice Studio Context. He would know—if not first-hand, at least by virtue of his latest project, which involved designing a beachside villa in Chennai for a multigenerational family that had lived for three decades in the American countryside. “When they moved back to Chennai, they wanted their children to connect with their roots while also enjoying the same sense of space they had previously enjoyed.” The expectation was simple—to design a large, airy and light-filled house that looked out to nature—but the execution, not so much. “We’ve always designed more compact spaces in dense urban settings, so constructing a house on a plot of 12,000 square feet, with gardens and sufficient outdoor circulation areas, took some thinking,” concedes architect Sharanya Srinivasan, Studio Context’s other half.
Architectural Digest India •

Bindoo by Kumar La Noce gives Indio-Italian heritage a centre stage in Milan

Altreforme is an offshoot of Fontana Group, the producer of avant-garde aluminium parts for luxury car brands like Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and Jaguar. The collection is therefore born from the same know-how and technology, sculpted from the same aluminium as said automobiles, and even shares with them a production facility.Kumar admits that the design process was equal parts visceral and cerebral, and that it took months of work, technical drawings, 3D modelling, and colour studies to realize the...
Architectural Digest India •

This timeless bungalow in Kerala’s Thrissur is a moody and monastic oasis

A brief by any other name is still a brief, even if it evokes more questions than answers. Fortunately, architects Arun Shekar and Mohammed Afnan, by their own admission, have always been the nosy kind, so when it came to designing a brief-less bungalow in Kerala (Thrissur), the principals and co-founders of Kozhikode-based AD100 design practice Humming Tree weren’t afraid to ask questions. “To be fair, there was a brief. It just wasn’t very helpful,” deadpans Shekar. The prompt from the owners,...
Clever by Architectural Digest •

A Circa-1915 Minnesota Kitchen Steps Into the Light

“Dinged-up.” That’s how Cheryl and Cody recall the condition of their circa-1915 St. Paul, Minnesota, bungalow the first time they set foot inside a few years ago. Nonetheless, the couple—who share two kids, a dog, and some chickens—deemed it not too shabby. They saw it as an upgrade from their existing 900-square-foot condo and the perfect size for their growing brood. Convinced it was the right move, the couple decided to call off all bets and make an offer. “We loved the historic charm of the...
Clever by Architectural Digest •

A “Haunted” 860-Square-Foot Casita in Spain Gets a Colorful Second Life

Antonio Montilla isn’t scared of ghosts. “I’m intrigued by strange things,” admits the Spanish-born, London-based architect and furniture designer, who put his spooky side on show last year when scouting around for a pied-à-terre in Marbella, Spain. “The estate agent called it the ‘Horror House,’” he says of his current abode. “Apparently no one would spend longer than five minutes inside.” So obviously, he set out to be the exception. The longer-than-five-minute search paid off, because it gave...
Architectural Digest India •

AD Small Spaces: How to use bold colours for a home under 600-square-foot

It’s a good thing Michal gave Anna free rein over the design, because if he hadn’t, the interior would probably have looked a whole lot different. It would have been minimalist, classic, and white—basically, everything the present version isn’t. “Believe it or not, in the preliminary concept, we had a white resin floor, white walls and ceilings, a white resin bathroom, and plain oak veneer on all the furniture,” muses Anna, adding that her first job was to prove to Michal that dark walls don’t s...
Architectural Digest India •

AD Small Spaces: This 340-square-foot New York apartment is full of storage

The architect Andrew Magnes likes to think he knows his New York neighbours, but it took him a soup-to-nuts home remodel for a long-time friend—a whole neighbourhood away—to realize he might not know some as well as others. “Or not at all,” says the founder and principal of his Brooklyn-based architecture firm (AMA). “When it was time to bid out the project [to a general contractor], we came across Petro Benedyk from Stroybat. I had never met Petro, and I remember receiving his proposal and seei...
Architectural Digest India •

Makaan by Tahir Sultan is filled with 200-year-old urns and other rare curiosities

The store is as whimsical as the objects that inhabit it. Old rusted sewage pipes—found and saved several years ago—masquerade as art installations beside artisanal clay pots of Sultan’s own design. Cardboard boxes and bamboo laddersdisplay artwork and vases. Old boxes of incense find new life as pedestals. “People come to Makaan for the experience,” reflects Sultan, who refreshed the aesthetic lexicon last year to reveal its most soigné identity yet: think triple-height ceilings, black stone b...
Architectural Digest India •

AD Small Spaces: This 900-square-foot Mumbai apartment is an escape from bustle of the city

Metros everywhere are plagued by common laments, laments that can often disappoint or discourage those from smaller towns from switching to a cloistered Mumbai apartment or a flat in Delhi. How Mumbai-based Neha Prasad and Shantanu Gupta remained immune to said phenomenon is a mystery even to them. The couple (they're both senior professionals at ed tech company upGrad), who had moved to Mumbai some years ago, had grown familiar with the perils of an urban existence, which they deemed exhausting...
Architectural Digest India •

[Print] Makaan by Tahir Sultan

The best things in life happen when you least expect them. So maintains Tahir Sultan, the Jaipur-based designer who brought to life a concept store, Makaan, on the very heels of COVID. “I didn’t have a vision when I started,” reflects the Kuwait-born entrepreneur, who put down roots in the Pink City during the lockdown. “I wanted to open a store, but I didn't know where. One day, a friend of my mother’s suggested a house nearby, and said the owner would be happy to rent it to me. But the place had seen better days, and there was just something about it that seemed improbable,” recalls Sultan, before taking a breath, “but not so improbable that I couldn’t make it work.”
Architectural Digest India •

[Print] Bindoo: Through the Looking Glass

What’s the next best thing to owning a Ferrari? If you ask architects Bhavana Kumar and Nicola La Noce of Indo-Italian design practice Kumar La Noce, it’s owning a mirror—or three. The pair’s most recent labour of love, a trifecta of geometric mirrors christened Bindoo, created in collaboration with Italian high-end aluminium furniture company altreforme (an offshoot of Fontana Group, the producer of avant-garde aluminium parts for such luxury car brands as Ferrari, Rolls Royce and Jaguar), is born from the same know-how and technology, and sculpted from the same aluminium, as said automobiles and even shares with them a production facility.
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