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Architectural Digest India •

This tropical modern villa in Chennai winks to its seaside locale

Also read: A 2,500-square-foot family home in Chennai swears by the Danish concept of HyggeIf the brooding facade is anything to go by, it’s safe to assume that the architects reserved the vistas for the interior alone. “It doesn’t give too much away at first,” Raghuveer notes of the dwelling, located on Chennai’s East Coast Road, although “too much” might be a bit of an understatement—or overstatement, depending on which way you look at it. The exterior walls are plain and high, offset only by...
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...
Elle Decor •

[Print] Mumbai: It's a Shore Thing!

The thing about sea-facing abodes, as some designers might argue, is that attempting to equal or exceed the view is a rather impractical folly. So impractical, that when it came to designing a coastal aerie in Mumbai’s Lower Parel, architects Anand Deshmukh and Chetan Lahoti of Pune-based multidisciplinary practice Mind Manifestation Design decided to simply opt out of said zero sum game by extending the view indoors. “We imagined the interior as a sun-warmed beach, like something the tide could have washed ashore,” says Anand.
Clever by Architectural Digest •

Inside a 340-Square-Foot NYC Apartment Full of Secret Storage

The architect Andrew Magnes likes to think he knows his neighbors, but it took him a soup-to-nuts home remodel for a long-time friend—a whole neighborhood 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 seeing that the...
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 •

AD Small Spaces: This 900-square-foot apartment in Bengaluru is a Japandi-chic oasis

Saurin Shah is a stickler for perfection. “He is rather particular,” concedes his wife, Jimi, who was witness to said perfectionism, for better or worse, during the making of the couple’s first apartment in Bengaluru in Whitefield. The brief was simple. What wasn't was the expectation, which, as Jimi tells it, specified “a simple, minimalist, and highly accessible design with all sorts of storage, from small cubbies for paper bags to big compartments for suitcases. All in minimum occupied space,...
Clever by Architectural Digest •

Inside a Century-Old LA Home Where the Sun Never Seems to Set

If there’s one thing Alex Anderson and Aaron Kravitz swear by, it’s the power of instinct. Ask the couple how they came to be Angelenos and they explain that it was thanks to a stroke of serendipity. “We never meant to move,” says Alex, who works in the creative field. “We started our home search here for fun after feeling priced out in San Francisco.” All virtually, mind you.
Architectural Digest •

Step Inside an Oasis in Todos Santos, Mexico, Where Bold Colors and a Playful Spirit Rule the Day

Interior designer Faith Blakeney doesn’t believe in always doing things by the book. What she does believe in is kismet, and the notion that one’s stars, during any turning of the tide, align only briefly. Which explains why, on a trip some years ago to Todos Santos (a town on the Pacific coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula), she had zero qualms about flagging down a semitruck full of handmade furniture in 100-degree weather, mere moments after her client, a Belgian-born, LA-based, Oscar
The Local Project •

Shorebird by Those Architects

Enclosed by buildings yet open to the elements, Shorebird by Those Architects defies its suburban Sydney setting. Although nestled between neighbouring homes, the beachside dwelling maximises light, air and privacy through an array of thoughtfully designed architectural interventions. Offering uninterrupted vistas of Bate Bay, Shorebird establishes a dialogue with its immediate surroundings by embracing nature. Co-founder and director Ben Mitchell explains that the location set the stage for the
Architectural Digest India •

Palinda Kannangara turns this 5-storey house in Colombo into a calming oasis

Those who know Colombo, deeply and intimately, can confirm two things to be true: that time here likes to stop for nobody, and that it's just as easy to get lost in the colours as in the clamour. “It's a vibrant place,” says Palinda Kannangara—so vibrant that its effect, evidently, seems to have worn off on the celebrated Colombo-based architect. That is, if his latest residential project is anything to go by. Situated in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital, just strides away from the Cinnamon Gardens and the candy cane-striped Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque, the dwelling, designed as a white column that rises towards the sky, is a quiet antithesis to the surrounding smorgasbord of colour.
Architectural Digest India •

This glorious heritage hotel in Udaipur basks in the glow of the City Palace

When Kapoor stepped in for the redesign, there was, as she explains, “nothing terribly wrong with the place.” At first, anyway. “But then we noticed water from the lake had seeped through in places, and of course, some of the layouts needed optimising,” reflects the founder and principal of Mumbai-based Noorein Kapoor Design, who was entrusted to revitalise the lower level of the restaurant, the al fresco patio and bar, as well as the rooms by rotation. What didn’t need optimising, mind you, was
Livingetc •

[Print] Mumbai: 'Tis the Season by Chestnut Storeys

How do you maximise the views in a sea-facing home? You minimise everything else. At least that’s what conventional wisdom will have you believe. But if you know a thing or two about Farah Agarwal, you know the word conventional isn’t part of her vocabulary. When the Chennai-based interior designer and founder of multidisciplinary design practice Chestnut Storeys was entrusted to design a three-level penthouse by the sea, the first thing she did was dial up the colour. “Not all the way, mind you—just enough to rival the views and fulfil the clients’ caveat of no neutrals,” continues the designer, who is widely known for her minimalist signature. “The real question, then, was how much colour was too much colour?”
Clever by Architectural Digest •

This Eclectic London Home Nods to Its Owner’s Greek Heritage

James Arkoulis doesn’t take no for an answer, at least not in matters regarding his home. When the London-based interior designer and cofounder of interior design studio Howark Design couldn’t find a bathtub to his satisfaction, he decided to design one himself, lying supine day after day in an attempt to paint on the perfect floral details. The bathtub, of course, is merely a metaphor for his mind. He admits he never tires of reinventing, as was the case during the remodel of his and his husban
The Local Project •

Hidden House by Studio mkn and Eliza Blair Architecture

Characterised by a combination of highlights and shadows, a distinguishing feature of the design is the glazed facade, which is defined by custom timber slat screens. These innovative screens serve as aesthetic interludes between indoors and outdoors while also affording privacy and shielding the lounge from the unrelenting western sun. “The lounge serves to immerse occupants in the lush greenery of the surrounding garden. Positioned to cantilever into the outdoor space, it offers a seamless con
The Local Project •

Pole Pass Retreat by Olson Kundig

Site constraints prompted Olson Kundig to minimise walls, not only to project a sense of volume, but also to eliminate sightlines between the site and its surroundings. As design principal Tom Kundig, explains, “the intent was to create an expansive indoor-outdoor living space with spectacular views.” The home unfolds in a series of imperceptible layers. This is most evident in the living room, where a mechanical wheel connected to a system of gears and chains, akin to those in a bicycle, govern
Yellowtrace •

An Ode to Gio Ponti: A 1920s Apartment in Milan by David/Nicolas.

Refurbishing a property designed by one architectural icon and redesigned by another can scare even the mightiest of architects. But the Lebanese design duo David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem of their namesake practice David/Nicolas, it seems, are immune to such angst, as evidenced by their latest project, an apartment in Milan dubbed Casa di Fantasia. Not only was the Haussmannian Art Deco-style home, constructed in 1923, designed by Mario Borgaro, it was refurbished by Gio Ponti twenty-nine
Architectural Digest India •

This 1,200-square-foot Nagpur home brims with secret storage

There’s little not to love about balconies, especially the one at this Nagpur home; cool winds on hot days, sunset views, or, as in the case of entrepreneurs Mayuri and Vivek Patil, storage space for their 50-pair collection of Air Jordans. “Finding them a home was the top priority,” says architect Saniya Jejani Lohar, one-half of Nashik-based design practice LADLAB (her husband and co-founder, architect Sagar Lohar, makes up the other half). “And, for a home of just 1,200 square feet, the balco
Livingetc •

[Print] Mumbai: Palace in the Sky by Essajees Atelier

From the moment they first set foot inside, Ashwin and Bhagyashree Damera knew there was no mistaking the good vibes. “There was just something about the place. And in terms of the space and floor plan, it was everything we were looking for,” says Bhagyashree of the duplex the couple now calls home. But what it enjoyed in proportions, it certainly lacked in personality. And not just any kind, but the kind they'd experienced as children, in the homes of their parents and grandparents, and come to recognise as adults as the hallmark of an abundant home.
The Local Project •

Rhinecliff Residence by Post Company

In its previous chapter, Rhinecliff Residence was an outdated dwelling lacking space and light. It was one of the oldest preserved houses in the area, as per records from the local historical society.

The current version of the house steps out of the shadows of its 1860s predecessor, thanks to a luminous overhaul by New York City-based multidisciplinary design practice Post Company. The owners – New York natives who moved overseas in 2020 and purchased Rhinecliff Residence as a secondary base –
The Local Project •

Tuerong Farmhouse by Samantha Eisen Interiors

The rural landscape of Tuerong, Victoria, is characterised by rugged farms, rolling vineyards and beaches that extend as far as the horizon.

Tuerong Farmhouse by Samantha Eisen Interiors camouflages into this bucolic locale with a design that is both local and global, demonstrating a rare balance of rustic charm and contemporary elegance. Inspired by French mid-century chateaus, Spanish haciendas and Californian ranch-style properties, Tuerong Farmhouse is a harmony of eclectic styles that stay
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