As a child growing up in Goa, Golda Pereira would summer at her dad’s ancestral home on the island of Divar, along with all her cousins. "We’d spend our days playing in the village, fishing, and walking through the dusty summer fields. At night, we’d sit together on a long dining table for dinner, and then convene in the balcao to exchange stories," she remembers. But the highlight of those annual vacations was a makeshift hut, or homti, that the cousins would build in the backyard, along with some help from their uncles. "Every year, we’d build it at the start of summer, and take it down before the monsoons arrived," she recalls, adding that as the years progressed, the homtis became more complex, and the cousins would try to outdo themselves every summer. "There was a feeling of excitement of having built it with our own bare hands. Today, my outlook on design comes from these experiences, besides the more obvious influences: Goa's heritage homes, our beautiful village lanes, rivers, and the environment where they coexist."

When a 30-something couple approached Shivani Ajmera and Disha Bhavsar to design their home, they knew exactly what they wanted: something modern, something mid-century—with lots of sunlight and storage to boot. "The couple enjoys hosting and entertaining, and with a little toddler, they wanted a space tailored equally for family and friends," say Shivani and Disha, whom the couple found through mutual acquaintances.

In the sleepy Goan village of Alorna, hides a villa where time takes a breather. "It was designed to be a little oasis that melds into the local landscape; a place where its Mumbai-based owners could escape when they needed a break from the Maximum City," says Kumpal Vaid, founder and principal designer of Purple Backyard, who, along with a team that included Rutu Mehta, Kunal Pawar and Anjali Jadhav, was brought on board by the homeowners to conjure up a colourful holiday villa.

Born into a fourth-generation business family that specialises in collectibles and objets d'art, Sarah Sham had always been surrounded by beautiful things. So when she graduated with an art history degree from Duke, and spent a year away at Oxford studying 19th-century French art, many might have anticipated that she would pursue a career in design. “Hardly,” she guffaws. “I always thought of doing something in economics, finance or psychology. Interior design was the furthest thing from my mind.” But life had other plans for Sarah. Today, she is the founder and principal designer of Essajees Atelier, a Mumbai-based interior design firm that has completed more than 50 projects across the country.

Perched on Cabarita Beach, along the golden coastline of northern New South Wales, is a tranquil oasis that breathes the air of bygone Australian summers. The luxury hotel, christened Halcyon House, is a boutique property with 22 jewel box rooms. Each of its suites has been tailored in a distinct style by interior designer Anna Spiro, who hopes the magic of each stay will linger on in guests’ memories long after they have left.

Sudhir and Alita Lobo are a house-proud pair. And if you were to swing by their Turner Road penthouse on a Friday evening, chances are, you’d be treated to equal servings of balchão and banter. The easy-breezy spirit, as you learn when you visit them, isn’t just restricted to their person—it’s channelled just as easily by their walls and windows and doors and floors. “As a family, we like to entertain a lot and it was very important to us that every element tell a story,” smiles Alita, gesturing behind her to a wall festooned with antique china plates acquired by the family (which also includes daughters Kiara, 20, and Ayana, 18) on a bygone holiday. Indeed, as you take in the home, one thing is clear—every corner, every piece of furniture, every tchotchke whispers of a past life. But the home wasn’t always this way.

Aman Khanna could never have predicted that he would one day be selling faces. And yet, today, his signature stoneware clay and terracotta figurines, christened Claymen, take pride of place in the homes of fashion designers, musicians, friends and artists, and enjoy a cult Instagram following. "The pursuit started out as something I wanted to do for myself. I had no intention oof Claymen being where it is today. I certainly did not envision dedicating most of my time to a venture like this," he smiles.

Annkur Khosla may be a seasoned architect, but when a brief for a new home demanded that the walls be made the tour de force, she was admittedly a little taken aback. “Just a little,” she quips, explaining that on further discussion, she quickly learned the rationale behind the curious ask. The father of the couple had lost his eyesight and relied on surfaces to identify his location. The walls would serve as language for him as he moved from space to space.”

Having met at five years old, the husband-and-wife team gives us the inside story on what makes them tick, their approach to design, and how they made the unlikely move from Michigan to Mumbai.

By the time she was four, Rochelle Santimano knew that she was destined for design. “I remember my mother would hand me a colouring book and a box of crayons. I’d spend hours poring over the ivory paper, precisely shading in each outline. And then through school and college, I was constantly toying with design in various capacities,” Rochelle recalls. And yet, when it came to choosing a career path, architecture wasn’t the obvious choice. “But once I saw how it blended art and science, I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else.”

When Karan and Supreet Singh decided to remodel their triplex apartment, they could hardly have imagined that the staircase would emerge as the shining star. "We wanted an aesthetic that was colourful, yet cosy. Considering we already had another home in the building, we had a fair idea about potential layouts and structures. Still, the staircase, rather serendipitously, took on a life of its own," says Karan, who, along with Supreet, roped in Pooja Bihani of Spaces and Design (whose team included Anjana Chatterjee and Samrat Roy) to give the property a characterful makeover.

Having each grown up in traditional Kerala bungalows, Ashraf and Shahnaz knew one thing for certain — that their new home should be far removed from the familiar vernacular style. "We imagined an aesthetic that would help us reconceive the signature Kerala palette and experience a different side of life. With our parents' homes just a stone's throw away, we wanted something we could call our own," says Ashraf. And so it followed that the couple reached out to Mohammed Afnan and Arun Shekar of Kozhikode-based architecture firm Humming Tree, known for their contemporary design approach, to give their new abode a voguish overhaul.

The husband-and-wife team shoots the breeze on their college days, their yin-yang ways, and why sustainability is more than just a buzzword.

Known for his rare brand of sustainable architecture, the civil engineer spills the beans on transplanting old buildings, reincarnating old doors and windows, and why vernacular techniques are India's best-kept secret.