Vogue

At India’s G20 meet in Bhubaneswar, designer Ashiesh Shah unveiled 21 celestial pillars

Vedic scriptures make several mentions of the stambha: pillars that connect the celestial and terrestrial, serving as a bridge between the cosmos and material creation. And yet, many of the stories behind these otherworldly totems, as seen in ancient temples and edifices around the country, remain untold. On 14th May, some found a voice when Ashiesh Shah, founder and principal of his eponymous multidisciplinary collective, Atelier Ashiesh Shah, unveiled a collection of 21 divine columns in a thr

Kunal Nayyar and Neha Kapur’s Delhi home is a love letter to India

It’s just past 10am when I reach Kunal Nayyar and Neha Kapur’s housing enclave in South Delhi, but the guard at the gate has no intention of letting me in. No cabs allowed, I’m told, although he is unwilling to commit how far I have to leg it. With half an hour to go (my meeting is scheduled for 10.30am), I convince myself that it can’t be that far. So I pop on my sunhat and slip through the gate, in search of the magic number I have sprawled on my palm. Only, several mistaken turns later, I sti

This diamantaire’s Mumbai home is inspired by bridal jewellery

In some parts, the home carries the whimsy of an amusement park; in others, the opulence of a neo-noir Parisian boudoir. The only thing, then, that unites the various spaces is the lavish use of stone. “It serves as the most integral part of the decor, with various colours and patterns shining through while also helping to demarcate one room from another,” says Shetty. True to her words, the Mumbai home unfolds like a marble museum—if ever there were such a thing. Cloud-like marble walls define

This content creator’s nine-bedroom Airbnb in Manali is inspired by his travels

Somewhere in the mountains in the north of India, the mist rolls back just enough to reveal an Airbnb in Manali that feels like Finland. Or Bali. But also very much like India. “I drew inspiration from everywhere, from the glass houses of the Finnish Lapland to the chic boho vibe of Ubud, to the community hostel culture of Europe. Each corner tells a story,” says Anunay Sood. He should know. As a travel content creator who lives out of a backpack (and occasionally a suitcase), his adventures hav

This Mumbai apartment on the 50th floor is a Balinese-inspired haven

In Mumbai’s Lower Parel, where glittering skyrises and colossal office complexes sit shoulder to shoulder, is a terrace that could have been born in Bali. With woven canopy seats, over 20 species of plants, and unhindered vistas of the sea and the skyline, it’s so far removed from the city that it exists in a realm of its own—one where the only visitors that come knocking, if at all, are the kites, the clouds and the morning breeze. And yet, there’s more to the home that sets it apart from its neighbours.

This farmhouse in Gurgaon is made entirely of shipping containers

Before the pandemic hit in 2020 and they began living in a compact farmhouse in Gurgaon, Merrie and Kundan Bhullar were just an average couple. They lived in a skyrise, braved traffic on the daily, and regularly lamented about the pollution. Then came the lockdown. “Cooped up indoors for months on end, we felt compelled to be closer to nature,” says the couple, who works in design and manufacturing and also owns a home in the US. Unable to shake off the feeling, they set their hearts on moving to their 2-acre farmland, abutting the Aravalli ridge, in the Haryana village of Baliyawas. The area had just received an electricity connection. The couple, of course, took it as a sign.

This villa in Bangalore holds whispers of its owners’ traditions and travels

The living room was designed around the heirloom furniture that had been made and passed down to the couple by Sangeeta’s father. The sofas and tables are from Essentially Metal by Nishu Jouhari. The lights are from The White Teak Company, Prism Lights, and Gulmohar Lane

For Jouhari, the points of departure, literally and figuratively, were the floors and walls. “We were going for an elegant aesthetic, so a neutral colour palette was key,” says the designer, for whom the biggest task, admittedl

Makaan in Jaipur embodies designer and chef Tahir Sultan’s proclivity for exquisite objects

About 10 minutes from Jaipur’s City Palace is a store that mirrors it in spirit. Naga panels emblazon the walls, hand-thrown crockery occupies the shelves and 350-year-old earthen pots, originally used on trade routes, whisper stories of fallen fiefdoms. For a place that is only a few months old, Makaan seems frozen in time, as if someone bottled up its parts centuries ago and preserved them for posterity.

For designer and chef Tahir Sultan, the self-designed store was born serendipitously duri

This all-white Pune home can pass off for an ashram

On the eighteenth floor of a building in one of the city’s buzziest neighbourhoods, is a Pune home that mutes the urban cacophony. “It's so far up that you can't hear the cars, horns or traffic,” smiles Payal Oswal, who bought the property along with her husband, Anand, for their family of five (which also comprises their daughter and Anand's parents). Instead, what the couple can hear most mornings is the breeze and the bulbuls, and the neighbouring trees chattering to the rooftops—rare novelti

[Print] Time Capsule: Step Inside Makaan, Jaipur

About ten minutes away from Jaipur's City Palace, is a store that mirrors it in spirit. Naga panels emblazon the walls, hand-thrown crockery occupies the shelves, and 350-year-old earthen pots—originally used on trade routes—whisper stories of long-ago fiefdoms. For a place that is only a few months old, Makaan seems frozen in time, as if someone bottled up its parts centuries ago, and preserved them for posterity.

This Kasaragod couple’s home is a white and whimsical wonderland

Make no mistake, this home in Kasaragod is as functional as it is fabulous. “Since it was an open-plan layout, we used partitions and sliding doors to create private zones,” say the architects, who really had their work cut out for them given that the home wasn’t exactly per the owners’ liking when they first acquired it. “We were very disappointed with the original layout and structure. It was an open plan with no provision for privacy,” rues Sameeha, adding that her confidence was restored whe

This California couple’s seafront Mumbai nest is a sweet ode to their life story

As a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and a channel sales operation consultant, Devavarapu and Bandyopadhyay enjoy the luxury of defining their own schedules. “We like to call ourselves urban nomads because we enjoy travelling and exploring the world. It's one of the perks of running your own business,” says Bandyopadhyay. “Travel has shaped our personalities, broadened our perspective and enriched our minds. These factors reflect clearly in all our homes across the U.S., London and India.”

By the s

This Pune home is inspired by the family’s holiday in the Himalayas

Most evenings, the family kicks back in the living room, watching TV, indulging in a friendly game of chess, or swapping stories from the day gone by. “It’s the heart of our home and certainly our favourite realm,” says Yashpaal. But the best part of the day, Khinjan avers, is dinnertime, when the balcony doors are slid open and the breeze takes a seat at the table. “The view is amazing and we wanted the balcony design to be such that it could be used often.” By the same token, the original door

This seafront Mumbai home is a haven of glam, glass and gold

Rare are those homes that offer an equal view both inside and out. Even rarer are those that offer two. When Kunal Barve first stepped into the Mumbai home he was tasked to redesign, the twin views of the Arabian Sea and the Mahalaxmi Race Course were almost too good to be true. “We fell in love with it the second we saw it,” recalls the founder and principal architect of Interface by Kunal and Mihir, whose team also included co-founder Mihir Barve and designer Tanmayi Dhir. “The first thing tha

This Surat apartment in various shades of blue is an ocean-inspired oasis

Piercing cobalts, dove grey upholstery, Italian marble flooring, mottled rugs that hold a mirror to the ocean floor—the interior is an ocean-esque escape that sensitively counterbalances its city surroundings. “As a family of three generations, we were after an aesthetic that would nod to each member. Also, since it was our first home, we were open to experimentation,” say the Mehtas, adding that besides the ‘bold and blue’ brief, the designers were given carte blanche over the design process. I

This Gujarat villa is straight out of an African safari

As we settle down in the living room, I can’t help but notice that the savannah-like setting has gone fruit-bazaar-supernova. The walls wear a tangerine mottle, charcoal coffers define the ceiling, and the floor channels a pomegranate sheen. “The spaces on the ground floor are united by melograno tiles, marble wall finishes and all-black furniture,” say the architects. Indeed, the vanilla sofa on which I’m seated seems to be the only decor oddity against the abiding blackness, prompting me to po

This Parisian-chic apartment in Bangalore is the ultimate his-and-hers loft

The home is a modish time capsule of mid-century modern chairs, Victorian moulding and foliated surfaces that whisper of faraway lands. There are textures everywhere you look: pinstriped fluting defines the living room, fluted wainscoting skirts the dining area, and cement tiles and geometric mosaics enliven the walls all around. And yet, on closer look, it’s evident that the drama is in the details—sheeny metallic upholstery, two-toned cornices, marble countertops, and a pair of gooseneck wall