Vogue

This arts hub in the Rajasthan desert may look AI-generated but it’s very real—and useful

Occupying a built-up area of just 9,000 square feet, the space spirals like a swirling sand dune, a hat-tip to the surrounding desert, offering incremental square footage at each elevation and five times more usable space in all. It includes a 27,000-square-foot open auditorium and inclined rooftop gardens from where panoramas of the desert unfold in every possible direction. “The project exemplifies how thoughtful architecture can create expansive community spaces without a large footprint,” sa

Mother-daughter artist duo Anju and Biraaj Dodiya open up about their distinct journeys with art and each other

It’s the night before Diwali and Anju and Biraaj Dodiya are on opposite sides of the world. They appear side by side on Zoom; Anju muted in Mumbai, Biraaj unmuted in New York. “I’m usually with her when she logs into these meetings,” says Biraaj as her mother tries and fails to unmute herself. Ten minutes later, Anju’s microphone has learned to behave, we’ve all had a hearty laugh and I’ve whispered a word of thanks to the tech gods, although neither mother nor daughter seems fazed by the caprices of technology.

[Print] A Brush With Destiny: Anju & Biraaj Dodiya

It’s the night before Diwali and Anju and Biraaj Dodiya are on opposite sides of the world. They appear side by side on Zoom; Anju muted in Mumbai, Biraaj unmuted in New York. “I’m usually with her when she logs into these meetings,” says Biraaj as her mother tries—and fails—to unmute herself. Ten minutes later, Anju’s microphone has learned to behave, we’ve all had a hearty laugh and I’ve whispered a word of thanks to the tech gods, although at this moment on my screen, neither mother nor daughter seems particularly fazed by the caprices of technology.

This deep and dramatic duplex in Bengaluru subtly nods to its owners’ Assamese heritage

You can take the person out of the place, but you can’t take the place out of the person. Or so the adage goes. In this case, the person was ‘people’, and the place Assam, but the sentiment much the same. “Every great story begins with people deciding to fly the nest and follow their aspirations. Ours was no different,” says graphic designer Pooja Dihingia, one half of Bengaluru-based UI/UX design studio Yellowchalk. When she and her husband, Rajiv Kakati, Yellowchalk’s other half, moved from As

This bungalow in Ahmedabad is designed around the five elements of nature

The interior doffs its hat to nature, honouring the five elements—fire, water, air, space and earth—in equal measure. Exhibit A: the living room, where leaf-patterned screens, sheer curtains and wood-clad columns breathe the air of a forest. The dining room, meanwhile, has none of these trappings. A blazing bolthole with an incandescent wall, it stokes a roaring, invisible fire. Then, there’s the puja room, still more divergent, cured by the presence of an abiding water body. True to Morphogensi

This Bengaluru home is a postcard from the Amalfi Coast

First came COVID, then a silver lining. At least that was how it went for Megha Gupta and Ankit Agarwal. As Delhi natives who had spent much of their working life in Mumbai, a move to Bengaluru four years ago at last prompted in them a desire to put down roots. The timing was serendipitous: the country was under lockdown, the housing market had slumped and prices were in their favour. Surely, there was no better time to buy. And so, after searching high and low for the perfect property, the coup

This Bengaluru home is a kaleidoscope of gems old and new

For Nruthya Kesavan and Ishwar Sridharan, the vision for their Bengaluru home was divided right down the middle. “Our requirements presented a bit of a conundrum for the design team,” recalls Kesavan, a technology professional. “While I wanted a colonial touch reminiscent of my grandparents’ home where I grew up, Ishwar was keen on a South Indian aesthetic that wasn’t overly traditional. It was a divided brief that Gayathri and Shreya somehow made good on.” The Gayathri and Shreya in question we

This palatial weekend villa in Gujarat is a one-way ticket to the past

With a population of 3,000, the village of Agas is a hidden gem in Gujarat’s hinterland. So hidden, that no matter where you start, you can’t reach it without navigating a water canal, a lake, several tractors, a few farms, and cattle determined to moonlight as speed bumps—and not necessarily in that order. Even from the nearest town of Anand, located just 5 kilometres away, it’s an effort—one that Kushal and Richa Bhatt were willing to put in if it meant building a vacation home secreted away f

This Nainital home in the mountains is an ode to its owners’ Kumaoni roots

An old hand in the merchant navy, Captain Ashok Mehra was no stranger to nomadic life. And yet, the more he sailed, the more he felt a calling to return home and put down roots. Not just anywhere. Specifically somewhere in Uttarakhand, deep inside the mountains, ideally close to family. As Kumaonis hailing from Uttarakhand’s Almora, he and his wife, Tulsi, had long dreamed of acquiring land in the Himalayan region. So when they found the perfect sylvan parcel in Mukteshwar, it felt like the manifestation of a homecoming many years in the making. To bring their Nainital home to life, they enlisted architect Vipendra Chauhan and designer Rohit Chaudhary of Noida-based AMU Design Studio, with whom they were well acquainted, having previously worked with them on renovating their Noida apartment.

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
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