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

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

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

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

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