Modernist’s Madras

A modern home in Chennai by Gowri Adappa with unique art objects that bridge time and generations

13 Mar 2025

We’re all familiar with the fierce tenderness that timely greets us when we visit our ancestral homes. It is unfiltered, unspoken but always abundant. A likely recipe for nostalgia, they say. But what becomes of nostalgia when you reinvent the experience of multigenerational homes in the new urban world? In the evolving clutches of Chennai’s business district is a family home reconstructed for its dwellers across generations with Gowri Adappa of her studio a design co. at the fore.

Once a primary abode for four, the structure was meticulously brought down to remodel three levels and a stilt. A piquing exercise of bridging traditional aspirations with a city-forward vocabulary, the 5,700 sq ft home in Madras cushions layers of cultural, artistic and equally personal expressions unique to the family. The most consequential is the central courtyard, which harbours its own interpretation of modern nostalgia. The first floor was designed around it. And as the triple height of the courtyard stands with a rising vertical character, “It connects the two homes across different levels,” literally and symbolically, Gowri asserts, who co- founded her firm with Nikhith Ashok.

“Keeping the base mostly whites and beiges allowed us to play around with vibrant colours true to South India, especially Madras.” — Gowri Adappa

With the outdoors peeping indoors, the formal living room hosts a sofa set by Ventura, antique oriental chairs in black and a custom made coffee tray table dotted with sculptural pieces like the Ekapada by Atelier Ashiesh Shah. A Taccia table lamp by Flos stands close to a painting by Sumanto Chowdhury on the wall; Photography by Ashish Sahi

The quiet inertia of a large water body outfitted in leather-finish black granite with a tree beside poses a timeless imagery of the shifting roles of years-old family abodes in urban landscapes. Such homes also become preservers of history in our everyday routines.

“The home’s courtyard creates a central divide with social spaces like the formal living, entertainment and dining spaces on the right and private areas like the master, guest and daughter’s bedroom on the left,” informs Gowri. Each of the floors here is carved out purposefully. On level one dwells the first daughter’s family, while the second level is for the parents and the third section sits as a communal entertainment area for everyone to come together at leisure.

“The idea was to weave a story of the homeowner’s history like the vintage carpet, which was their wedding gift” — Gowri Adappa

The Chelsea chair by Karim Rashid for BoConcept and the Marquesa Bench from Souk pose atop a custom rug by Jaipur Rugs with side tables from Gunava Design teamed with green matkas from Tablescape by Eeshaan; Photography by Ashish Sahi

A custom made rug from Jaipur Rugs sprawls in the formal living room. In the back by the piano layered with an antique monstrance collection and a bronze garuda sculpture from HB Studio is a gallery wall displaying artworks by R.M. Palaniappan, F.N. Souza, M.F. Husain, M.C. Escher, B. Prabha and Harshvardhan; Photography by Ashish Sahi

Amongst a scrupulous arrangement of functions and elements, various indigenously- rich artworks, textiles and sculptural pieces become a natural extension of the homeowners’ affinity towards art. The home touched up with the genteel characteristics of neutral colours and the outdoor greens that peek inside thus are for the objects of art to speak and to express. “Keeping the base mostly whites and beiges allowed us to play around with the vibrant colours true to South India, especially Madras,” says Gowri.

The family wanted to retain the visceral feeling of their previous independent bungalow, which resulted in a capacious indoor-outdoor canvas while designing the new abode. Gowri adds, “The idea was to weave a story of the homeowner’s history, like the vintage carpet (which was their wedding gift) that became the headboard of the guest room, to the Haku Shah which was the first piece of art they bought as a newly married couple that takes pride of place in the master bedroom,” and the salvaged wood from their past home astutely used as rafters in the formal and informal living areas.

Details are naturally a prominent trait of this home. An affectionate ode to the India-modern sentiments, each corner is dotted with pieces that double up as statements — from the way the rooms here function as individual quarters of awe-inspiring art and crafts to how the space holistically celebrates the family’s past and the present.