Where the sun lingers

Palindrome Spaces builds a Gujarat home that bridges generational gaps

04 Aug 2025

What makes up the anatomy of a family home? The mortar must hold onto both bricks and memories. Walls must sacrifice themselves to a crayon scrawl or two. True to this sentiment, this 10,000 sq ft Gujarat home by Palindrome Spaces shuns the lofty goal of perfection for a higher purpose: belongingness.

Dubbed Anantya Villa, the residence rises like a childhood picture brought to life. It holds plush armchairs in sun-soaked corners, a terrace best paired with copious chai and warmth that outlives sunsets. These seemingly abstract qualities are far from intrinsic, though. They’ve been achieved through skillfully layered materiality and a layout that caters to the residents, the sun and the breeze. But don’t place the home in a sepia-tinged mould just yet. As you move away from the shared spaces, uber-modern transitional spaces become revealed: moodier, sharper and more experimental. The effect? A design language that skilfully bridges both volumes and generations, one room at a time.

Styling by Drisha Jain, Photography by Pankaj Anand

Divided yet united

The brief favoured function over ornamentation. Minimalism over Maximalism. More than a certain design aesthetic, openness and comfort were prioritised. As Founder and Principal Designer Nayan Shah describes it, “It was about getting the proportions right and keeping things breathable.” This design ethos rings clearest in the living room. It harbours personality in measured doses, paring back to let the vast volume be. The remaining space is occupied by the residents and thick slants of sunshine.

But the layout accounts for more than just the sun’s rhythm. The family’s shared and separate routines, too, find spaces to suit: voluminous when needed, always minimal, sometimes indulgent. Colours bloom across the home, fashioned as solid accents, block-print motifs and geometric patterns wedged between the concrete and brick. A modern take on India’s heritage emerges.

Artefacts are from Traditional Handicrafts Centre; Styling by Drisha Jain, Photography by Pankaj Anand

The bedroom emphasises on comfort and style and has bedding from Cottons and Satins, the flooring is made from lappato stone, wall light from IKEA, swing from Zulas n More and rug from House of Knots; Styling by Drisha Jain, Photography by Pankaj Anand

Holding space

Glimmers of the heritage-driven decor curation welcome you in the foyer. A gallery wall fitted with jharokha-shaped mirrors, block print artwork and a print of Raja Ravi Varma’s Lakshmi on her Lotus decorates one side of the passage. But up further lies the most nuanced challenge the designers faced in the home: the living room.

Nayan sheds light on the dilemma, stating, “Its scale demanded openness, yet not emptiness. It had to hold light, air, family activity, and personal expression.” As a result, the decor adheres to a certain lightness of hand. Less walls, more windows ensure it brims with sunlight all day round. The pièce de résistance? An intricate, wooden carved panel draws eyes up to the ceiling, fitted with statement, orb-like lights. Furnishings enliven the space ever so softly: richly embroidered cushions in magenta and ruby, glimmering in the sun. This minimalist language further echoes in the dining room, crafted with an abundance of warm-tone wood.

As one moves away from this shared space, the passageway leading upstairs swaps the minimal India-modern language seen so far and embraces something more contemporary. The marble floors give way to richly coloured geometric patterns. Walls remain bare — save for a panel of etched concrete that lines the wooden stairs. Upstairs, this moody passage leads the way to a light-filled mandir: a serene space lit by a skylight above.

The mandir has artefacts from Traditional Handicraft Centre and has a skylight ceiling with a concrete finish; Styling by Drisha Jain, Photography by Pankaj Anand

Between brick and lime

While the shared spaces brim with warmth, the family’s private chambers leave no stone unturned when it comes to indulgence. Each of the three bedrooms is accompanied by an en suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe reminiscent of a luxury getaway, “making daily rituals feel like moments of quiet retreat,” enthuses Nayan. The bedrooms stick to a sea of soothing neutrals, save for a pop of colour or two. But the terrace and the media room embrace colour head on: exposed brick walls, eclectic hues and patterns to match these vibrant hubs of activity.

The villa’s materiality is faithful to the classics: lime-plastered walls, textured brickwork, stone flooring and the barest hints of brass. But it is the exposed concrete ceilings that save the space from appearing too bare. Keeping with the home’s visual lightness, the patterns appear to shift across the day — almost matte in the day, glinting in the shadows by night. The end result? A home that basks in warmth: crafted to fulfill whims, needs, indulgence and chaos alike.