A home in greyscale

Grey, black and industrial is Studio Nilasha’s recipe for a Hyderabad home

20 Nov 2025

A sculptural black metal staircase, floors wrapped in African blackwood, with leather and dark linen furnishings, may make for an unconventional palette for a family home. In Hyderabad, a formidable 6,000 sq ft structure awash in industrial minimalism orchestrated by Studio Nilasha poses a defiant balance between architecture, personal history and familial warmth.

“We didn’t want it to feel cold or overly styled. So the design narrative was shaped around restraint, stripping away the unnecessary, creating moments of quiet, and letting the light and materials speak,” observes Nilasha, the founder of her eponymous studio. A careful dance between the material, tactile and organic, the home seems to be in constant conversation with various elements.

“We had to be hyper-conscious of how each finish would catch light, reflect surrounding materials, and evolve over time. It was about achieving balance, not just in aesthetics, but in emotion.”

- Nilasha, Studio Nilasha

The study is a blend of grey and green, with an expansive window letting in light and colour, along with a chair from Elevate X; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

A composition of grey

“What made the process exciting was that the client wasn’t afraid to embrace grey, black, and concrete as the primary palette, which isn’t something we often hear at the start of a residential commission,” shares Nilasha. Using a multitude of grey colours throughout the home, in places you wouldn’t expect, wasn’t an easy task; each shade was chosen for how it reflected light and seemingly changed in composition throughout the passage of the day. With the conscious choice of a ceiling-to-floor grey concrete finish throughout the home, rather than feeling flat, the tones of grey in the marble and furnishings evolve with sun and shadow and add a layer of dimensionality. Building on this idea, the children’s room with its playful hand-painted mural features shades that are developed in-studio and hand-mixed, allowing a layer of whimsy to be folded within the palette of this home.

Black marble foreshadows the interior of the home; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

A modular black kitchen and dining by Casa Granda and Scavolini mix with chairs from Elevate X; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

Balancing act

Finding equilibrium between the spatial simplicity and the elements within, bold approaches in the materiality are contrasted by elements that bring warmth. Whether from the African Blackwood and Walnut wood running underfoot in the home, or the hints of green throughout that seem to complement their unencumbered surroundings.

“We had to be hyper-conscious of how each finish would catch light, reflect surrounding materials, and evolve over time. It was about achieving balance, not just in aesthetics, but in emotion,” shares Nilasha. Everywhere you look, tall windows allow a lush landscape within, while soft furnishings in leather or of a muted palette of ochre yellow and forest green play up the studio’s belief that minimalism doesn’t have to mean monotony. Getting personal, the home’s central statement black metal staircase, houses a retired motorcycle brought back from the client’s time in America, while abstract artwork of black and white sits tastefully in the study room, creating a sense of home, customised.

With a palette where grey reigns supreme, this distinct family home makes for an introspective and moody setting. Blending the rawness of an industrial layout with touches of personality peppered through, this home by Studio Nilasha allows its structure to set the narrative.