Before/After: Restoring a multigenerational family home in Surat

Eshita Marwah, V Create Architects and Echo Earth Designs restore a Surat home

25 Nov 2025

Spend enough time in a house, and it becomes your closest confidante. Walls become witnesses. Flaws become idiosyncrasies. That, is how a house becomes a home.

For the Mehtas, home was a 12,000 sq ft, 20-year-old bungalow in Surat. A veritable matriarch with a sprawling verandah, gardens galore and interiors that felt like they belonged to an era preceding smartphones. Functional? To the tee. But the wear and tear of housing three generations had begun to show. So when the family roped in Eshita Marwah of by e & co. for a much-needed makeover, the founder recalls how the residing family said they wanted “a home that feels fresh and new, but still ours.” They were looking for a refresh, not a restart. And Eshita agreed. “Starting from scratch would have meant erasing the layers of life that made the house meaningful,” she affirmed.

Restored by Eshita in collaboration with V Create Architects & Echo Earth Designs, the home’s contemporary revival could give Cinderella a run for her money. The same four walls that once held the home’s former self now transport you to another. Magical? Yes. But was magic involved? Anything but.

Scroll till the end to see the complete Before/After transformation…

“I love the character and authenticity older elements bring. There’s a quiet beauty in preserving them while finding fresh ways to reuse them. It’s challenging, but that’s where the real magic of design lies”

Eshita Marwah

Styling by Eshita Marwah, Photography by Manan Surti

To change or not to change

When it comes to restorations, is it easier to start with a clean slate or fill in the existing lines? For Eshita, the former wasn’t a possibility — and neither did she nor the homeowners want it to be. “The result had to feel like the same home they’ve always loved: just warmer, lighter, and better suited to how they live now.” Thus began the dual challenge of preserving while adapting. The home’s design language had to be re-examined, its functionality updated to suit present-day needs. But the design teams involved had to make do with the existing proportions, carving out space and a new identity within an existing framework.

The end result reflects this intent. Gone are the old-fashioned interiors, the sepia-tinged walls and the stark brown lines running across the ceiling. Hello, light-filled sunroom and bedrooms enlivened in ivory and stone. Bathrooms that flaunt dramatic, dark stone backsplashes, abutting moody vanities that belong in a film set. These changes were reflective of a new rhythm. While the shared spaces stay true to the home’s former love for the brighter side, the private spaces have now forayed into the darker side. The material still remains cohesive — only the treatment wavers. The emanating effect is that of a tree that remains rooted to the same spot, but is sprouting newer branches. Sentiment keeps it grounded. Experimentation makes it exciting.

Embracing the chaos

Eshita’s approach towards remodelling each space was influenced by varying elements. In some rooms, retention was key. The sunroom, upheld by handcrafted, fluted pillars, emerged as one of them. “While invaluable in their artistry, they (the pillars) posed structural difficulties,” she explains. To overcome this, the team came up with a discreet, pavement-like cap solution to meld the pillars to the coffered ceiling. Now, they anchor the glass wall wrapped around the room, marking the threshold between the room’s walls and the sprawling gardens. Perfect for balmy days where you want to see the scorching Ahmedabad sun, but not necessarily feel it on your skin.

In some rooms, the transformation is all-consuming. The English Library is one of them, complete with alpine-inspired wooden walls and floors, a black Chesterfield sofa and a crackling fireplace. Could you’ve ever guessed that it once used to be the home gym? We couldn’t have.

Like any other restoration project, this one came with its own fair share of challenges. But the end result, perfectly curated as it may appear, is not a result of perfect planning — but rather the direct opposite. Eshita’s mantra? “Sometimes, the best design decisions are made in response to last-minute challenges. Not everything can (or should) be planned to perfection,” she signs off.