An ancestral memory garden

In Bengaluru, the founder of d’canvas brings her home back to life

12 Dec 2025

For a city that’s mostly canopied, Bengaluru regularly comes to life when the sunlight gleams between the trees of its narrow roads. Pertaining to a similar idea of bringing a space back to life in this city, Vanitha Joshi, the principal designer and founder of her studio, d’canvas, restored her ancestral home, dubbed ‘Riwayat,’ into a space that draws from India’s rich craft heritage, featuring bountiful archives of stone, silk, textiles, carved wood, and heirloom objects. The home, which sprawls 2,500 sq ft, is riddled with dark hues, prints, and dramatic details. This space is an ode to preserving ancestry in a way that transcends time.

Vanitha’s holy grail for Riwayat was to create a home that feels lived-in by time, not weighed down by it. But just when you expect a strict homage to nostalgia, Riwayat shifts the register. French-inspired doors and arches that gently subvert the idea of what a heritage-led home should look like, attuned with some of the most pristine local artworks found here. This hybridity is what rhythms across this space.

"Somewhere, the story remains unfinished, and perhaps, that’s exactly how it’s meant to be"

Vanitha Joshi

The living room is adorned with velvet curtains; Photography by The Matter Studio

Reigning hues

The home’s colour palette reads like wandering through old havelis with muted champagnes, royal blues and striking reds bringing the architecture of the space together. The living room, undoubtedly being the heart of this home, is designed in two expressive zones layered with silk upholstery and a heritage wallpaper that flows across the area. The master bedroom speaks in fluent opulence as the rich velvets do that talking. This room is designed using an earthy palette of browns that adds to its gravitas. Perhaps the most human corner of this house is the guest room. It embraces discontinuity in mismatched furniture, clashing prints and the type of imperfection that one usually calls having a personality. You’ll observe that nothing matches, yet every colour, object and texture indoors is attuned with the other.

The living room is designed in two expressive zones and painted by Sabyasachi for Nilaya by Asian Paints; Photography by The Matter Studio

The living room features a wallpaper from Sabyasachi for Nilaya by Asian Paints that flows through the room; Photography by The Matter Studio

Making art, not clutter

The space holds art not as an accessory but as the very language of design. The hand-painted Shreenathji donned by the black and white Pichwai-inspired art is a great example of how, for every image here, there is an anchoring emotion attached to it. Swathed in African prints and punctuated with golden mirrors and Theyyam art, the dining room feels like a visceral reaction to an immersive installation.

But one of the dreamiest corners of this home is the pooja ghar, donned with Pichwai art, Thanjavur gold, and Raja Ravi Varma’s frames. Designing this room, Vanitha says, was “the most fulfilling experience.” It’s a sanctuary carved for worship and grounding alike. For the designer, this room was the fulcrum of the project, but the living room still stands as her favourite. The foyer is separated neatly by an arched wooden frame from the theatre room, full of whimsical artwork and cocooned in throw pillows and a couch you can take an accidental nap in. Outside, a hand-painted wall leads to a glasshouse garden that houses lotus, parijaat, jasmine and hibiscus plants, a perfect space for a relaxing exhale.

The Shreenathji art is hemmed by black-and-white Pichwai-inspired works, while the terrazzo floors hold the foyer together, paired with a brass console; Photography by The Matter Studio

The glasshouse garden cradles lotus, parijaat, jasmine and hibiscus plants; Photography by The Matter Studio

Across this stunning home in the Sultanpalya area of Bengaluru, traditional art forms flock together to create a space that looks much like an illustrated diary of its inhabitants.