Ivory, marble and grandeur in Mumbai

Sumessh Menon Associates design a luminous classical apartment in Lower Parel

15 May 2026

A pristine white home with an autumnal warmth, where maple leaves, the family’s favoured motif, finds expression stamped throughout the interiors. This was a personal yet precise brief that shaped the core of a home settled high up on the 70th floor of Lodha World One in Mumbai’s Lower Parel. Conceived by Sumessh Menon of Sumessh Menon Associates, it echoes that luxury, at its most considered, is a feeling that settles before you have found the words for it.

Dubbed Casa d’Avorio (House of Ivory), the four-bedroom residence spreads across 5,000 sq ft. The envelope accommodates a private lift lobby, a living room with a wrap-around deck, a formal dining area, a kitchen with a utility zone and four bedrooms. The master suite comes further equipped with a walk-in closet, a dedicated vanity suite, a bath with a jacuzzi and direct deck access. The arched floor plan ensures a wrap-around deck that delivers sweeping views of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and generous natural light throughout the day.

A 20 foot mosaic wall by Art Meets Heart anchors the living room, where Minotti seating and a Dolce & Gabbana armchair rest on an Alps rug by Minotti; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

THE ETERNAL CITY, ABOVE MUMBAI

Sumessh draws from literary and architectural worlds in equal measure. The concept finds its reference in Piranesi, Susanna Clarke’s novel about a man who inhabits a vast, otherworldly House of endless halls and vaulted chambers. That same quality of arrested grandeur runs through Casa d’Avorio. Michelangelo marble flows across every surface; arched niches and sculptural wall art create moments of pause; ceiling details evoking drifting clouds catch you off guard as you move through the space. “Timeless designs are beloved for good reason, and neoclassical style is something I keep coming back to time and again. It’s modern, it’s traditional. What’s not to love about it?” Sumessh reflects.

The home’s autumnal mood is held together by the interplay of taupe veined marble, soft boucle upholstery, pastel accents and curated crystal chandeliers that play warmly against the generous daylight flooding in from the glazed deck.

The powder room is lined in black and white wave pattern marble mosaics by Art Meets Heart. A carved marble scroll wall sculpture, verde marble pedestal basin and brass fittings complete the space; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

A Diviana console in bold black and white print anchors the common passage, beneath a Klove mirror wreathed in hand blown glass leaves and candelabra sconces. Ceiling art by ZA Works; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

THE WALL THAT TELLS A STORY

The living room’s centrepiece is a 20-foot, handcrafted mosaic wall. Rendered in a monochrome palette, the mural blends 10mm stone and 6-8mm glass mosaics over a beaten metal base, with Indian Banswara marble woven into the Colosseum narrative. “Our collaboration with AMH was such a thrill. They did a fantastic job in turning our concept into this larger-than-life mosaic creation, which has been an absolute hit,” Sumessh shares. An Alps rug anchors the seating area below, softening the dramatic wall with tactile warmth.

The vanity suite features a hand painted Venetian ceiling by ZA Works above mirror grid wardrobes by Kangaroo Furniture, creating a celestial floating quality above the city; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

The curved deck features a blue and white hand painted tile bar counter, emerald green acrylic chairs, a Rhea Mehta blue glass sculpture and a hydrangea lined glass parapet with sweeping sea views; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

CONTRAST, QUIETLY DONE

One room deliberately steps away from the ivory narrative. The powder room submerges itself in a bold black and white composition, marble inlays and glass mosaics, exaggerated forms and sculptural bath fittings that turn a compact space into something quite unexpected. Sumessh Menon Associates has let this bold motif take over the entire room rather than simply framing it, an effect completed by a pendant light. “We are very pleased with the black and white powder room, where Rhea Mehta’s Jardin lamp shines like a gem,” Sumessh notes.

THE VANITY IN THE CLOUDS

The master suite’s vanity room is perhaps the home’s most quietly theatrical space. ZA Works hand-painted the Venetian recessed ceiling above the mirror grid wardrobes by Kangaroo Furniture, amplifying the sensation of floating above the city. A draped chandelier hangs over an imposing circular mirror, and beyond the glass, the Mumbai skyline shimmers in, making the room feel suspended somewhere between the apartment and the night sky.

Most homes at this height trade on the view. Casa d’Avorio gives you something worth turning away from the window for. It simply draws you in and holds you there.