Print exclusive: What women want

Amritha Karnakar designs a Mumbai home with eclectic elements and artefacts

03 Jul 2025

Two women travelling together all across the world in search of antiques. It’s the kind of imagery that would make for a droll book or movie. Architect Amritha Karnakar won’t exactly dismiss the idea; she has enough fodder to chuckle over from her trip to Paris and Jodhpur — where she had gone in search of decor elements along with the homeowner, a successful entrepreneur (and a woman!)

“We were in sync from day one,” says Amritha. “Even when we visited one of those world art and handicraft markets that was being held in Paris, we both had strict intentions of buying only small art pieces. But when our eyes landed on a large Aubusson rug hanging on one of the walls, we both looked at each other and instantly knew we were taking that one home.” Amritha recollects many such instances of sweet telepathy that played out while she and her client went shopping for the latter’s 2,600 sq ft two-bedroom home in Mumbai: “She was clear that she would choose aesthetics over practicality any day, and being a woman, I could understand that without any fuss.”

“The homeowner, a woman, was very clear that she would choose aesthetics over practicality any day” — Amritha Karnakar

The Taherally's chandelier lends the living space a vintage charm; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

It’s not surprising then to spot a life-sized female figure standing near the couch in the living room. The centuries-old six ft wooden antique — with a body that has endured much distress — is purported to have vague origins in a temple town in South India. It is placed strategically near the seating area, a subtle statement, as if, to make the world more inclusive for women: “Many people found ‘her’ to be a bit of an oddity, but my client and I wanted her in that exact spot so she could be part of all the conversations that would happen there,” says Amritha. “We knew that after a point people would be compelled to adapt to the idea of having her there,” she asserts.

While there was no head-butting over ideas, the architect underlines the dichotomy of the brief that made it simple yet complicated. The homeowner sought a design ethic that would be equal parts modern minimalism and indigenous. If not handled skilfully, the outcome could have ended up as costly ostentation or even an assembly of rude gaffes.

An antique chandelier from Taherallys crowns the oversized Naga coffee table with a marble fruit artwork titled Banana in a Basket by Mayadhar Sahu (sourced by Hunt Interiors from Chemould CoLab); Photography by Ishita Sitwala

A variety of chairs from Tibet, Vietnam and parts of Europe flank the dining table, which rises up from the floor in grey micro concrete. An Aubusson rug from Paris, depicting a cock fight hangs on the wall while an antique candle stand sourced from a flea market adorns the dining table. The overhanging light from Mahendra Doshi was once part of a ship; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

It wasn’t just that there was so much at stake; none of it was exactly scripted in modest sizes either. Four wooden columns with presiding angels and stone bases came from an old home in Chettinad, to delineate a unique division in the sprawling living room. An intricately carved old red-and-green wooden door from Rajasthan was brought in to provide a colourful backdrop for the cream-coloured couch.

A long Naga table found a new role as a coffee table, while a high Gothic console was coaxed out of a table with broken legs. Amritha took the recycling game several notches up by sparking promise in the salvaged remains of an altar from a Christian chapel, and redrafting it into a utilitarian cabinet for the powder room, besides transforming a black stone trough that once held food for grazing animals into a wash basin in the powder room. She also commissioned new stained-glass panels and sourced old antique ones to conceal open ducts in the powder room and to demarcate the turf for the walk-in closet in the master bedroom respectively.

A colossal antique four-poster bed by Mahendra Doshi adorned with glass panels anchors the master bedroom, while an ornate chandelier from Taherallys deepens its vintage allure'; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

An antique four-poster bed from Mahendra Doshi with bedding by Pottery Barn and a hanging light from Taherally's; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

Commanding the highest brag value, though, is an inordinately heavy metal tijori (safe) from Karaikudi that now holds pride of place as a bar. Amritha exclaims, “We needed 10 people to move it – even for it to move two inches!” As the apartment is a relatively new construction, there were no major structural interventions involved. “In terms of structural modifications, all we did was knock off the wall between two bedrooms to open the space up into a sprawling master bedroom,” says Amritha. “The beam that earlier separated the two spaces is made to look seamless thanks to a curved false ceiling that we created – almost like a flying carpet.” The beige walls from the living room continue into the master bedroom thus creating a seamless space.

Amritha decided that the natural hues of the various design elements would stand out best against a neutral tone. Cream walls and micro-concrete floors unified the eclectic features and brought in much-needed cohesion. The miscellaneous textures and contours have aggregated into a controlled chaos that speaks volumes but does not spill indiscriminately in shrill abandon. And that beautiful wooden woman in the corner continues to have the last word.

Sourcing list

Furniture: Gulmohar Lane, Makaan Jaipur by Tahir Sultan, Taherallys, Mahendra Doshi
Furnishings: Cocoon Fine Rugs, Pottery Barn
Lighting: Mahendra Doshi, Cherub, Taherallys
Art & Decor: Beg Borrow Steal Studio, Living Room Story, Raja Ravi Varma, Mayadhar Sahu, Chemould CoLab, Hunt Interiors