15th Anniversary Special: 15 best homes featured in ELLE DECOR

This is our 15th year! To celebrate this big milestone, we’ve selected 15 homes – one representing each year, from 2001 to 2015 – with rooms that inspire, shock or awe; styles that will always be timeless; and interiors that make us want to revisit stories. Take a look…and hope you’ll find many more “Ideas You Can Use”. 2001: Unfettered imagination gave wings to designer Sandy Starkman’s fantasy home in Janpath, New Delhi. It is a combination of vibrant whimsical touches and the treasures acquired from his travels in India. While the red walled sitting area has old world furniture and wooden gallery from Gujarat, the dining area’s focus is on the large wildlife painting on the wall from his jungle series.2002: Designed by Visalakshi Ramaswamy and Benny Kuriakose, this sun-kissed beach house in Chennai is an unusual blend of Mediterranean hues and traditional South Indian decor. In this spacious bathroom that opens out to the sky, are Chettinad brass pots for storing water, along with quaint cane baskets and furniture. 2003: Peace reverberates from every stone of this zen home in Auroville designed by architect Dominic Dube and owned by Ingeborg Reick, a devout Buddhist. In the first floor bedroom with exposed concrete and white plastered walls, a sharply angled staircase leads up to the roof.

2004: Krsna Mehta’s Mumbai apartment is a passionate testimony to bold experimentation with a riot of palettes, textures and kitsch. In the living room, multi-coloured sequined blue wall blends well with the mix and match prints on the wall, furniture and floor.

2005: Entrepreneur Rajshree Pathy’s low slung, single storied residence in Coimbatore is surrounded by manicured gardens, dotted with installations and sculptures by visiting artist friends. In this informal sitting area, the wall depicting a tribal marriage ritual, was painted by National award winner Shiv Paswan based in Madhuban. 2006: Old world OTT glam and chic luxe come full circle in interior designer Adil Ahmad’s character filled New Delhi home. In the spirit of Lucknowi opulence, the lavish living room has ornate furniture by the home owner and a blue wall lined with intricate Tanjore and other paintings.2007: Annick Cormery metamorphoses an old, dilapidated Goa bungalow into a warmth filled family home. The simple yet regal living room is fashioned with vintage hexagonal tiled flooring, elaborate chandelier, carved chairs, antique candle stands and a large portrait of the royals of Gwalior.

2008: Energy saving insulation and a pro-eco design ethos dominates couturier David Abraham and his partner Kevin Nigli’s residence in New Delhi. The master bedroom opens to a warm and airy verandah that functions as the living and dining area.

2009: A heritage structure located on the fringes of Jaipur, The Chomu Palace is alive thanks to careful restoration of intricate carvings and Middle Eastern architecture. The Maharaja suite, brought back to its former glory by local artisans, has makrana marble flooring and antique carpets with a royal bed and matching footstools crafted in pure silver. 2010: Copywriter and artist Freddy Birdy’s all white New Delhi apartment is opinionated with splashes of quirk and undeniably eccentric, just like him. The bed in front of a ceiling, floor bookshelf and Mondrian rug from Fabindia anchor the space. In the zen-like dining room, a custom teak wood table and bench by Vaishali Kamdar, complement the Panton chairs from Vitra.

2011: A little bit of vintage, some cutting edge art and lots of theatrics define the house of Mumbai based interior designer and architect Ashiesh Shah. Mossballs from Le Mill, imposing abstract art by The Rape of Ganymede by Shine Shivan, fuss free Chor Bazaar chairs and dainty feather quails by Maison Martin Margiela in the living room, lend to his home’s raw artistic quality.

2012: New Crystal Palace made entirely out of cedar wood floats on the Dal Lake in Kashmir. The first rays of the summer morning accentuate the true blue colours of the water and the houseboat comprising several rooms decorated with intricate, traditional handicrafts looks tranquil against the snow peaks.

2013: Owned by the Prakash family of tea planters, the Burra Bungalow on the Glenburn Tea Estate in Darjeeling, was restored by New Delhi based interior designer Bronwyn Latif. Inspired by the homes from the movie Notting Hill, the space showcases typically English staples like pleasant floral printed crockery. The Rose Suite Annexe seen here was furnished with Soma Rose fabrics from Jaipur.

2014: Hair stylist and activist Sapna Bhavnani’s Mumbai apartment is reminiscent of the ’50s, with tastefully tailored elements, custom offbeat furniture and eclectic accessories. Every corner highlights her personal touch; for instance, in the living room you can see distressed cabinets, industrial lights, a retro ball-like lamp and unabashedly exposed pipes.

2015: Art historian and interior architect Gunther Maria Norrenberg’s ivory terraced haveli in Udaipur is an interesting mix of contemporary and classical artworks, unexpected pieces, exquisite masonry and a mesh of styles. The interiors like this eclectic sitting room, defy the norms of a Rajasthani palace, while the tiers of terraces and verandahs offer panoramic views of the city of lakes.