Filter kaapi to English tea: Drawing Hands Studio crafts a Chennai bungalow

What feels like home? “The luxury of picking up an oft-read book, making a hot cup of tea and enjoying it in the balcony surrounded by trees is as simple and rich as it can get,” says Shruti Omprakash, Principal Architect of Drawing Hands Studio, who designed and thoughtfully restored this 1,200 sq ft bungalow in Chennai.

This space feels like home and so much more — somewhere between Madras and the misty hills of Ooty. A home that carries the old-world charm of English-Ooty mansions while holding onto the soul of 80s Madras homes, with mahogany floors soaked in daylight from the jaalis. “The essence of the design is to create a harmonious, relaxed lounge space that blends with the architectural language of the entire home,” shares Shruti. The design team further includes Naveen Jeeva and Manimarikkanth.

Storied spaces

Tucked away in the Marina city’s bustle, the home reveals itself like a Carnatic raga, timeless and soul-stirring. From the ground floor, a flight of stairs lead to the lounge, a room meant for unhurried conversations when tea cools slowly as you are lost in dusty pages of a well-thumbed book. Here books line the walls in uninterrupted ledges, walls finished in soft beige eco cement, softening the afternoon light that filters in. Heirloom furniture reupholstered, discreet storage that seamlessly doubles as a bench, the lounge is for pause, a space for stories.

Past the lounge, you will find the guest suite, with an existing wardrobe that is repurposed. It is a restful space with an attached bath that doubles as a steam room — a detail that speaks to the home’s quiet luxury. Back in the lounge, the eye is drawn to an expansive window introduced by Shruti and her team to frame the dappled greenery outside.

Tucked neatly into a corner, the pantry redefines the idea of a backsplash instead of traditional tilework, a fixed glazed window invites glimpses of the outdoors. Originally a jali window, this feature evolved organically, half removed to open up the space, half retained as a nod to its past. 

A sit-out space is added by the team, connected by an open expanse. At the sit-out, a rich mahogany herringbone floor unfurls like a well-worn silk saree—elegant, effortless. It meanders from the open space into the lounge and bedroom, binding the home with the warmth of old-world charm.

Madras memoirs, mountain murmurs

“New is merely a continuation of old—just as it should be,” notes Shruti. Drawing Hands Studio has held onto the architectural language of 80s Madras in the grilled jali work, the sloped roofs and the deep verandahs, keeping the soul of the space, its decades of monsoon afternoons and jasmine-scented evenings alive. Yet threading through it the grandeur of British-era Ooty bungalows, Where once was an open terrace, now is a semi-enclosed cocoon framed with metal lined doors that invite in the light but hold the city’s harsh summers at a comfortable distance. There is a balance in the Adyar house, an understanding that spaces are not just built—they evolve, layer by layer. New is merely a continuation of old, just as it should be.

Read more: Meraki Cafe by Drawing Hands Studio is as airy and vibrant as the garden surrounding it