Homes
This Mumbai home by Studio Nishita Kamdar is a stunning example of exceptional spatial planning
MAY 22, 2019 | By Dhawal Bumb
Homes are often designed to be an extension of the personality of the people living in it. However, a city like Mumbai, which is cramped for spaces poses a great challenge to execute such designs successfully. This 3BHK in Oberoi Esquire, Mumbai had one such brief for Studio Nishita Kamdar—to make a space that was simple and modern like the family of four who were to reside in it. They wanted a space where they could entertain their friends as well as retain their privacy.
The resulting design was an outcome of the client’s brief combined with the studio’s unquestionable skill to make the most of any given area by superior spatial planning. The typical white painted opaque brick walls were replaced by translucent glass and furniture to act as walls that defined and connected the home visually. This contributed to the residence looking effectively larger.
The colour palette of the entire house was kept warm with the rooms being afforded their own individuality. This keeps the look of the house cohesive. The entire furniture—wardrobes, tables and even some lights—were custom made for optimum use of the space and to suit the needs of the user. Plants were placed in the corners to add a spot of colour and freshness. A metal framed mirror and a handmade teak cabinet ushers you into the flat.
The welcoming entryway opens up to a capacious, open living and dining room with the furniture defining the individual spaces without the need of a physical partition. The living room features a six-seater sofa set with an exquisite stone and brass bar unit forming the background of the entire space with the bar area separated by a custom made brass legged terrazzo bar table. Nishita says “The terrazzo bar table which looks sleek and light but otherwise is a very heavy piece, is my favourite furniture in the house.”The 14-foot long single slab of teak wood dining table is the highlight of the space, resting on a slim concrete base on one side and point support of the adjoining wall on the other. On the other side of the table, the metal framed sliding doors in a fluted glass of the kitchen gives it breathing space. This also allows natural light to flow in the kitchen.
The passage leading to the bedrooms is clad in a seamless Wenge veneer and Pinewood batons, which discreetly houses the doors to the temple and the storage room. “The family spends most of its time in the bedrooms, so they were designed to have their own identities that reflected those of the members of the family,” says Nishita. The master bedroom with its L-corner window that lets the natural light permeate in the room becomes an ideal setting for a large armchair to sit and read in the evenings. With the beds facing the window overlooking the beautiful views of the Aarey forest, the curved teakwood wardrobes and panelled headboards of the bed complement this otherwise orthogonal space.
The parent’s room has wooden flooring with furniture in a single material palette with different textures to make it look bigger. The son’s bedroom, which doubles up as a media room has a dark blue wallpaper with floral patterns covering the walls. The wooden louvres with the light passing through its slits add warmth to the room. These louvres also create a wonderful pattern of light and shadow that enhances the beauty of the room. The simplicity of materials and design was maintained to truly reflect the nature of the occupants. There is a constant tussle between lack of space and creating more in less when it comes to interiors in Mumbai. It presents the interior designers and architects with a test to churn out a design solution that balances these aspects without compromising on the aesthetics of the space. This project by Studio Nishita Kamdar successfully accomplishes those feats and produces an exemplary design.