A full view of the formal living room reveals the handcrafted teak-coffered ceiling by a+t associates at its most commanding, its sculpted oval grid spanning the full width overhead. The large L shaped grey sofa with oak base from D’Decor anchors the centre, seated on a custom graphic blue carpet from House of Knots. Two matching abstract paintings on ochre grounds flank the steel framed glass partition wall in perfect symmetry; Photography by Tejas Shah

Contemporary craft meets scale in Vadodara

a+t associates let volume and material modernity define a family residence

15 Apr 2026

A large scale defining a residence can be perplexing. With 9,000 sq ft, a home risks becoming more of a statement than a sanctuary. Yet this Vadodara home, designed by Archis Patel and Tanvi Rajpurohit of a+t associates , resists that impulse entirely, settling into something far more lived-in and personal. A sense of ease is carefully constructed. “Rather than filling the home with decorative elements, we allowed the architecture, materials and thoughtfully crafted details to define the character of each space,” explain Archis and Tanvi.

The result is a design language that favours restraint over rhetoric and craft over decoration at every turn. “The key was ensuring that the interiors felt warm and intimate despite the large volumes. Achieving this balance through proportions, textures and furniture placement was both challenging and rewarding,” the duo says.

“The key was ensuring that the interiors felt warm and intimate despite the large volumes”

Archis Patel and Tanvi Rajpurohit

The entrance corridor unfolds as a study in considered contrasts. A grid of oak wood panels with circular brass medallions by a+t associates lines the left wall, while concrete architectural maquette sculptures by Material Immaterial Studio are mounted across the lime plaster opposite, each one a small world unto itself. A rounded stoneware double gourd vase on a low oak sideboard with a black stone top by a+t associates grounds the foreground; Photography by Tejas Shah

Home of multitude

Across two floors, the home carries within it a formal living room, a family living room, a dining area with a show kitchen and a separate wet kitchen, five bedrooms, a home theatre and entertainment room, a home office, a study room, a double-height pooja room, a terrace gazebo and extensive garden spaces.

Archis and Tanvi were appointed for the complete interior design, working in close dialogue with the architecture to ensure the two never pulled apart. “The key was ensuring that the interiors felt warm and intimate despite the large volumes. Achieving this balance through proportions, textures and furniture placement was both challenging and rewarding” Archis Patel and Tanvi Rajpurohit avers.

The formal living room dissolves into the garden through large sliding glass doors, the lush exterior drawn into the frame as a fourth wall. The handcrafted teak-coffered ceiling by a+t associates continues overhead, while grey sofas and oak armchairs in houndstooth upholstery from D’Decor gather around a black steel round coffee table on a custom blue graphic carpet from House of Knots. An abstract painting on an ochre ground rests on the lime plaster wall to the left; Photography by Tejas Shah

The passage is transformed into a curated moment by a grid of architectural miniatures animating the wall; Photography by Tejas Shah

Grain and Grit

The material palette is raw, earthy and deliberate. Lime textured plaster walls in soft greys and warm whites run through the interiors, accompanied by natural wood in warm brown tones and Italian stone flooring underfoot. “The palette was kept raw, earthy and understated,” Archis and Tanvi elaborate, “allowing textures and craftsmanship to stand out.”

The most arresting expression of this is the handcrafted teak-coffered ceiling in the formal living room, a grid of sculpted oval forms that draws the eye upward and lends the room a grandeur that is earned, not applied. Below it, a grey modular sofa with a natural oak base sits on a custom graphic carpet ,flanked by a pair of oak armchairs in houndstooth upholstery. Steel-framed glass partition doors open the room entirely to the garden, dissolving the boundary between inside and outside into a single, continuous landscape.

The dining room announces itself through a large black marble top table on a sculptural black pedestal base by a+t associates, commanding the centre of the space with quiet authority. Grey leather upholstered dining chairs with oak legs from D’Decor gather around it, while a custom black steel chandelier with sinuous tubular arms and chrome orb pendants by Kaanch presides overhead. Full height slate grey cabinetry with an integrated Siemens wall oven frames the kitchen behind; Photography by Tejas Shah

Large format grey marble from CMC sheathes the primary bathroom from wall to floor in one continuous gesture. The glass and black steel enclosed shower enclosure opens onto a private garden courtyard, tropical planting and mosaic stone walls visible beyond the glass. A grey rectangular vessel basin on the marble vanity counter with black matte wall mounted taps by a+t associates occupies the right wall, and a framed abstract artwork by Nidhi Shah is hung inside the shower enclosure; Photography by Tejas Shah

The Vertical Argument

The double-height family living room is where the home makes its most expressive statement. A 10-foot-tall relief artwork by Rutva Joshi commands the full height of the wall, while a bespoke cascading light installation descends through the void in a composition of handcrafted wood and globe elements.

“Suspended gracefully within the double-height volume, the installation becomes a sculptural centrepiece,” says Archis and Tanvi. Its organic form and rhythmic arrangement evoke a sense of movement,almost like a floating installation that bridges the upper and lower levels. ”Despite its scale, the furniture arrangement, a grey sectional sofa on a natural oak base, anchored by a custom tribal-pattern carpet, grounds the space with warmth and intimacy.

In the show kitchen, the concrete island with a geometric linear incised pattern by a+t associates doubles as a work of surface craft, its quartz countertop clean and considered. Slate blue base cabinets and suspended black metal open shelving line the cooking wall, centred on a black angled Siemens chimney hood. An oak framed bar stool with grey leather upholstery from D’Decor stands at the counter; Photography by Tejas Shah

A guest bedroom makes its case for drama through material alone. Charcoal grey fluted stone wall panelling and a corten toned leather upholstered headboard by a+t associates set a decidedly moody tone, while a custom abstract metal wall sculpture in rust and steel tones commands the wall above the bed. Grey quilted linen with tan leather and dark grey cushions from D’Decor offer a considered counterpoint, and six black square artworks by Nidhi Shah are arranged in a quiet grid on the white wall opposite; Photography by Tejas Shah

Art in Transit

The staircase is treated as a space in its own right. Open-tread oak steps on a black steel structure are flanked by a custom, abstract geometric metal screen in Corten tones, as much a work of art as a partition. Within the void hangs a sculptural installation in a metallic finish, featuring a central orb and cascading tendrils that catch and shift the light throughout the day.

“The form is inspired by organic fluidity,” Archis and Tanvi explain, “where the central metallic body unfolds into elongated tendrils, creating a sense of downward flow.” The first-floor corridor continues this journey, lined with individually cast concrete architectural maquette sculptures, each one mounted across the expanse of lime plaster, quietly remarkable.

A secondary bedroom study corner draws its warmth from a wall of terracotta coloured tiles hand painted with bold folk bird motifs by a+t associates, gently backlit to cast a steady amber glow across the surface. Below it, a custom built white laminate desk and integrated drawer units by a+t associates offer a clean, quiet counterpoint. An oak framed desk chair in grey leather from D’Decor completes the nook; Photography by Tejas Shah

A shaded terrace unfolds as an intimate outdoor lounge; Photography by Tejas Shah

Five Rooms, Five Minds

Each bedroom carries its own material conviction. The primary bedroom pairs an oak platform bed with a custom geometric metal screen jaali overlooking the balcony. A guest bedroom goes decidedly darker, with charcoal fluted stone panelling, a corten leather headboard and a custom abstract metal wall sculpture mounted above. The other bedroom frames the headboard in oak panelling with arched niches inset in grey geometric textile.

The children’s bedroom is given over entirely to play and imagination, with a hand painted bear mural, a terracotta pink arched chalkboard wall and a motor skills activity wall. The study features a backlit tile wall hand-painted with folk bird motifs, its warm amber glow a quiet pleasure to work beside.

The double height pooja room rendered in white lime plaster with hand painted gold border motifs, framed Pichwai miniatures and a large brass Bodhi leaf cutwork installation is the most devotional space in the house. In Archis and Tanvi’s hands, this Vadodara home becomes something deeper than beauty. It holds its scale with ease and its warmth with conviction.