Pet parents, meet the pawfect home

Making space for the zoomies

Recall the list of cons your mother listed when you asked her if you could have a dog? The year-round shedding is enough to make you wish you had a vacuum fused to your arm! As a result, Rosie Paul and Sridevi Changali, co-founders and principal architects at Masons Ink, were guided by two primary goals: ease of maintenance and sustainability. The home, office space and production unit had to be well-separated to allow smooth in-person consultations with multiple pets. Simultaneously, creating a safe space for Manssi’s dogs, both rescues with anxiety, was essential.

Creating multiple levels allowed the architects to both separate the space and create a striking, layered facade. Right from the plant-filled balconies overflowing with creepers, to the large, open windows, the home is a sunshine-laden haven (with plenty of space for playing fetch!)

Pet-friendly, down to the last brick

The facade flaunts exposed bricks, multi-level balconies and endless greens splayed across the walls. The emanating warmth is no happy accident — it is intentional. “Instead of building a single, imposing block-type building, we wanted to create a welcoming facade,” the architects affirm. With tall windows that span the structure’s height, the Bengaluru sun is a full-time tenant during the daytime.

Indoors, the spatial division is a lesson in intention. With cosy consultation rooms, waiting areas and an in-house production unit, the ground floor is home to the homeowner’s various businesses. Each consultation room is accompanied by an outdoor space to allow room for walking to assauge anxious pets. After the appointment ends, the pets can exit straight from the same space without the fear of any unexpected or aggressive run-ins with other pet patients. 

The first floor houses living quarters for the staff, keeping the second floor reserved for the homeowner and her two canine companions. A salvaged and repurposed wooden door leads the way to their private sanctum, leading the way into a loft-style space with double-height windows and ceilings. Complete with a reading nook, a wooden swing and a study area tucked upstairs on the mezzanine, the space, true to Manssi’s wishes, “elicits that ‘wow’ feeling from all who visit it”, gush the architects.

The materials matter

As pet parents themselves, working on the space was an eye-opening experience for both Rosie and Sridevi. With Manssi’s valuable inputs, they built a material palette best suited for dogs. From using exposed brick over painted walls to avoid toxic paint fumes, to avoiding plants harmful to pets — no detail was too small. Case in point, the rough kota stone flooring not only adds to the space’s rustic charm but also provides great grip for furry paws. “The ubiquitous tile flooring is slippery for dogs, leading to injuries that could result in hip displacements and other issues. The repurposed rough Kota stone provides excellent grip and is easy to clean, maintain and durable,” the duo affirm. 

Four-legged or two, the space’s light-filled interiors are what every dog (and human) could ever want. Blowing all pet parents of the year nominees out of the water, we have a unanimous winner! 

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