Flock in fresco

In this Mumbai apartment by MuseLAB, ceiling frescoes turn the homeowners’ memories, travels and love story into a living work of art

08 Jul 2026

Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar

Most people count sheep when they’re trying to fall asleep. Priyanka Thaker of House of Berserk counts them when she’s trying not to. Not too many moons ago, while painting the ceiling of an apartment designed by Mumbai-based studio MuseLAB, the Ahmedabad-based multidisciplinary art practitioner began slipping tiny, secret sheep into the composition — her own woolly pressure valve.“Every time someone walked in and asked a question about this motif or that, she’d get really agitated,” says Huzefa Rangwala, one half of the studio. “And out would come another sheep.” To be fair, painting the underside of a structural slab while fielding a running commentary from the room below is enough to make anyone see sheep. Huzefa and MuseLAB co-founder Jasem Pirani, however, had their own flock of challenges to contend with. The apartment in question, a 4,500 sq ft home in Mumbai, began life rather differently. Originally conceived as a linear five-bedroom residence, its elongated plan was heavy on corridors and light on delight. The brief was radical: pare it down to a generous two-bedroom home with a lounge, living and dining areas, a bar and a kitchen, while ensuring the space felt anything but pared back.“It was a long, stretched-out layout,” recalls Huzefa. “The question was: how do you make the in-between spaces exciting rather than merely functional?”

“It was a long, stretched-out layout. The question was: how do you make the in-between spaces exciting rather than merely functional?”

Huzefa Rangwala

In the lounge, the Moon light by Davide Groppi sets a soft, ambient tone for the space. Anchored by Agitato by Martand Khosla, the room balances art and atmosphere, with furniture by Mass Interiors tying it all together; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

It was a question he and Jasem would soon set out to answer. Convincing the homeowners to embrace that proposition, however, required its own measure of persuasion. The couple — finance professionals who discovered the studio via Instagram — approached the process with the analytical clarity one might expect from their line of work. “He took a very thoughtful approach, often stopping to weigh every possibility,” Huzefa laughs. “She was naturally inclined towards fresh perspectives and unconventional approaches. It was a good balance.” To help them picture the transformation, the architects produced a suite of detailed plans and 3D visuals. Yet even then, the idea of collapsing five bedrooms into two felt, understandably, a touch audacious. “They kept wondering how it would actually pan out,” adds Jasem. “Helping them visualise that it would be disruptive yet functional — that was the real challenge.” In the end, the couple took a leap of faith.

That leap plays out above, below and everywhere in between. The ceiling fresco by House of Berserk chronicles the couple’s travels, shared memories and milestones in a vibrant visual diary. Below, grey marble floors host delicate inlay motifs — objects that appear to have drifted down from the illustrated sky above. The entire composition reads as a love story rendered in colour, texture and the occasional sheep. Yet it’s not immediately obvious upon arrival. A reconfigured foyer in charcoal tones offers a quiet prelude to the colour-forward drama beyond, setting up what the architects describe as a slow reveal. Spaces appear gradually rather than all at once. The dining area anchors this choreography with a sharply angled stone table for eight beneath a streetlamp-like floor lamp, while two chairs upholstered in an abstract textile quietly mark the couple’s usual seats. Nearby, the den slips into a richer mood, its plum-toned walls enclosing Gond artwork, patterned rugs and accent furniture behind a hand-carved sliding wooden door — an inviting nook for unwinding, storytelling and the occasional glass of merlot.

In the den, Claymen sculptures strike a series of acrobatic poses, offering a playful counterpoint to the painting by Gond artist Chandrakali Pusham from the Gondwana Art Project. A sofa by The August Company, furniture by Mass Interiors and a custom rug by Loops by LJ complete the setting with an easy sense of balance; Photography by Ishita Sitwala

The apartment’s once-awkward corridor now doubles as a gallery of discoveries: an earth-toned passage lined with a built-in library against charcoal walls. Along the way, the Meiso sculpture by WANNAS stands sentinel near a study wrapped in glass bricks, softly drawing daylight into the heart of the home.

At the home’s heart, the living area embraces colour with a lemon chiffon bench and salmon-hued chairs perched atop the looping geometry of a Loops by L J rug. Nearby, a gradient-green bar conceals storage and audio systems while showcasing the couple’s collection of global spirits, with an adjacent lounge anchored by low blush-striped seating, MuseMART tables, and a scarlet artwork by Martand Khosla offering a mellow evening retreat.

The bedrooms extend that narrative: a lively guest suite dressed in blues and tessellated pattern, and a calmer primary bedroom in blush and burl veneer with a nook reserved for the couple’s beloved pooch, Zoe. Beyond it, a spa-like bathing suite parleys into his-and-hers chambers — one clad in white marble within a curved glass shell, the other a garnet-toned retreat beneath a softly glowing fabric ceiling.For anyone visiting, it’s evident that the apartment reads as a kaleidoscope of stories — one that threads illustration, colour and personal history through every room. And somewhere overhead, tucked discreetly among frescoed memories, a small flock of sheep quietly keeps count.