Reviving a North Goa home

GROUND ZERO

Abhijit illustrates how the studio laid the groundwork, “This project is part restoration and part extension. It was once a single-bedroom unit housing a makeshift living area with glass partitions. We reconfigured the layout to create a two-bedroom residence with integrated living, dining, and kitchen spaces.” Natasha adds, “While redefining connections within was of utmost importance, we ensured that the home’s relationship with the outdoors was preserved — we added to the existing landscape, introduced grass mounds, and a lily pond that strengthened its sanctuary-like persona. The pace of life, proximity to nature, and the joy they felt here were the real luxuries to the homeowners.”

A VERDANT WELCOME

A pergola laced with bougainvillaea vines frames the residence — its fuchsia blooms the only stroke of colour amidst the greens. The raised plinth lends the home an illusion of being adrift, held gently between the sky and land. Against the verdure of frangipani, jasmine, palm, and mango trees, the built form feels monastic: its shiplap-style walls crowned by Mangalore tiles rendered in a light grey hue. “Our selection of raw finishes was intentional,” Abhijit states, “to accept the imperfections as a choice and not a compromise.”

A HOME WITH MANY PURPOSES

Standing at the threshold, the eye is drawn through the home’s core and beyond to the rear verandah, revealing the porous quality of the open floor plan as daylight streams through the windows and skylights. In the living room, the couple’s sea of spines plays muse. It seemed only right, the Architects express, “This is possibly only one-tenth of their book collection. To celebrate their love for reading, we lined the space’s edges with teak shelves, their finish the same honeyed hue of the new wood rafters that replaced the timeworn ones.” 

The furniture choices lean toward pieces with minimal silhouettes, keeping views unobstructed. The day beds are reminiscent of plush diwans, creating an inviting anchor point within. “The living room is our favourite spot. We have a clear view of the front garden and the rear verandah. Here, there’s ample light and space to create comfortable reading nooks,” Ananth adds.

HEARTH AND HEART

The dining area’s bamboo and metal chairs, paired with the petite wooden table, are designed to be carried outdoors on a whim for an alfresco meal. Awash in eastern light, the kitchen is infused with Goan charm. The trick? “To only introduce what’s necessary, keeping it true to character,” Natasha notes. Grey micro-concrete, a suave band of subway tiles, and warm laminates script a visual which seemingly emerges from the uninterrupted floors. 

A TROPICAL CALLING

Perched along the residence’s front, the master bedroom savours a view of the garden and verandah that welcome a steady retinue of neighbours from the animal shelter. “From the entire brood of dogs coming over for a snack, to the ducks visiting the lawn after the rains, each visit entails a story,” reminisces Hemali. 

Natural light, cementitious floors, and nature-inspired motifs conspire to ease one into an unhurried state of mind; Susegad, as the locals call it. The bedroom’s backdrop comprises a forest-scape wallpaper with a four-posted bed commanding the room’s heart. For their boarding visitors, hours drift gently within the guest bedroom’s walls, a luminous space defined by accents of distressed wood and a shell tempered in white. 

This abode is less about creating an escape but more about announcing a tender arrival — a new chapter written each time the couple cracks open a window, retrieves a book from the shelves, and invites nature in like an old friend.