A new Bengaluru home built on an old love for art

In Bengaluru, Thirty Cross Collective creates a contemporary home for the youngest generation of a family of art collectors, bringing their collection into a new way of living

30 Oct 2026

Shivani V K

Off a busy street in one of Bengaluru’s most upscale neighbourhoods, a courtyard is perhaps the last thing one expects to find in an urban apartment. Yet at Sanchaya, a contemporary interpretation of this familiar element sets the tone for a home where a generational love for art finds new expression in the hands of its youngest custodian.

Suffused in daylight filtering through a large stepped skylight, its form evoking that of a gopura, the court centres itself around a reinterpretation of a tulsi katte holding a frangipani. Along one wall, an aged Kalamkari painting in natural dyes offers the first glimpse into the family’s three-generation-old collection. And here begins the story of this 4,500 sq ft apartment designed by Bengaluru-based Thirty Cross Collective.

“When a client has lived with these objects and memories for generations, our role is to give them space to continue that story while adding their own voice to it”

Balakrishna Pathi and Gunjan Lath

A sprawling central island forms the centre around which the dining and kitchen spaces are organised. Timber cabinetry and patterned ceramic mosaic tiles add warm character, while a bay nook makes the most of the verdant backdrop; Styling by Shivani Raina and Photography by Nayan Soni

The Seed of the Home

Many projects begin with a stated brief. Sanchaya began with something more implicit, something that Thirty Cross Collective understood almost instinctively when they first walked into the client’s family home. “There wasn’t an empty surface in the house,” say Balakrishna Pathi and Gunjan Lath, Partners at Bengaluru-based Thirty Cross Collective. Ganesha sculptures hand-picked over time, traditional paintings and contemporary artwork, heavy bronze idols, each with a story of its own, and collectibles sourced from far-flung corners of the world. A collection that began with the grandfather’s discerning eye for authenticity and continues to grow with each generation of the family.

It was then clear that the new home be shaped like a jewel box. One that could celebrate art, and the familiarity of the Indian home, but that would yet be attuned to the contemporary, taking on new shape in the hands of the family’s youngest. “When a client has lived with these objects and memories for generations, our role is to give them space to continue that story while adding their own voice to it,” say the duo.

A blooming frangipani sits in a Studio Palasa planter, custom-designed as a contemporary take on the traditional tulsi katte, beneath a stepped skylight inspired by the form of a gopura. A statue from the client’s collection and a candle stand from Curious Hues standing sentinel. Slate flooring grounds the courtyard; Styling by Shivani Raina and Photography by Nayan Soni

The guest bedroom brings pops of pattern through flooring by Bharath Flooring, and Framed Patola cloth from MeMeraki displayed above and a custom four-poster bed; Styling by Shivani Raina and Photography by Nayan Soni

Building a Sequence

Where the existing shell led straight through from the entry to the kitchen in a linear layout, the architects instead calibrate this openness into a series of experiences that move from one to the next. From the serene court, the home begins to lead you inwards. The living area, rendered in the warmth of wood and beige textures, crafts a delicate setting for a second large suspended Kalamkari artwork that anchors the space while subtly demarcating the dining and kitchen beyond. Finishes and patterns are chosen with care to draw from the colours of the artwork while yet playing second fiddle to it.

A false ceiling designed to reference a traditional raftered ceiling and leads you further into the dining and kitchen, centred around a central dining table integrated with a kitchen island. Where the rest of the home stays muted, the kitchen interjects with pattern, doing in checkered tile what art does elsewhere in the house, alongside warm timber cabinets.

On either side are a bay window and a pooja niche, with the former opening towards the leafy views and the latter tucked behind slender fluted-glass doors, a deliberately understated take on a traditionally ornate space.

A brass-trimmed pathway in varied Kota stone finishes leads into the home, towards a striking Kalamkari artwork on cloth by Siva Reddy. On its reverse, another painting sits above a custom brass console by Thirty Cross Collective, while patterned upholstery by Floor and Furnishings picks up the artwork’s warm tones; Styling by Shivani Raina and Photography by Nayan Soni

An aged Kalamkari painted in natural vegetable dyes from the family collection lines the courtyard wall, setting the tone for the home as it unfolds; Styling by Shivani Raina and Photography by Nayan Soni

Room to Grow

If the shared spaces of the home mould themselves around arresting artwork, the private ones leave room to grow with the collection. The bedrooms take an earthy, material-led approach, using light and natural textures to create a tempered setting for the art to come. In the master, a skylight washes over a textured stone wall, paired with timber and beige panelling. The guest bedroom takes on a playful approach, bringing nostalgic elements like a four-poster bed and patterned floor tiles into a contemporary setting.

“We’ve created the home as a canvas against which the family’s collection will continue to grow, and we’re excited to see what shape it takes as new pieces find their place.”

Sanchaya by Thirty Cross Collective brings the memory of the traditional Indian home steeped in visual richness into the language of a contemporary one, allowing a generational reverence for art to find new expression.

The third bedroom plays with natural textures, pairing wood accents in a gridded false ceiling, rattan wardrobes and a textured jute rug from Jaipur Rugs against an upholstered bed; Styling by Shivani Raina and Photography by Nayan Soni