A house can become a home, if it is a reflection and extension of the owner’s personal style. Martino and I have always been in love with nostalgia. We both have been collectors of antiques and curiosities for some time now. The transformation of a found object in a curated atmosphere is almost unbelievable. Every piece strings a story to the making of an abode.
For us, it is always a work in progress…adding and subtracting as we move into various stages in our personal growth of style and aesthetics. An escape from the consuming life in Germany brought Martino to Goa about eight years back. Having met him in Mumbai, with almost identical ideologies and to live a more sustainable and resourceful life, I soon followed in his footsteps. Since we both came from similar design backgrounds it was natural for us to collaborate and develop Flame, the fashion and lifestyle label that Martino had started in Goa. We used to live in a larger Portuguese bungalow, which had a studio within.
The need for a detached atelier and a private abode brought us to our current space. Its oldest section is roughly 200 years old and the newer structure underwent a few modifications over the last decade. Overall, it measures about 2,500 sq ft, the layout and architecture almost traditional Portuguese. A summer patio opens up to a large living room. A narrow passage leads you to the open-plan kitchen, one of the most important areas. Since the guest bedrooms and the master boudoir all open up to the cookroom, we consider this space as the heart of our home. From monsoon evenings to balmy summer nights, the refurbished ’50s dining table has witnessed many conversations. Large Portuguese windows open up to lush trees outside. And with Martino being a passionate cook, we end up preparing food from a lot of the locally sourced produce. To deal with the wet waste, we created a compost pit in our backyard, which in turn gives us manure. This is our small contribution towards reducing our carbon footprint.
