This Mumbai apartment’s interior re-imagination involved the breaking down of walls, space-expansion, and a careful selection of timber, and flooring material, to accord every room a unique character.
Like most Mumbai apartments with an open terrace, this space had a fairly simple layout, though of smaller proportions and smaller bathrooms. It was a shell that had squeezed 3 rooms as built form, with structural beams that dropped woefully low.
The very first goal with the space’s turnaround was to allow for the door frames to go up to the ceiling, so the doors were moved out of the beam lines. This could be achieved throughout as the clients were evolved enough to understand the space would be served better with 2 spacious bedrooms versus 3 small ones.
Something that drove the team was the injection of the desired amount of structural proportion, as opposed to creating only furniture and function-driven interiors. It was also understood that a clients’ requirements are more seminal than physical, so it was preferred to create what they were looking for and for the team to know what will work for them.
The team worked to create a more contemporary ambience, even though the final look leans a lot more towards the rugged ‘old world’ textures that stay true to our grain. The master washroom suite is washed in matted-out textured Statvario marble visible in the living room. “We also had the freedom to avoid any false ceiling and used just about enough wiring to enable us to suspend track lights,” states the team.
Rest of the wooden elements were either old teakwood or only plywood like DUROTUFF as it has an interesting inconsistent grain. All remaining walls in the living area are white brick, or black limestone in the dining area. Gentle ship lamps from Address Home swathe the uncut timber plank that forms the dining top.
The bedroom walls are finished in either facetted plywood or polished IPS, the team’s favourite wall finishes; the process is labourious but the results are smooth and soft, and, far more sustainable for the environment.
The daughters’ bathroom, though treated with a heavy timber wash counter, features a playful ikat in the cut slabs on the floor. The master bathroom sports more classic finishes in the form of embossed tiles from Bharat Floors. The bedroom floorings feature seasoned herringbone timber, bespoke for the project. The living room’s larger charcoal tiles make it a more hygienic floor. “Their ominous St. Bernard, we suspect, was the reason they took that call! Fair enough!” the team attests. The furniture and lamps in the living room section were sourced from Natuzzi.
