Delhi-based DCA Architects has shaped a residence at Sainik Farms, Delhi, inspired by the unconventional artistic tastes of the client. Richly detailed, the residence provides a sumptuous visual feast, with interest in every corner.
The team at Delhi-based DCA Architects considers itself fortunate to have worked with a client who, while explaining the idiosyncrasies of his unconventional artistic taste, conferred his complete trust on them to harmonise the finished whole into a comfortably inviting home.
The house was completely built and the owner wanted to make only minimal structural changes. Spread across two floors and a basement, the floor plan is organised into living, dining and kitchen spaces on the ground floor along with the mother's room and a home-office/library with a separate entrance from the front porch. The private spaces, including the master and children's bedrooms, are housed on the first floor. The basement is furnished as an entertainment zone with a bar, television lounge, a gym/activity area, and a guest bedroom.
“The major challenge of the project was mending the existing false-ceiling,” states the team. “It was also decided to retain the existing doors and windows.” In the bathroom, featuring a classic vanity with a huge antique mirror, black granite was used for the counter-top and wash basins. Another prominent change involved replacing the plain staircase railing with a trendy MS (Mild Steel) sheet railing.
The aesthetics of the completed home is "a fusion of multiple design elements merged into one space while simultaneously celebrating each object's individuality.” It can be described as a marriage of ideas enhancing and complementing one another.
This approach of embracing varied sensibilities is evident on entering the double-heighted entry foyer, where a wall decal with the silhouette of a tree across a grey background looms large against the staircase. The treads of the stairs are treated with a burnt-wood finish. A large light fixture suspended from the first floor ceiling descends multiple heights along the double volume.
Creative use of MS sheets has been made at several locations, from the nameplate to the staircase railing to the steps fascia and the bar unit. The basement and office on the ground floor feature plain cement concrete flooring. Unfinished, raw wood furniture pieces dominate, while digital wallpapers with bold patterns feature in the living, study and daughter's rooms.
Rough-textured white paint in the study adds to the vintage ambience of the room. Used beer and whisky bottles were recycled to make a screen in the bar area.
The living room employs a formal colour palette, while vibrant colours were used in the kids’ rooms. The master bedroom is adorned with printed curtains. Cove lights in each room serve as general lighting, whereas LED spot lights highlight artefacts. Retrofitted reading wall lights stand by the bedside in each bedroom. Chandeliers embellish the living room and entrance lobby. Graffiti by an artist was commissioned for the basement foyer, which also features a compass made in vinyl on the floor.
The bedrooms on the first floor continue the eclectic theme, with the master bedroom featuring twisted wooden poster and an upholstered fabric headboard in teal against a brown wall. The flooring is made of engineered wood. The daughter's bedroom is furnished with a wrought-iron bed and includes a book unit with a study table in sawn wood.
