Soulful Simplicity

A used 2,000-sq-ft home in Ankleshwar is refurbished with equal doses of art, contemporary elements and light to transform into a space with soulful simplicity by C & T Designs.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Tejas Shah, courtesy C & T Designs

The spaces are interconnected and visually open. Here, the living room and dining area are notionally segregated with a delicate metal screen.

The site

This was a previously tenanted property, occupied for a considerable amount of time. The space had a one largish unused balcony and a smaller dining space — these were later converted into living/dining space. The size of the windows was altered to full-height picture ones.

The brief

The client’s requirement was to make the apartment appear more spacious and get maximum natural light. A prominent part of the brief was to eschew too polished an aesthetic, and a design with a soulful, connected-to-the-roots feeling.

The dining area. A seater by the window augments space. The leaf installation of the TV unit is seen in this photograph.

The design intent

A soulful space drove the design team towards a fusion concept, one that was neither too traditional nor too modern. For this, wooden furniture with its enduring appeal was used as a base. This was complemented with fabric, metal jaali work and several beautiful original art pieces.

The material palette

As all spaces were interconnected and flowed into each other, materials were used to underscore this seamlessness. At the base was the dark floor, which sets the stage for orchestrations of elements — composed of mostly wood, metal screens, fabric and customised wallpaper. Two walls in the common spaces use matt-polished Italian marble. All the bedrooms were kept simple with wooden finish furniture and one element to highlight the space. For instance, the daughter’s bedroom features a wall with a silhouette of a tree, while the son’s bedroom is animated with an engraved headboard with a background of artificial stone.

A bedroom accented with wood. The contemporary window screen is a highlight.

The highlights

The jaali of the mandir partition bears graphical cut-outs of lotus flowers and leaves, which cast beautiful patterns in the puja space, heightening the spiritual air. Another most admired feature is the three-foot-tall metal leaf installation of the TV unit.

FACT FILE

Project: Rakesh Patel’s Residence
Location: Ankleshwar
Area: 2,000 sq ft
Principal architect: Chirag Vadgama
Principal designer: Kadam Shah
Design team: Darshana Chhatriwala and Hirni Patel