House of Quirks

Studio Nishita Kamdar designs a vibrant and playful home for a young couple in Mumbai — a space for creating memories and sharing life experiences.

Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Kunal Bhatia, courtesy Studio Nishita Kamdar

The site

The House of Quirks designed by architect Nishita Kamdar is a quaint 3BHK apartment which is part of a large residential complex in Powai, Mumbai. “This home is surrounded by typical apartments filled with imported Italian marble and Swarovski chandeliers screaming out the price tags more than the emotions and lifestyles of the people living in it,” the architect reveals.

The brief

The young owners, a couple and their three-month-old daughter, were sure they wanted the house to be very personal. They wanted their home to be more about the experiences it has to offer, than just purely being aesthetically pleasing. The home had to reflect their personalities.

The spatial configuration

The 1,050-square-foot apartment had two bedrooms with attached bathrooms, a third bedroom, a powder toilet, a living-dining room, small balcony and kitchen. Since the living room was small the design team decided to break down the powder toilet and enlarge the living and dining space. To further increase the common spaces, the kitchen wall was broken to make way for a large barn style sliding door; which when open ties the living space with the kitchen. The two larger rooms were retained as bedrooms, and the third was converted to a media room cum guest bedroom.

The design intent

The design intent was to create moments and spaces that tell a story about the owners and their lifestyle. “I believe as architects we help clients shape a lifestyle and also help improve it,” says Nishita. Every nook in the house comes a space where the family can create memories and also bring up their child in an interactive way. “Architecture need not be stagnant and all about the aesthetics only. Interactive designs help in engaging family members together thus making it more of a fun house to live in.” she adds.

The design and material details

The large living and dining room is bright and welcoming, and has some unique design elements which leaves a lasting impression. One of the most striking feature of the living-dining room is the pop-hued flooring — a handmade cement tile which is locally produced. The tiles helps reduce the temperature of the flooring, and makes for a cool surface to walk on; while the distinct colours add an element of fun. The same flooring continues into the kitchen to make it look like a large seamless space. To offset the flooring, the walls and ceiling were kept muted to a white.

The dining area is contained in a nook, and breaks away from the stereotypical dining table with chairs on both sides. A playful and relaxed seating is created here: one side of the dining table is a comfortable cushioned bench seating highlighted with veneer panelling, while the other side makes space for three chairs. The Backgammon board game inspired wooden dining table is sleek and modern, and features a magnetic back- painted white glass. This allows for their growing child to play with magnets and even scribble on the table top, thus making for some great interactive time.

The most used area of the apartment is also part of the living-dining space are the two of the back walls which is converted into a chalkboard painted wall. “The family takes pride in sitting with their little daughter every evening to draw and play and spend some quality time together. Alternatively the couple also use this wall to write messages to each other,” informs Nishita.

As the couple are cinephiles, the media room was designed to be comfortable for movie viewing. Half the room is converted into a large bed with cushions, and on the other side is a bookshelf to store all their books and DVDs. The warm grey makes it a cosy and great space to watch movies in.

In the master bedroom antique distressed finished cupboards in mint green, a louvered window and a stunning swing side table crafted from a cut section of a tree trunk are set against a blue wall, making this room fun and vibrant.  The guest bedroom on the other hand is simple. The highlight of the room are the ombre cupboards. The cupboards are divided by a bed with a tall headboard and book shelf.

Fact File

Project: The House of Quirks
Location: Powai, Mumbai
Area: 1,050 sq ft
Principal architect: Nishita Kamdar