Designed by By the Riverside, this 2,500 sq ft residence in Bengaluru layers raw materials, wildlife memories, and quiet craft into a deeply personal family sanctuary.
Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Nayan Soni; courtesy By the Riverside
The project
The Archive Home is a 2,500 sq ft private residence in Bengaluru, envisioned as a personal sanctuary for a family of wildlife enthusiasts. The interiors bring together nature, music, and storytelling through raw materials, layered textures, and soulful details—conceived as an “archive” of memories, passions, and evolving stories.
The site
Located in Bengaluru, the project is an interior transformation of a residential space received in a bare-shell condition. The approach focused on softening the built form through materiality, tactility, and curated visual moments—shaping an inward-looking home that echoes the clients’ connection with the wilderness.
The brief
Functionally, the clients required a warm, comfortable family home with dedicated spaces for relaxation, music, media viewing, and the display of their wildlife photography. Aesthetically, they envisioned a home rooted in nature—rich in wood, stone, and organic textures—while remaining contemporary, understated, and timeless.
The design intent
The core design philosophy was to create a home that feels lived-in, soulful, and narrative-driven. Inspired by the clients’ journeys into the wild, the interiors blur the line between indoors and outdoors, allowing raw materials, distressed finishes, and handcrafted elements to take centre stage.
The civil intervention
Civil interventions were minimal and strategic, focusing on enhancing spatial flow and accommodating bespoke furniture, stone cladding, and built-in elements. Select walls were reworked to integrate textured finishes and display zones for art and photography.
The spatial flow
The home unfolds as a seamless sequence of spaces—from the welcoming living area to more intimate zones such as the media room and bedrooms. Each space transitions organically into the next, unified by consistent material language and earthy tones, while still maintaining distinct moods and functions. The living room anchors the experience with a large tropical artwork, while the media room is designed as a cocooned retreat. One of the home’s most cherished corners—the coffee station beside the metal window grill—was conceptualised and executed on site. The master bedroom continues the tactile language through distressed finishes and a stone-clad corner layered with concrete textures and a jute pendant light.
The material palette
Material expression leans into raw, organic tactility—wood and stone recur across the home, paired with distressed finishes and layered textures. Earthy tones and warm surfaces hold the spaces together, while deep green envelopes the media room to create a moody, immersive atmosphere. Lighting is used to enhance material depth rather than become a statement in itself, and handcrafted elements are integrated as part of the home’s narrative fabric.
Live-edge wooden furniture pieces retain the raw character of timber, reinforcing the home’s nature-led sensibility. Natural fabrics, textured finishes, and earthy accessories complement the palette, while artworks and the family’s photography are positioned as narrative anchors across spaces.
The highlights
Extensive use of raw wood and stone evokes a sense of the outdoors. The immersive, monochromatic media room. The instinctive coffee station conceived during execution. Live-edge furniture pieces that bring nature indoors. A strong narrative-driven approach that reflects the clients’ lifestyle and passions.
The challenges
While the design language appears simple, translating the clients’ deeply personal stories into physical spaces required precision and sensitivity. Aligning differing perspectives during the design process, while staying true to the home’s narrative, was a key challenge—navigated through mutual trust and collaboration.
“Designing this home was far from easy,” says By the Riverside’s principal designer Swati Seeran. ” “The scheme may appear simple, but every corner needed to reflect their journey and passion. In moments of differing perspectives, the clients reminded me of the trust they had placed in By the Riverside—a trust that became the true foundation of our collaboration. Their generosity of spirit left a deep mark on us. With every stage of design and execution, they never ceased to acknowledge even the smallest detail we created in the process, showing a rare gratitude for our craft and our team. Even today, their words of appreciation echo back to us—reminders of why we do what we do.”
The takeaway
The Archive Home stands as a reflection of lives intertwined with nature, creativity, and trust—translated into a contemporary residence through material honesty, tactile restraint, and narrative-led detailing.
Fact file
Project: The Archive Home
Location: Bengaluru
Area: 2,500 sq ft
Design Firm: By the Riverside
Principal Designer: Swati Seraan
Design Team: Pujitha Reddy and Ayisha V. V.
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