A Mellow Mood

A clutter-free, single-tone spatial narrative replete with mid-century elements serves as a pleasing, mellow home to a fashion designer in New Delhi. Designed by 39 Design Studio.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Anmol Wahi; courtesy 39 Design Studio

Architect Insha Soni

Architect Keshav Ahuja

The site

The 2,500-sq-ft apartment, built circa 2000, had to be renovated and geared for modern, contemporary sensibilities.

The brief

The owner of the house, a fashion designer, wanted interiors that were comfortable and elegant; a place where anyone and everyone could feel at home. Given his creative background, “he himself came with a strong sensibility of how he wanted to incorporate mid-century elements with the modern aesthetics of his space,” reveal Keshav Ahuja and Insha Soni, founders of 39 Design Studio.

The design intent

The design intent was to infuse mid-century elements into the space without overdoing with the style and maintain a light colour palette throughout.

The gentle-toned living room. Comfortable sofas extend a warm welcome. The chair is inspired by Pierre Jeanneret’s iconic piece designed for Chandigarh.

The spatial flow

The design team found that the existing programme, by and large, was adequate for the client’s requirements. Thus, except for a couple of walls which were “chiseled out to make more space”, there was no need for extensive re-tailoring. The 2BHK apartment sees a sequential orchestration of functionalities: you enter in the living/dining (public) volume, which leads to the kitchen/guest room (semi-private) block, followed by the private zone comprising two bedrooms.

The public zone is separated from the rest of the house by a fluted-glass door. The dining ensemble showcases more wicker — and more Chandigarh chairs!

Reinforcing the central idea

Mid-century design-inspired furniture pieces are the centre of attraction in the living area of the apartment. Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh chair-inspired single-seaters play a starring role here. On the other side of the room, a wicker-metal bar unit stands tall right next to the sofa set. In the dining area, two line drawings of faces grace the wall above the custom-made console. A bold fluted panelling covers the bed wall in the first bedroom. Simple bedside lights add the required drama in the room. A wicker-accented TV unit makes a statement in the space. The other bedroom is dressed in olive green and grey. Cane accents are liberally sprinkled in this private area as well. “The use of rattan/wicker is what was the most exciting part of this project,” says the designer duo when asked about what they enjoyed most while working on this assignment. “The challenge was to employ mid-century elements and keep the colours really light — in contrast to what we see in mid-century usually.”

More wicker, this time as detailing of the wardrobe and behind the bed.

The material palette

The material palette keeps the story visually light. This strategy is amplified by the gentle colour scheme that also sees unusual colour pairings. Wicker highlights across the furniture maintain the mid-century element, while boldly used wooden textures uplift the narrative where required.