Earthy materials weave a warm story in this Mumbai apartment

The Terracotta Earth House designed by SML Architects navigates the equilibrium between simplicity and sensorial design.

Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Yadnyesh Joshi; courtesy SML Architects

The brief

Designed by SML Architects, the Terracotta Earth House is a 900-square-foot apartment set in suburban Mumbai. The clients, a young couple in their mid-thirties, were well-versed with the aesthetic sensibilities of architect Mahek Lalan, the founder of SML Architects, and gave him a free-hand in the design of the apartment. However, they had some functional requirements (like converting a bedroom into a multi-purpose room), and some specifications for the kitchen and master bedroom.

The design intent

The project gets its name from the warm and earthy terracotta hue which plays hide and seek (read in discrete measure) throughout the apartment. “With the Terracotta Earth House, the endeavour has been to explore a perception of grounding both metaphorically and visually as an unhurried calmness comes uncorked. The home’s design was moulded with their candour for experimentation attributed to their respective creative backgrounds. Driven by a penchant for essentialism, the dwelling’s minimalist demeanour celebrates pieces of furniture steeped in history, making an impactful debut,” says Mahek.

Formal restraint reigns supreme at the Terracotta Earth House, yet an undeniable vitality is apparent, inspiring in the form of hand-picked architectural elements and colour — like the micro-topped concrete tinted in a terracotta colour referencing oxide-washed floors of heritage bungalows. The tremendous north-western light swathing the indoors saturates the blueprint. Sunlight travels into the spaces via the peripheral alfresco decks bordering every room, allowing the home to breathe. A grey hue ascends the walls and spreads over the ceilings homogeneously, balancing the warm colour’s omnipresence. Movement is expressed within the space in versatile furniture with clean silhouettes.

The design and material details

The entryway leads into the large communal heart of the home — the living and dining space, with the open kitchen attached to it. The open plan living and dining sections witness the inhabitants spending a significant fraction of their day within its embrace. Here, the acclaimed Jeanneret Chandigarh Sofa draped in cool grey tone makes a cameo; along with Hans Wegner’s CH25 chair composed of hand-woven rope and teak. The coffee table and sculptural pedestal tables are created using polished plywood bases and Lapotra-finish ebony granite tops. An embedded tessellation of hand-knotted geometric forms claims the whole jute rug. The deliberately unembellished abstract art seems to bleed its hues into the surrounding area while the chartreuse colour of the towering plant contrasts it playfully. The daylight filters through the veil of white sheer curtains by brand, Saphed.

The petite dining nook is marked by a white marble top and black metal-structured dining table which is paired with sleek mid-century modern teak and black leatherette chairs. A duo of woven cane pendants levitates over the dining nook, casting morphing shadows. What adds character and a slice of history here are the bespoke collage of rust-hued Agra stone wall murals — featuring Brutalist architecture’s appeal embodied by Chandigarh’s eminent landmarks — conceptualised by artist Rutva Joshi.

A functional entity shared amidst the triad of the living room, dining area, and kitchen — the bar cum crockery credenza — can be visualised as an organic extension of the public spaces. Its fluted base is crowned by a white marble slab that continues from the entrance passageway, functioning as a spontaneous coffee station by day and suave home bar by dusk. This nook establishes a visual dynamism that scales its volume, earmarked by the slatted teak fascia straddling the credenza base and travelling overhead as a louvered screen that adeptly functions as an openable air-conditioning panel. A combination of teak and black metal shelves creates dedicated surfaces to store and display brews and curios alike.

Punctured to initiate interaction amidst zones (the living-dining and kitchen), the open kitchen sees a peninsula breakfast counter which is framed by brass spotlights. The pebble-esque bar stools can be oriented diversely as seats while dining at the breakfast counter, or accommodating individuals as part of the living space. Polished plywood in the carpentry, open teak shelves, grey-veined white marble, and black granite lining the countertops seam together the kitchen’s persona. The bulk of the kitchen’s storage has been sequestered into a concealed pantry which features a fluted glass and teak pocket door.

The master bedroom places paramount emphasis upon the optimised utilisation of space and comfort. The room is characterised by a gentle aura, sweeping linear silhouettes, and a soft light that streams through the sheer curtains. The woven cane and teak frame bed is the objet d’art, perched against the offset of the structural column. The resultant crevice has been imagined as a built-in ledge, peppered with a monochrome modernist artwork by late artist Zarina Hashmi.

The walk-in closet has been wholly created utilising polished plywood, staying true to the durable material’s appearance. The rear of the cabinet has been culled out as a continuous horizontal niche, volumetrically interrupting the closet’s lofty height. A pair of speckled black terrazzo top pedestal tables masquerade as nightstands. The spine of the walk-in closet divides the resting area and bath visually and operationally.

The second bedroom is a multi-functional space — it functions as a serene workspace, a lounge to unwind, and doubles up as a serviceable bedroom. A summery white transcends into grey, creating a slight gradient over the walls. Consisting predominantly of a collapsible daybed washed over in sumptuous doses of charcoal and steel grey linen upholstery by Saphed, the lounge is accented with art in warm ochre tones, unadorned end tables, and an austere pendant light. A triad of polished teakwood slabs streak the wall, creating an ergonomic workspace. The lauded Jeanneret Chandigarh Chair graces the space, enunciating the prevailing materiality of woven cane and teak.