Inside a Vadodara apartment drenched in pastel green

Spaces by FaB creates a practical and soothing abode for a young couple in a tight 570-square-foot apartment.

Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Murtaza Gandhi; courtesy Spaces by FaB

The brief

A Vadodara-based young couple approached Spaces by FaB to transform their 570-square-foot 2BHK apartment into a highly functional space with minimum maintenance, subtle colours and aesthetically pleasing vibes. The bare shell was rendered a spacious look, and fuses contemporary materials with rich deep colours, and features dramatic touches and classic elements.

The design and material details

The living room narrates a story of calmness and tranquility with its featured wall behind the sofa making a statement with a variety of groove details and curves created in pop punning with paint finish. The TV unit has been kept sleek and is finished with a veneer look laminate. The elevated mandir placed in the corner keeps Vaastu in mind, and is also painted.

A minimally-designed partition with fluted glass and wooden frame details lends privacy to the adjoining open kitchen. An Indian granite steel-grey counter top stone with laminate finished under-counter shutters, and overhead shutters finished in shades of green are the material highlights seen here. As there is no dining area allotted in this apartment, a folding dining table is designed in the kitchen to optimise the space.

The master bedroom is kept very minimal and monochromatic and sees a fluted MDF panelling on the focus wall which is finished with paint. The wardrobe has minimal groove details finished with laminate, and extends to a tall niche with dressing table — a major client requirement. Hanging lights in the corner and grooves on the other side of the ceiling creates a relaxed atmosphere for the couple while the greys balance out the dynamics of the space. In the guest bedroom, a wall panelling along with dressing mirror creates drama, but in a subtle way. To complement the panelling, groove patterns are designed on the wardrobe shutters. The use of blush pink and sage green adds a fun charm to the overall space.

The challenges

“As the building was 12-15 years old, we had to tackle with some plumbing and technical issues, such as water leakage and drainage. Another challenge we faced was to add another bathroom in the balcony… and we had to tackle with all the plumbing lines as the balcony was facing the main road,” says Badrul Ambawala, principal designer, Spaces by FaB. “When we had removed all the old furniture, we noticed they had different types of tiles done under it as compared to the remaining areas of the house. It was challenging to source the same tiles which was done around 12 years ago,” adds Fatema Jamali, principal designer, Spaces by FaB.