This Bengaluru villa negotiates the line between flamboyance and subtlety

By the Riverside capture the antipodal personalities of its clients in a home replete with characterful compositions.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Nayan Soni; courtesy By the Riverside

The site

The 3,500-sq-ft, 5BHK villa was handed over by the builders and initially it just consisted of the flooring and brick wall. The design team commenced with the interiors without changing any materials.

The brief

This particular home was designed by By The Riverside for the family of a seafarer. While Arul, the man of the house, remains at sea honouring his merchant navy officer duties, Puja, his wife, travels for her passion and their 18-year-old daughter is away, studying design. Three years ago, when the duo finally bought their dream home, they rang up Swati Seeran, founder, By the Riverside, whose aesthetic sensibilities had resonated with them deeply. They believed she was the one who could balance Puja’s flamboyance with Arul’s affinity for subtler musings in the new home.

The challenges

It was a very smooth project in terms of expectations from the client and the concept the design studio had given. With Arul away on duty most of the time while the project was underway, it was difficult to connect with him on joint design meetings and get his feedback on the design. “But our designs were approved on the first go by Arul because he liked them and the concept,” recalls Swati.

The design and material details

Right from the foyer, a golden framed mirror and painted blue, rustic console set the mood for the colourful journey. To the right, sofas cuddle around a pair of centre tables. The eye travels to the balcony, featuring grey-dyed wooden flooring and a garden bench and brimming with a view of lush trees. The dining area, Swati’s favourite space, sees the exploration of a single material for its textural and tonal shifts. The low-height ceiling and wall is clad in wooden strips, while the wood dining table is paired with cane-backed chairs. Alongside a dark-stained cabinet and display piece, a white bunny sculpture and ceiling lamps elegantly accent the setting.

The bedrooms are accessed by a staircase whose wall is bedecked with a large mint green mirror and red floral wallpaper. Arul’s father’s room features a bed with a green upholstered headboard and matching side tables made in-house. Facing the bed, a console incorporates a matching green shade as stripes. Artwork, reminiscent of Arul’s sailor background, stars against a light-hued patterned wallpaper.

A brilliant colour scheme reigns in Puja’s mother’s room. Patterned wallpaper in ivory, grey, blues and orange takes centrestage, upheld by the peach-upholstered bed. A grey floor-to-ceiling wardrobe with circular wooden handles balances the drama. The daughter’s room was to have a strictly white-dominated interior. Being a design student, it was imperative to give her a clutter-free space to allow her to work when she visited. Unlike other bedrooms, the bed is in a corner and set against a window. With such a placement and a white and yellow pairing, a boho aura pervades the place.

Outside the master suite, is Arul’s study, covered in blue and white striped wallpaper and featuring a 9-ft desk. Bronze finished accessories like a telescope and wall-mounted sailor’s wheel refer to the marine storyline. Finally, the master suite establishes continuity with the study room by using blue in the wallpaper, tufted headboard of the bed and side tables. The dominant use of oak wood and a roomy walk-in wardrobe behind sliding wooden doors establish its stature as the most lavish room in the home.

The TV lounge sports more sombre shades. A grey wall panel and console make a modern reference behind the TV, while a rust orange sofa paired with an auburn table and carpet imbue the room with vivacity. Also, in the home, is a bar and an outdoor terrace where the family hosts guests. The terrace exudes modernity with concrete seating, while the bar is completed in Swati’s signature rustic style.

“Puja and Arul wanted a modern home, with a modest splash of colours, and that’s what we delivered,” says Swati. “They were great to work with since they had close to no reservations and were willing to experiment. Every member of the home was delighted to see their room since it mirrored their personality. That’s what I think is the responsibility of a designer – to design homes as an extension of the home dwellers’ personalities.”