Ash Abode
The house is located in Gurgaon and is 5000 sqft. It is a family of 4 – a couple and their two daughters. There are 4 bedrooms in total.
The clients brief was very clear – Because they are already designing a tropical Indian home with traditional colours in Bangalore, they wanted this house to be have a modern and minimalistic look and feel.
During the time, we were deeply inspired by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret – their deep sienna passage of the Villa La Roche, their Chandigarh series and the general polychromatic feel of some of their work. The purist canvases of Corbusier led us to a path of sombre colours for the shell. The unusual palette of the cement finished grey; sienna and sage set the stage for a sophisticated and refined shell, which also had a Zen like calmness and stillness to it. We wanted the materiality of the walls, the ceiling and the floor to be harmoniously matt, only to differ in colour. In the grey shell with the rust floor, we made the connecting passage a refreshing leaf green to create a colour block akin to Villa La Roche. To preserve this serene and sober experience, we intentionally decided to have natural browns and greens in terms of fabrics. These would complement the woven mid-century modern furniture spread across the house. The furniture is a mix of imported brands and locally customised. The natural colours and materials of the furniture pieces stand out vibrantly against the textured grey walls of the house giving the otherwise serious shell a dash of drama. To accent and highlight the space we used metal elements – the main door that is copper, a copper border on bedroom doors and a few bedroom lights.
Because the space is essentially an unfussy matt shell with a cement texture, we wanted to bring in bold silhouettes and some glossy texture to enhance and contrast the background respectively. So, without disturbing the understated look of the home, we used a minimalist approach while deciding the style of the central chandelier. We needed something large but something that didn’t distract from the overall textural quality of the double height space. The choice was easy with the larger than life Vibia chandelier. It not only fills the volume of the double height, but its simple construction of the elegant black outline also shows off at the grey which it is set against. A similar approach was taken for the dining room light that is also Vibia. A black wire begins at the wall, hinges on to the ceiling and drops a simple black shade to softly illuminate the table. Less is more and it was all that was needed with this set up. For the bedrooms, to attain more personal and intimate lighting, we decided to go with materials that create some drama and shadows. We went with wooden slated shades in the guest room to work with the stripes of the bed fabric; metal and paper lights in the two daughters rooms to contrast the solid bed upholstery; stone and paper lights in the master to contrast the cane headboard. In the study we brought in some colour with the hanging light in the corner. The family room has lovely floor lamps made out of cane. These add softness to area that is styled with blues and browns. At the entrance we created a simple disc in wood to emulate an eclipse just above the Chandigarh bench. This completed the Zen-meets-mid-century modern look and gave the foyer a burst of life.
The clients brief was very clear – Because they are already designing a tropical Indian home with traditional colours in Bangalore, they wanted this house to be have a modern and minimalistic look and feel.
During the time, we were deeply inspired by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret – their deep sienna passage of the Villa La Roche, their Chandigarh series and the general polychromatic feel of some of their work. The purist canvases of Corbusier led us to a path of sombre colours for the shell. The unusual palette of the cement finished grey; sienna and sage set the stage for a sophisticated and refined shell, which also had a Zen like calmness and stillness to it. We wanted the materiality of the walls, the ceiling and the floor to be harmoniously matt, only to differ in colour. In the grey shell with the rust floor, we made the connecting passage a refreshing leaf green to create a colour block akin to Villa La Roche. To preserve this serene and sober experience, we intentionally decided to have natural browns and greens in terms of fabrics. These would complement the woven mid-century modern furniture spread across the house. The furniture is a mix of imported brands and locally customised. The natural colours and materials of the furniture pieces stand out vibrantly against the textured grey walls of the house giving the otherwise serious shell a dash of drama. To accent and highlight the space we used metal elements – the main door that is copper, a copper border on bedroom doors and a few bedroom lights.
Because the space is essentially an unfussy matt shell with a cement texture, we wanted to bring in bold silhouettes and some glossy texture to enhance and contrast the background respectively. So, without disturbing the understated look of the home, we used a minimalist approach while deciding the style of the central chandelier. We needed something large but something that didn’t distract from the overall textural quality of the double height space. The choice was easy with the larger than life Vibia chandelier. It not only fills the volume of the double height, but its simple construction of the elegant black outline also shows off at the grey which it is set against. A similar approach was taken for the dining room light that is also Vibia. A black wire begins at the wall, hinges on to the ceiling and drops a simple black shade to softly illuminate the table. Less is more and it was all that was needed with this set up. For the bedrooms, to attain more personal and intimate lighting, we decided to go with materials that create some drama and shadows. We went with wooden slated shades in the guest room to work with the stripes of the bed fabric; metal and paper lights in the two daughters rooms to contrast the solid bed upholstery; stone and paper lights in the master to contrast the cane headboard. In the study we brought in some colour with the hanging light in the corner. The family room has lovely floor lamps made out of cane. These add softness to area that is styled with blues and browns. At the entrance we created a simple disc in wood to emulate an eclipse just above the Chandigarh bench. This completed the Zen-meets-mid-century modern look and gave the foyer a burst of life.
Country: India
