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Dehradun Houzz: Kohelika Kohli's Home, a Destination of Many Journeys

Local materials & a treasure trove of collectibles give this 1940s ancestral home of the designer a second lease of life

Vinita Kunnath
Vinita Kunnath31 January 2021
A Houzz India contributor, freelance writer, lover of the internet, travel, funny blogs and all things off-beat, with an eye for good taste and aesthetics. Home, not clothes, maketh a man.....or woman.
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Who lives here: Ramesh Kohli and family
Location: Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Year/decade built: Original house 19th century; completely re-built by Ramesh Kohli in 1965; renovation and conservation by Kohelika Kohli in 2014
Number of bedrooms and bathrooms: 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Architects: Ramesh Kohli (1965) and Kohelika Kohli (2014)
Interior designer: Kohelika Kohli, CEO and creative director of K2India

Photos by: Deepak Aggarwal, courtesy K2India

Dehradun House, formerly Brentwood Estate, was already 50 years old when it was purchased in the 1940s. It was an old English house with a warren of small rooms before it was completely rebuilt by Ramesh Kohli in the mid-1960s. In its present day avatar, after renovation in 2014 by daughter Kohelika Kohli of K2India, the multigenerational home is, in her words, “a destination of many journeys”.

The furniture is a charming mix of contemporary, modern, Victorian, colonial, Art-Deco, mid-century and Sri Lankan pieces. The artwork comprises old pichhwais, contemporary paintings, old Gujarati textiles, photographs, lithographs, icons and old maps of India collected over the years, mainly by Sunita Kohli and some by various family members.
K2India
The long driveway (which is also used for outdoor meals when weather permits) is covered with bajri, or river pebbles, a typical feature of old Dehradun houses. The new façade has a cantilevered porch and the buttresses are clad in the same river pebbles.

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K2India
The entrance is through the front verandah that runs the length of the house. With its ample seating, the verandah is the hub of most activities and a meeting place for family and friends. Kohli says, “The refurbished armchairs (dating back to 1965) are the only “items that have, over the years, survived the many termite attacks, the earthquakes and the cloudbursts.”

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K2India
The family lounge has the only TV in the house, where the family gathers to watch movies – a shared family passion. A large glass-topped coffee table stands atop an old Kurdish kilim from Turkey, the better to show it off.

Living room sofas: K2India

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K2India
To the left of the verandah is the living-cum-family room. Kohli elaborates, “The furniture is a happy melange of Art Deco, mid-century and contemporary classic furniture.”
K2India
A corner of the family lounge is illuminated by a contemporary light cluster of large silvery globes – a feature that does not seem amiss amidst the reigning vintage style. The pair of old Ottoman candle stands is from Istanbul.
K2India
A finely crafted reproduction Regency secretaire, with its modern Artemide table lamp, holds a collection of old Tibetan seals used as paper weights.

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K2India
The dining room is adjacent to the living room and continues with the mixed range of furniture of many periods and styles. On the window sill is an old wooden Naga pot, filled with hand-crafted jharoos from Bhopal, while a collection of old Tanjore paintings adorn the wall over the 16th-century English sideboard.
K2India
The dining table, lit by a modern spiral light, is made from a single thick slab of teak wood from Bali, which is placed on a custom-designed mild-steel base. “The table is flanked by mid-century dining chairs while those at its head and foot are reproductions of Victorian hall chairs,” Kohli says.

Dining table and chairs: K2India
Pedestal light: Penta, Italy
K2India
The dining room leads out to a rear verandah, the two separated by a large glass partition, where a large Victorian armoire finds another lease of life as a well-turned-out bar.

Chaise longues from Sri Lanka; Thonet rocking armchair from Egypt
K2India
A washbasin at the other end of the verandah is fashioned out of a rough granite block from Bali; the mirror is classical and the photographs, of the Tungabhadra Dam in Hampi, are by Sunita Kohli.
K2India
To the right of the front verandah lies the master bedroom. The focal wall is painted a deep red, upon which hangs a layered red-and-ochre abstract painting by Nupur Kundu. The durries are locally woven.

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K2India
The master bedroom is the only room with wooden flooring (the rest are tiled in terrazzo). Above the bed is an Oriya patachitra painting. On the adjoining wall are Madhubani paintings by the legendary Ganga Devi.
K2India
All of the bathrooms were renovated to offer modern conveniences. This one has an interesting mirror, the enamelled frame of which is decorated with seashells.
K2India
K2India
The guest bedroom is painted pistachio green, a colour lifted from the pichhwai that hangs over the bed and complemented by the rich colours of the framed collection of old Kutch textiles.
K2India
The grandchildren’s bedroom is in deep blue and white, with 1950s Art Deco twin beds. The durries are modern while a collection of dance masks from Bhutan adorn the wall.
K2India
A nook in the room houses the fireplace, made even cosier by a pair of comfortable chairs in rust orange. Photographs of Gangotri, taken by the 12-year-old grandson, hang over the fireplace.
K2India
Kohli’s bedroom is done in shades of orange and grey. She explains, “The fireplace is flanked by a pair of newly designed mid-century arm chairs, inspired by Lutyens’s Napoleonic chairs, while a collection of colonial maps of the erstwhile Indian states hangs over it.”
K2India
The bedroom also houses a 19th-century Sri Lankan chest, lined with camphor wood for the storage of woollens. Above it hangs an old Egyptian Khan Khalili inlaid mirror, sourced from Cairo.
K2India
The stand-alone mandir is located in a corner of the rear garden. Minimally decorated, it still retains some of the religious pictures belonging to Ramesh’s mother.

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Vinita Kunnath
The four generations of the Kohli family. Back row, from right to left: Ramesh Kohli, Sunita Kohli, Kohelika Kohli & Mrs Bindra, head mIstress of Welham Boy’s School.
Front row, from right to left: Chand Sur (mother of Sunita Kohli), Zohravar Singh Bhati & Anadya Bhati (grandchildren).


Read more:

Vadodara Houzz: This Industrialist’s House Is Equal Parts Museum & Home
Hyderabad Houzz: A Modern Home With Traditional Twists & Accents

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