Houzz Tours
Delhi Houzz: A Plush Chateau With a French Renaissance Spirit
Ornate mouldings, ritzy palettes and gold everywhere: This home by 42 MM ARCHITECTURE is opulence personified
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A joint family of six
Location: New Delhi
Year built: 2020
Size: 1950 square metres (20,990 square feet); 4 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms
Interior designers: Rudraksh Charan and Priyanka Khanna of 42 MM ARCHITECTURE
Photos by Atul Pratap Chauhan
Palatial, rich and steeped in golden tones, this bungalow in the capital is reminiscent of an opulent French chateau of centuries past. “The design brief was clear. The clients wanted an aesthetic rooted in grandeur; an embodiment of luxury with French Renaissance flourishes,” says Rudraksh Charan, partner in New Delhi-based architecture firm 42 MM ARCHITECTURE.
Who lives here: A joint family of six
Location: New Delhi
Year built: 2020
Size: 1950 square metres (20,990 square feet); 4 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms
Interior designers: Rudraksh Charan and Priyanka Khanna of 42 MM ARCHITECTURE
Photos by Atul Pratap Chauhan
Palatial, rich and steeped in golden tones, this bungalow in the capital is reminiscent of an opulent French chateau of centuries past. “The design brief was clear. The clients wanted an aesthetic rooted in grandeur; an embodiment of luxury with French Renaissance flourishes,” says Rudraksh Charan, partner in New Delhi-based architecture firm 42 MM ARCHITECTURE.
A black-framed double door, embellished with gold leaf, leads visitors into a double-height foyer.
Here, a classical double staircase lends depth and drama to the vestibule. A pair of stone medallions emblazon the floor, while a sculptural chandelier poses as an aerial showpiece.
“The ground floor constitutes the formal area, the first floor is occupied by the parents, and the second floor is divided into two parts – one half belongs to the elder son, his wife and his daughter; and the other half is occupied by the younger son. The basement is reserved as the entertainment zone,” Priyanka Khanna says.
Adds Charan, “The whole house, apart from the basement, features the proportions and detailing of the French Renaissance style. The entertainment area in the basement was designed to evoke energy and glamour. It is a fusion of classical and modern design styles.”
Paint: Ultratech Texture Paints
Give your home a grand entrance with these professional designer’s tips for a statement-making foyer
“The ground floor constitutes the formal area, the first floor is occupied by the parents, and the second floor is divided into two parts – one half belongs to the elder son, his wife and his daughter; and the other half is occupied by the younger son. The basement is reserved as the entertainment zone,” Priyanka Khanna says.
Adds Charan, “The whole house, apart from the basement, features the proportions and detailing of the French Renaissance style. The entertainment area in the basement was designed to evoke energy and glamour. It is a fusion of classical and modern design styles.”
Paint: Ultratech Texture Paints
Give your home a grand entrance with these professional designer’s tips for a statement-making foyer
The ground floor contains the formal living room, the dining room and the guest lounge.
The formal living room is governed by ivory and royal-blue tones. Ornate moulding in plaster of Paris offsets the Marquino black onyx marble floor. A silk-on-silk carpet enhances the imperial air.
The formal living room is governed by ivory and royal-blue tones. Ornate moulding in plaster of Paris offsets the Marquino black onyx marble floor. A silk-on-silk carpet enhances the imperial air.
“We took a maximalist approach for the material palette. Here, more is more. You’ll find a beautiful amalgamation of materials on a single plane, be it on the walls or on the floor,” says Khanna.
Sofas and armchairs: Heritage Collection; chandeliers: Baccarat
Browse through photos of Indian living rooms on Houzz
Sofas and armchairs: Heritage Collection; chandeliers: Baccarat
Browse through photos of Indian living rooms on Houzz
The dining room mirrors the formal living room in palette and pattern. The walls and ceiling are muted, being given visual variety only by way of plaster of Paris mouldings. A mother-of-pearl inlay embellishes the black onyx marble floor.
Dining table and chairs: Roberto Cavalli; chandelier: Windfall
Dining table and chairs: Roberto Cavalli; chandelier: Windfall
The formal lounge, also on the ground floor, is designed as an extended relaxation zone. Gold leaf accentuates the moulding.
Sofas, coffee table and armchairs: Fendi
Sofas, coffee table and armchairs: Fendi
The ensuite powder room has all the markings of a majestic boudoir, starting with the black Marquino marble floor inlaid with mother of pearl. Simple quadrangular mouldings enhance the walls, leaving the focus on the room’s gilded baroque mirror and a sable-and-gold pedestal basin.
Here is all you wanted to know about moulding but were too afraid to ask
Here is all you wanted to know about moulding but were too afraid to ask
The guest bedroom strikes a quieter, subdued note in mauve, grey and white.
Furniture: Turri; chandelier: Barovier & Toso
Furniture: Turri; chandelier: Barovier & Toso
The basement houses several areas where the inhabitants can sit back and relax, including a lounge, an informal dining space, a TV den, a bar and outdoor seating.
The lounge is dominated by black and orange, the colour scheme set by the tangerine couch and the deep-toned floor.
The floor mosaic boasts 24-carat-gold-plated insets in black stone. “The visual scheme in the entertainment zone is bold and evokes energy; it stands apart from the rest of the house in terms of its aesthetic,” says Charan.
Console and mirror: Boca da Lobo; tangerine couch: Roberto Cavalli; chandelier: Serip
The lounge is dominated by black and orange, the colour scheme set by the tangerine couch and the deep-toned floor.
The floor mosaic boasts 24-carat-gold-plated insets in black stone. “The visual scheme in the entertainment zone is bold and evokes energy; it stands apart from the rest of the house in terms of its aesthetic,” says Charan.
Console and mirror: Boca da Lobo; tangerine couch: Roberto Cavalli; chandelier: Serip
In the TV den, biscuit-toned wallpaper offers a deliberate contrast to the black stone flooring.
A wall punctuated with apertures fitted with gleaming grilles separates the TV den from the bar. A highly polished round table stands at one end of the den, providing an informal dining surface. Emerald-upholstered chairs inject pops of colour into the pared-back space.
Here, plush violet bar stools line the oak-toned counter. Behind the bar, tall cupboards with intersecting gilded patterns serve as the focal point.
A pavilion-style passageway, with verdant walls, candelabra-style pendants, cosy seating and half-moon clerestory windows, skirts the interiors, serving as a bridge to the outdoors.
Wooden panelling with deep-blue upholstered insets extends across the walls and ceiling of the theatre room.
Are upholstered walls a new level of luxury?
Are upholstered walls a new level of luxury?
The first floor landing is a vantage point from where the classical cartouches, columns and filigree of the double-volume entryway are all perfectly visible. Black and gold scroll panels lend a luxurious sheen to the staircase railing.
Situated on the first floor is a family room with a double-height volume. The colours here are few, the patterns and textures many. A viewing gallery, located on the floor above, skirts the upper periphery of the room.
Furniture: Longhi; chandelier: Baccarat
Furniture: Longhi; chandelier: Baccarat
“The most striking feature on the first floor is the green wall framing the living area. With the wall on one side and open views on the other, the family room is ensconced by nature,” says Khanna.
The family room extends into the informal dining area and a dry kitchen, which take on a singular white-and-gold colour scheme. Simple mouldings define the walls, while the golden gleam of the hardware conjures up a dash of glamour. The island double-hats as a divider and a cooktop.
Kitchen: Molteni
Love the pristine look of white kitchen cabinetry? Find out whether white cabinets are the right way to go
Kitchen: Molteni
Love the pristine look of white kitchen cabinetry? Find out whether white cabinets are the right way to go
“In the puja room, the Michelangelo ceramic flooring has a mother of pearl inlay design that shines like a resplendent carpet,” says Charan.
What flooring should you choose for your puja room?
What flooring should you choose for your puja room?
The first floor spills out to a huge terrace where classical-style statues reflect the French Renaissance style.
A manicured, scroll-themed garden abuts the terrace. The look nods to the gardens of the French Renaissance, with its symmetrical parterres and stately stone pots.
The master bedroom is defined by an array of patterns. A gold-and-white wallpaper backdrops the bed frame, complemented by a curving vanilla headboard. With mellower colours and more restrained moulding, the design language here is more relaxed than the common areas.
A seating area occupies the other end of the master bedroom.
Furniture: Paul Mathieu
Looking to create a cosy bedroom lounge?
Furniture: Paul Mathieu
Looking to create a cosy bedroom lounge?
The master bathroom is filled with columns, artworks and moulding. Over the bathtub a copy of Henri Pinta’s ‘The Musician Angel’, which, though nineteenth century, evokes the art of the Renaissance.
“The passages lining the staircase come together like an art gallery. Classical mosaic artworks take centre stage, by way of the floor and walls,” says Khanna, referring to the stairs rising to the second floor, and the walls covered in copies of works that are associated with the period.
The sons’ bedrooms, situated on the second floor, are the only exceptions to the home’s overarching French Renaissance aesthetic. The decor is experimental, featuring dark-toned veneer and leather panelling along the walls.
A sweeping seating area lies opposite the bed.
Chandelier: Patrizia Granti; furniture: Bentley and Fendi
Chandelier: Patrizia Granti; furniture: Bentley and Fendi
The black-and-white, geometric floor gives the ensuite bathroom a playful spin.
Read more:
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Tell us:
What did you like most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
Read more:
Mumbai Houzz: This Sun-Soaked Home Is an Oasis of Calm
Mumbai Houzz: A Pastel Paradise of Playful Shapes, Restful Spaces
Tell us:
What did you like most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
“The facade features Moca Cream stone, which gives the illusion of it being carved out of a monolithic stone block,” says Khanna.
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