Delhi Houzz: Doyenne Sunita Kohli Shows Us Her Stunning Home
"My home is biographical, full of memories of people and places," writes Padma Shri recipient & designer Sunita Kohli
Multiculturalism in a microcosm – my home is an homage to our love for travel, a respect and appreciation for the belief systems of many faiths, an abiding love for Indian everyday objects and a passion for rocks and fossils. ‘Ithaka’, a much-loved poem about a mythical destination of the mind and the spirit, has always deeply resonated with me and my way of thinking about life, travelling and research, which inform my particular design philosophy and practice. A love of Constantine Cavafy’s poems began when I made the first of my 60 visits to Egypt, among them to many Egyptian cities that included Alexandria; and Cavafy was the ‘poet of the city’. I am familiar with the physical landscape of his poems – the Levant and the great Hellenic sites in Greece and the Anatolian coast of Turkey. I have always believed that travel expands one’s mindscape and adds to one’s design vocabulary’.
My home is biographical, full of memories of people and places. Designed to be functional first and to house all that is precious to me. I have always believed in the greatness of India‘s everyday art. Our home reflects this, and conveys many more narratives.
One has always believed in kala. Kala – Essays on Contemporary Design Aesthetics, is also the title of a recent coffee-table-sized book, edited by me. It is a compendium of essays, contributed by several eminent architectural and design practitioners and academicians. To quote from the artbook, “India’s design culture is a unique one. What the Western world refers to as a collective of art, craft, architecture and design, is evocatively referred to by a singular term in the Indian context – Kala.” I think our modest home showcases deeply Indian design concept. It is evocative of the five senses and the five elements.
I am not a drop in the ocean.
I am the entire ocean in a drop.
–Rumi
My home is biographical, full of memories of people and places. Designed to be functional first and to house all that is precious to me. I have always believed in the greatness of India‘s everyday art. Our home reflects this, and conveys many more narratives.
One has always believed in kala. Kala – Essays on Contemporary Design Aesthetics, is also the title of a recent coffee-table-sized book, edited by me. It is a compendium of essays, contributed by several eminent architectural and design practitioners and academicians. To quote from the artbook, “India’s design culture is a unique one. What the Western world refers to as a collective of art, craft, architecture and design, is evocatively referred to by a singular term in the Indian context – Kala.” I think our modest home showcases deeply Indian design concept. It is evocative of the five senses and the five elements.
I am not a drop in the ocean.
I am the entire ocean in a drop.
–Rumi
The entrance to the living room from the courtyard is lined with several old bronze, brass and copper vessels used as planters, collected during travels around India.
I am most proud of the fact that the many interior and architectural interventions
that were executed, were done with sensitivity and respect for our design sensibilities. The very fast-tracked completion of this project that involved much extensive work such as new floorings, lighting, sound and plumbing systems, together with many items of new customised furniture was impressive and admirable. I love the understated and calm ambience of our home that still has a timeless quality after its recent contemporary renovations.
I am most proud of the fact that the many interior and architectural interventions
that were executed, were done with sensitivity and respect for our design sensibilities. The very fast-tracked completion of this project that involved much extensive work such as new floorings, lighting, sound and plumbing systems, together with many items of new customised furniture was impressive and admirable. I love the understated and calm ambience of our home that still has a timeless quality after its recent contemporary renovations.
Early morning sunlight streaks the east-facing living room that leads into the adjoining pantry. The wooden cornice is novel and was retained, as this classical element has an insert of an antique Kurdish tent carpeted ceiling runner.
All the furniture is contemporary, and designed and manufactured by our daughter Kohelika, except for the Edwardian-inspired revolving bookcase designed by my husband, Rome Kohli, in the late ’70s.
At the entrance, a focal wall displays antique Tanjore paintings of Vishnu, placed together with pharaonic brass mirrors from Egypt that one had designed for an Oberoi luxury hotel boat on the Nile. These are juxtaposed with antique bronze ‘Fatima ke Haath’ from Lucknow.
An exceptionally large and beautiful old pichhwai (devotional Hindu painted textile) of Shrinathji adorns the wall behind the sofa. The solid brass and glass coffee table showcases a collection of turquoise volcanic glass from lake Madatapa in Georgia, placed in an antique Turkish vessel, inscribed with Quranic verses.
The leather-topped side table on mild-steel legs features an eclectic arrangement of an antique nineteenth-century crystal Osler lamp, a large 200-million-year-old ammonite fossil from Morocco, an eighteenth-century bronze tribal statue of Shiva on a horse, and a contemporary arrangement of lotuses in a glass vase, which reflects the painted lotuses in the lower predella of the pichhwai.
Above the Lutyenesque fireplace are hung a series of sculptured stone heads in granite, collectively titled ‘Vishnu Throng’, by the well-known British sculptor Stephan Cox. Within the live fireplace is tucked a nineteenth-century cast-iron Franklin stove from England. In front of it is an old iron and brass pitara, received many years ago as a house warming gift from the Jodhpurs, flanked by a pair of Gio Ponti armchairs.
The Lutyens-inspired fireplace is made of open-grained teak wood and Baroda green marble.
Dehradun Houzz: Kohelika Kohli’s Home, a Destination of Many Journeys
Dehradun Houzz: Kohelika Kohli’s Home, a Destination of Many Journeys
In this corner, a finely crafted vintage reproduction of a Biedermeier secretaire is paired with a Philippe Stark ‘Ghost’ armchair in acrylic. On the right of it is hung a superb bronze abhishekham pot, from the Chola period. Below this is a Tamil bronze urli filled with red manjadikuru seeds from Sri Lanka and placed on a million-year-old petrified wood base from Borneo.
At one end of the longitudinal view of the living area are collections of ‘everyday’ objects, both secular and religious These are placed between the family’s extensive library of books in the wall-to-wall brass bookcases designed over forty years ago by Rome Kohli. Tanjore paintings in the Vaishnavite theme hang above the Ruhlmann sideboard. The recent renovations by Kohelika included the installation of high-tech lighting and sound systems and a complete change of flooring. The door between the living room and the gallery was removed and replaced with a sophisticated architrave in solid brass. The golden glamour of this architrave echoes and contrasts with the other brass, bronze and mild steel metal elements used in these interiors.
The brass bookcase houses collections of Russian icons and native Indian bronze and brass sculptures.
Photographic memorabilia
of my mother and aunts lines a shelf. The antique Osler lamp on the Ruhlmann Sideboard is from Lucknow.
of my mother and aunts lines a shelf. The antique Osler lamp on the Ruhlmann Sideboard is from Lucknow.
Kohelika designed a slim
buffet table in mild steel
and wood, with an inlaid
pyrite top hand-crafted in
the pietra dura technique.
Above this hangs a superb
Tanjore Painting of the Shaivite saint Sambandar.
buffet table in mild steel
and wood, with an inlaid
pyrite top hand-crafted in
the pietra dura technique.
Above this hangs a superb
Tanjore Painting of the Shaivite saint Sambandar.
This long picture gallery is the spine between the living room and the bedrooms that lead off it. The Art Deco-style 10-foot-long sideboard by Kohelika is used to lay out buffet lunches and dinners.
This sitting room is a transition space between one of the master bedrooms and the living room.
The sofa wall has a collection of nineteenth-century British ornithological watercolours of birds, flanked by small mirrors from the Middle East.
This master bedroom has a large painting by Irena Vezin. On another wall hang two monochromatic watercolours on paper by Anadya Bhadarya Bhati – my granddaughter. An unusual Turkish kilim in black runs along the length of the room. This bedroom has an attached gazebo that opens onto the courtyard.
The gazebo is extensively used for breakfasts, high teas and lunches for two, and is constructed with a mild-steel ceiling and glass-fronted door frames.
A modern fan with wooden blades hangs from the ceiling and frames the unique pile-cut square Persian carpet. The verdant foliage of the courtyard surrounds this glass cube.
This bedroom has a collection of Christian icons and crucifixes from Russia, Italy, Greece, Armenia and Georgia – a love for this art form is reflective of my Roman Catholic schooling. Above the headboard, on an outer wall, is hung a replica of a tenth-century apsara from central India, displayed at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The bedside kilim is Kurdish.
The bed’s soft furnishings, in a white summer scheme, are from Shades of India. At the foot of the bed is a superb Bhutanese hand-woven textile from Thimpu. Favourite books that have been read and re-read are on these particular bookshelves. A customised dresser unit, along one wall, is very functional with its multiple cabinets and drawers.
The white marble dresser top displays a rare late Mughal period itrdaan in silver with multicoloured glass bottles. A collection of miniature silver frames from Egypt, Italy and England hold favourite family photographs.
Find an interior designer from the Houzz directory to help design your home
Find an interior designer from the Houzz directory to help design your home
This book-lined study, adjoining the second master bedroom, is a personal space of work for me during the day. It becomes a family-cum-TV lounge at night with its well-appointed ‘Art Deco Raspberry Bar,’ manufactured and designed by Kohelika
Kohli. Over the L-shaped sofa hangs an abstract Shobha Broota canvas. In the foreground are old Muradabadi brass trays used for presenting garlands that are
now converted into charming sofa-end tables.
Kohli. Over the L-shaped sofa hangs an abstract Shobha Broota canvas. In the foreground are old Muradabadi brass trays used for presenting garlands that are
now converted into charming sofa-end tables.
The study continues to use the stained glass doors, inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, from the 1930s.
The corner counter behind the desk has an antique oak bookstand from Alexandria, geode volcanic rocks from Hampi and an antique Chinese tiffin basket.
The desk holds antique Tibetan seals now used as paperweights, a much-thumbed dictionary on a pewter book-stand from Verona, beautiful rocks and semi-precious
stones, including two pieces from Turkey.
stones, including two pieces from Turkey.
From the desk one can view the courtyard with its magnificent kusum trees.
In the small replica temple replicated from from the one in the tank of the Great Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneshwar is placed an extensive granite Narmadeshwari lingam.
A 30ft long outdoor sofa in the courtyard offers seating and is complemented with
tables made of stone and petrified wood slabs, all on custom-designed mild steel
bases. Both Kohelika and I believe that the outdoors has always been an integral
part of our home. Many years ago we converted the garden into a courtyard, as between all the pets, the kids, the riding boots and the Kusum trees which had taken on a life of their own, a paved surface was the most practical solution. This indoor-outdoor connect has always worked beautifully for us as it visually extends the indoor spaces and allows for larger and disparate gatherings – fromchildren’s birthday parties, to luncheons, dinners and cultural performances. disparate gatherings – from children’s birthday parties to luncheons, dinners and cultural performances.
tables made of stone and petrified wood slabs, all on custom-designed mild steel
bases. Both Kohelika and I believe that the outdoors has always been an integral
part of our home. Many years ago we converted the garden into a courtyard, as between all the pets, the kids, the riding boots and the Kusum trees which had taken on a life of their own, a paved surface was the most practical solution. This indoor-outdoor connect has always worked beautifully for us as it visually extends the indoor spaces and allows for larger and disparate gatherings – fromchildren’s birthday parties, to luncheons, dinners and cultural performances. disparate gatherings – from children’s birthday parties to luncheons, dinners and cultural performances.
The courtyard has mild-steel canopies held up by old mahogany columns from Kerala. Various stone sculptures are seen here, such as the ‘pattal Krishna’ in black granite and the charming miniature field temples from Orissa in Konarak sandstone.
The unobtrusively tucked in garden powder room has a granite sink from Bali, which is placed on an Italian marble counter-top with fossilised shells embedded with in it.. A customised rose-gold brass mirror frame is hung in front of the opaque window pane; the mirror reflects a stone bas-relief panel, part of a commissioned sculpture from the ‘Life of Buddha’ series.
The entrance and exit porch to the courtyard is supported with old teak-wood pillars from Kerala. Tribal figures in iron from Tamil Nadu flank the entrance. A stone sculpture of Surya, a fine replica from the north-face of the Konarak Temple, finely carved by the great sthapati, the late Raghunath Mahapatra (Padma Vibhushan 2013), is placed below the kusum tree. An antique Kerala urli, filled with floating marigold flowers, is flanked by a pair of massive Ottoman candle stands from Istanbul.
Read more:
Vadodara Houzz: This Industrialist’s House Is Equal Parts Museum & Home
Tell us:
What did you like most about this house? Do tell us in the Comments section below.
Read more:
Vadodara Houzz: This Industrialist’s House Is Equal Parts Museum & Home
Tell us:
What did you like most about this house? Do tell us in the Comments section below.
Who lives here: Ramesh Kohli my husband, with my mother Chand Sur and I.
Location: Golf Links, New Delhi
Year built: 1954
Renovation completed in: 2020
Size: 1000 square metres (10.764 square feet); 2 bedrooms, a guest-cum-sitting room, 2 bathrooms and a powder room.
Interior designer: Kohelika Kohli, K2India
Furniture design: Kohelika Kohli
House styled by Sunita Kohli
Photos by Deepak Aggarwal
Traditional Chettinad doors open into the courtyard. At the far end is a small replica of the tank temple of the Great Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneshwar.