Houzz Tour: A Surat Flat Celebrates Traditional Indian Elements

The apartment opens into a lobby flanked by a large, wooden cabinet. Straight ahead is the puja room, its view aptly framed by a perspective of traditional elements, especially the carved fretwork screen with a silver basin of floating flowers before it. Behind the screen is the dining area and the way to the kitchen and bedrooms. On the right is living room and a deck overlooking the road. All furniture in the home is a combination of in-house designs or carefully sourced items in line with the concept and theme of the house.

“The biggest challenge in any apartment project is to come up with a genuine and indigenous concept so that the whole design process doesn’t merely become a monotonous surface design exercise. In this home, we tried to sensibly blur the boundaries between spaces and create an expansive, open-plan look,” Prathama Desai says.

A sliding glass door connects the living room to a deck accentuated with wooden flooring, a red brick wall and chairs. The brick wall extends from the living room, creating a sense of continuity of space, while the wood floor gives it its own identity. The open-to-access deck ensures that the living room doesn’t look or feel too crowded during socials as the guests can spill out here, lounge around and enjoy the great outdoor views.

The dining room is arranged in a large passage that leads to the kitchen and bedrooms; the fretwork screen separates the dining area without blocking out the light and space of the living room. Another screen, a wood-framed multi-hued sliding one, separates it from the TV room. “Two glass lights suspended above the teakwood table and the metal screen partition made by local artisans define the dining space,” Desai says.

Dining table: Alankaram

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The master bedroom pulsates with a rich, luxurious vibe: the plush chair upholstered with fabric in a traditional weave, the canopy-style curtains and blinds screening large windows and the antique-looking lighting above. The master bedroom echoes the colours of the desert lands of India: behind the bed is a set of Rajasthani-style niches lined with yellow Jaisalmer stone. More colours come with the vibrant ethnic fabrics that upholster the seating.

Adjacent to the red chair, one entire wall sports the same bright Jaisalmer-yellow hue, beautifully set off by a contrasting pink seater. This feature wall showcases ethnic Indian art and makes for a vibrant lounging spot inside the room.