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Houzz Tour: The Tropics Come Alive in This Kerala Family Home
Earthy colours and natural textures give this Kochi home a traditional yet contemporary vibe
This family residence, nestled in a villa community in Kochi, Kerala, is a home filled with energy and open spaces. That was the brief given by the owners to designers Avinash Joshy and Steffy Thomas of Nirvana Design Studio. They were brought on board to not only develop the layout, but also conceptualise the entire space. “The house takes on a contemporary tropical theme,” says Avinash Joshy. “We also wanted to maximise space as well as play around with natural textures and hues.” For instance, the wall surfaces are a mix of eggshell paint, polished bricks and cement, while the flooring is traditional grey or black oxide with an inlay of brown oxide along the borders.
Offering a Zen-like serenity to its residents, the house is intentionally configured to be inward looking, facing the courtyard. “This was done to create a sense of privacy for the family, given the plot’s proximity to the busy streets,” explains Joshy.
Offering a Zen-like serenity to its residents, the house is intentionally configured to be inward looking, facing the courtyard. “This was done to create a sense of privacy for the family, given the plot’s proximity to the busy streets,” explains Joshy.
Traditional local artists were employed to create the grey oxide floors. The skirting is intentionally made higher than usual and finished with the same grey oxide for a seamless flow throughout. The upper level overlooks the living and dining area. “It is from this vantage point that one can truly appreciate the craftsmanship of the flooring,” says Joshy.
This space also faces the courtyard. To maximise the view, ventilation and sunlight, metal-frame French doors and fixed windows divide the interiors from the outside. At the same time, heat gain is prevented by diffusing the harsh sun rays through a network of plants and creepers in the outer courtyard.
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This space also faces the courtyard. To maximise the view, ventilation and sunlight, metal-frame French doors and fixed windows divide the interiors from the outside. At the same time, heat gain is prevented by diffusing the harsh sun rays through a network of plants and creepers in the outer courtyard.
10 Unique Options for Your Floors
In the modular kitchen at the other end of the living area, clear-varnished rubber-wood shutters alternate with green powder-stained ones for the lower storage cabinets, while the countertop is made from natural stone.
To continue the contemporary feel and to accentuate the colour of the shutters, the northern wall of the kitchen is clad in polished cement with vertical grooves. It is an expansive room, so it was possible to incorporate a large island that houses the stove and chimney. The chimney rises through a solid, honey-coloured wooden plank that
is suspended above the length of the island, echoing the earthy, natural notes of the house.
Find an architect to design your home
To continue the contemporary feel and to accentuate the colour of the shutters, the northern wall of the kitchen is clad in polished cement with vertical grooves. It is an expansive room, so it was possible to incorporate a large island that houses the stove and chimney. The chimney rises through a solid, honey-coloured wooden plank that
is suspended above the length of the island, echoing the earthy, natural notes of the house.
Find an architect to design your home
The house incorporates a mix of store-bought and custom-made furniture. “For instance, the dining table was developed in-house, while the sofa was sourced from a local shop and the coir rugs from Alappuzha,” says the designer.
The stairway to the bedrooms reiterates the serene combination of soft grey and eggshell white with touches of vibrant honey, illuminated with pure natural light from generous windows.
See more staircase designs
See more staircase designs
“My favourite space of the house would be the upper bedroom that overlooks the double-height living space,” says Joshy. “It exudes a different character each day. It’s something that needs to be experienced to understand – the way the sun interacts with this room is my best experience of the house.” A narrow window along the ceiling above the bed lets in the early morning sunshine, while floor-to-ceiling bay windows made from powder-stained wooden frames let in the cool western breeze. The plastered concrete slab treatment continues in this space too.
In a conventional bedroom, the mattress rests on a traditional bed frame. Here however, it is placed on a wooden platform.
In a conventional bedroom, the mattress rests on a traditional bed frame. Here however, it is placed on a wooden platform.
The black oxide floor continues from the upper bedroom to the bathroom and rises up as a wall to feature as a splashback behind the washbasin, as well as demarcate this space from the shower area.
A teakwood vanity has been fashioned out of the owners’ old study table, while mismatched patterned beige bathroom tiles from Kajaria lend a touch of drama to the space.
A teakwood vanity has been fashioned out of the owners’ old study table, while mismatched patterned beige bathroom tiles from Kajaria lend a touch of drama to the space.
Another black oxide partition forms a wall of the shower area, supporting the shower head on one side and tucking away the toilet on the other, in its own private corner.
This story was first published on Houzz India in 2017.
Read more:
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Houzz Tour: An Urban Bungalow With an Earthy Twist
Tell us:
What do you think of this Kochi home? Share your thoughts in Comments below.
This story was first published on Houzz India in 2017.
Read more:
Houzz Tour: This Actor’s Getaway is Anything But Conventional
Houzz Tour: An Urban Bungalow With an Earthy Twist
Tell us:
What do you think of this Kochi home? Share your thoughts in Comments below.
Who lives here: A couple, their two children and a grandmother
Location: Kochi, Kerala
Year built: April 2016
Size: 280 square metres with two bedrooms
Design team: Avinash Joshy and Steffy Thomas of Nirvana Design Studio
The entrance is situated on the west side of the plot. It opens into a passageway that leads to the double-height living areas and a staircase on the right that leads off to the bedrooms upstairs. “Since the living, dining and kitchen are frequently used by the family,” says Joshy, “we conceptualised them in a single line to ease free movement between the areas.”
The living and open dining areas are framed within a double-height space, where the ceiling is polished cement with rectangular grooves. To create the grooves for the plastered roof slab effect, the designers placed a framework of thin wooden laths on the concreting plates and then poured concrete over the whole.