Houzz Tours
Mumbai Houzz: A 3-BHK Gets a Winning Design on a Shoestring Budget
Studio Nishita Kamdar designs a flat with smart furniture, wide-open spaces and happy, bright colours
After spending the day on the hectic streets of Mumbai, inside stressful offices, and then back on the road again, every homeowner in the city wishes to retire to a home that’s warm, relaxing and visually pleasing. The owners of this home, two professionals working in the creative field, wanted a snug, inspiring nest. They approached Nishita Kamdar of Studio Nishita Kamdar.
“The biggest challenge in designing a home in Mumbai is the constraint one faces with the budget. After paying an arm and a leg to buy a home in Mumbai, clients generally end up with a smaller budget to design it, in the hope of adding to it as the years go by. We have been able to successfully adapt to the challenge of designing on a tight budget. The demand for good budget home designs is extremely large in Mumbai; we have learnt how to push the boundaries keeping these constraints in mind.” says Kamdar.
“The biggest challenge in designing a home in Mumbai is the constraint one faces with the budget. After paying an arm and a leg to buy a home in Mumbai, clients generally end up with a smaller budget to design it, in the hope of adding to it as the years go by. We have been able to successfully adapt to the challenge of designing on a tight budget. The demand for good budget home designs is extremely large in Mumbai; we have learnt how to push the boundaries keeping these constraints in mind.” says Kamdar.
This three-bedroom home has an impactful entrance – one that sets the modern, eclectic, offbeat design tone of the home. “The element of surprise in this house begins from the entrance itself – you are greeted by a bright electric-blue door, which sets this home apart from its neighbours,” Kamdar says.
Here’s how to design your home’s entrance
Here’s how to design your home’s entrance
The front door opens to an L-shaped living and dining room. The living-room area has an attached balcony, and next to the dining area is an open kitchen.
“We decided to do away with unnecessary walls in this space and opened up the rooms completely. This ensured maximum visibility and cross-ventilation throughout the common spaces. Visually, too, the area looks larger due to the absence of walls,” says Kamdar. All the common areas are laid out with beige floor tiles.
The living room is peppered with light-toned furniture and small eclectic decor elements, such as the antique-style telephone, vases and sculptures.
Flooring: NITCO; paint: Asian Paints; cushions: Sarita Handa
“We decided to do away with unnecessary walls in this space and opened up the rooms completely. This ensured maximum visibility and cross-ventilation throughout the common spaces. Visually, too, the area looks larger due to the absence of walls,” says Kamdar. All the common areas are laid out with beige floor tiles.
The living room is peppered with light-toned furniture and small eclectic decor elements, such as the antique-style telephone, vases and sculptures.
Flooring: NITCO; paint: Asian Paints; cushions: Sarita Handa
The dining area has two large bookshelves and a compact dining space, its seating maximised through the pink built-in bench along the wall.
“The dining set was a piece of furniture that the client received as a gift from her parents, and thus it held a certain sentimental value for her,” says Kamdar.
Adding a bright pop of colour to the large area is the blue sideboard and the chinaware kept atop. “It looks like a beautiful pièce de résistance in the otherwise muted living room. The colour adds incredible amounts of quirk and boldness to the space. The lovely Chinese pots on top of the sideboard (the client collected these) reflect the client’s interest in different cultures,” Kamdar says.
Take a look at these stylish sideboards
Take a look at these stylish sideboards
The open kitchen next to the dining is designed in light colours – a multicoloured backsplash adds a flash of character to the area. Dainty knobs on the cupboards and drawers add to the kitchen’s aesthetic.
This store room, converted into a toddler’s bedroom, has plenty of space to keep the baby’s knick-knacks. The colour scheme is sunny, accentuated with cheerful prints on the window blind and the lampshade. “This had to be a fun, easy-to-use and flexible space. The wall of the room is replaced with a large wooden sliding door with fluted glass. This helps create more space for the play area, thus utilising all the available space,” Kamdar says.
The guest bedroom is a vibrant, welcoming room, not shy of colour. “This bedroom has a teakwood-and-brass-detailed bed set against a blue ombre wall. This was a great way to add drama and a sense of quirk to the space,” Kamdar says.
Learn how to prepare your home for long-term guests
Learn how to prepare your home for long-term guests
The master bedroom has an earthy tone, thanks to the flooring and the light, soothing colour scheme, “For the bedrooms, we changed the flooring to a wooden base. We painted this room’s walls a muted beige and complemented them with a patterned wallpaper. Brass hanging lamps on either sides of the bed adorn the room. We wanted to ensure the bed looked and felt both warm and inviting, so we had the experts from Cottons and Satins curate the bedding to suit the given space,” Kamdar says.
Flooring: Pergo; bedding: Cottons and Satins; wallpaper: Sabyasachi at Nilaya for Asian Paints
Flooring: Pergo; bedding: Cottons and Satins; wallpaper: Sabyasachi at Nilaya for Asian Paints
The master bathroom has decorative patterned tiling on one wall and lighter coloured vitrified tiles on the others. “Overall, the spaces in this home are warm, liveable and very real. We yearn to push limits for homes that are on shoestring budgets – designs like these are what’s relevant in today’s time,” concludes Kamdar.
Read more:
Mumbai Houzz: A Flat Gets Its Sheen Under a Tight Deadline
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
Read more:
Mumbai Houzz: A Flat Gets Its Sheen Under a Tight Deadline
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
Who lives here: A couple with their toddler
Location: Mumbai
Year built: 2018
Size: 3 bedrooms; 3 bathrooms
Interior designer: Nishita Kamdar of Studio Nishita Kamdar
Photos by Sameer Chawda Photography