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Mumbai Houzz: An 80-Year-Old Home Gets a Vibrant Facelift
Studio Mestry breathes fresh life into this period home with Burma teak furniture & gable ceilings
For this project, Akshaya Mestry, principal architect and founder of Studio Mestry, collaborated with architect and designer Bhakti Loonawat. “The homeowners wanted to create a comfortable and practical apartment without letting go of the existing traditional elements. Our idea was to create a slightly contemporary design within the vintage shell of the apartment, with large open-plan spaces, taking advantage of the natural light and magnificent ceiling heights throughout the home,” says Mestry.
At one end of the corridor is the living and dining area. The designers’ original renovation plan to gave most of the apartment terrazzo flooring. However, the homeowners insisted on utilising the marble that was already laid out in the corridor and den. Adhering to this request, the marble flooring removed from there was used in the living and home-office spaces.
6 High and Mighty Wooden Ceiling Designs
6 High and Mighty Wooden Ceiling Designs
“The living room floor has a carpet of reclaimed broken marble from the previous flooring with terrazzo floor tiles on the sides and a foot high terrazzo skirting detail. Old Burma-teak furniture is used throughout the house to retain the feel of the bygone era and complement the existing furniture pieces,” says Loonawat. “This zone is enriched with a beautiful gabled wooden ceiling, customised furniture pieces and a monochromatic colour scheme.”
Find interior designers on Houzz
Find interior designers on Houzz
The fabric upholstery of the dining table chairs gives continuity to the monochromatic colour scheme of the floors. Suspended from the wooden ceiling, a chandelier hangs above the dining table. The pitched wooden ceiling with exposed beams and rafters lends an earthy dimension to the room.
Look for home renovation and remodelling services available on Houzz
Look for home renovation and remodelling services available on Houzz
An enclosed balcony runs the length of the living room. It is divided into a lounge and a work station. Pops of green from the chair and plants, together with the warmth of the wooden ceiling, balance the floor’s monochromatic colour scheme.
The kitchen sports a contemporary design with plenty of storage including a tall unit and an extendable breakfast bar (not visible in the image). Aqua backsplash tiles set in a herringbone pattern give colourful point to the neutral browns and whites. Eliminating the storage flanking the windows helped maximise natural light and give the kitchen an airy feel. White back-painted glass cabinets reflect light and impart brightness.
Paint: Asian Paints
Paint: Asian Paints
“The floor in the daughters’ room is a combination of green and white terrazzo tiles, which start with a standard pattern in one corner of the room and organically change towards the end of the room,” says Loonawat. A high gable ceiling steals the show and harmonises with the period decor.
The room is punctuated with period elements, such as two windows with grille railings. Teak and veneer furniture, in the form of a small cupboard and a dual-hued wardrobe, offers storage.
The den has a sofa bed, which gives the flexibility to use the space as a guest bedroom whenever required. The flooring is an interesting arrangement of white, plain grey and grey terrazzo tiles with occasional black granite strips in between. “We retained the original ornate ceiling and introduced a splash of colour to liven up the den area. The ceiling has a carving detail with yellow accents, which continues on the wall,” says Mestry.
Read more:
Bangalore Houzz: A Home of Traditional Aesthetics & Modern Decor
10 Ways to Bring the Vintage Look Into Your Home
Tell us:
What did you like most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
Bangalore Houzz: A Home of Traditional Aesthetics & Modern Decor
10 Ways to Bring the Vintage Look Into Your Home
Tell us:
What did you like most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
Who lives here: A family of four
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Year of the project: 2020
Size: 140 square metres (1507 square feet); 2 bedrooms
Architecture and interior design firm: Studio Mestry in collaboration with Bhakti Loonawat
Photos by Aditya Warlikar
The designers wanted to give a contemporary touch to this Hughes Road home, while retaining its old-world charm, by using spatial elements and natural finishes. Combining materials like terrazzo with Indian marble and wooden accents underpins the vintage character.
We enter the home through a long passageway where a series of jack arches painted in aqua green draw the eye upwards. Grey terrazzo tiles with high skirting detail adorn the corridor floor. The passageway connects the living area to the bedrooms on the other side.