Khar Residence

Laced with grandeur

A thoughtful approach to design transforms this house into a ravishing living space, says Shilpa Sachdev

When Amit Walavalkar of Adorn Space Concepts took up designing this single floor apartment in Khar, all he had was an empty canvas in the form of a raw flat. But drawing a fine balance between aesthetics and utility, Walavalkar has managed to create an enchanting residence. Working on the client brief to keep it functional and maintenance free, Walavalkar has adopted a minimal and contemporary approach to the house.

Since the house occupies an entire floor, a grand entrance welcomes the visitors from the lift. The entrance is well accessorized with two wrought iron statues and some plants and paintings to bring in natural elements. The Italian flooring and yellow LED lights add to the grandeur of the place.

As one enters the house, a stunning lobby gives a quick preview of the big picture waiting inside. One wall of the lobby, which is also the common wall of the building stairway, has been punctured to give it a glass panel. From the outside, the glass has been protected with a spiral design grill, which serves two purposes - it allows the natural light to flow in to the lobby and also the design of the grill makes for aesthetic delight. The lobby contains a sleek rectangular shoe rack with a small orange ledge for the visitor to rest. The shoe rack contains lights inside that reflect the spiral design on the grill when put on. Silver vases gathered in a corner make for ideal accent pieces for the lobby, which is further accentuated with a chandelier.

While most of the house has been kept white in colour, fumed veneer in wenge colour dominates the furniture of the house while the flooring remains Italian overall. A streak of orange colour runs throughout the house as a distinct highlighter in some way or the other. Walavalkar has played with a lot of LED lights and also kept the balance of natural light intact.

The large living room has been divided into a living area, and a dining area that directly faces the kitchen. The two are separated with a sleek duco-painted cabinet console, which is accentuated with bright flowers and knick knacks on top along with a mirror frontage. Apart from the contemporary sofa, the living area has been given a fusion slant with the help of two custom-made vintage chairs polished with silver leafing. The ceiling of the living area has a pixel blast design mirror and a chandelier to complete the look. The dining table set has been kept white with an abstract table design that stands apart. The fan here is the most interesting as it functions as both a light as well as a fan. Walavalkar says, “The blades come out when the fan is switched on and they turn inwards when not in use and only the light remains”. The curtains are remote controlled.

A small powder room has been incorporated in the living room and done up tastefully. It contains sensor lights and an onyx wash basin that is backlit. The pixel design continues on the wall of the powder room in the form of a back-painted glass. The black Markina flooring looks splendid.

The kitchen faces the dining area and has been given textured walls on either side to bring in some design change. The pixel design is repeated in the form of orange highlighters on the breakfast table. The appliances are in-built and the entire kitchen is white with duco painted cabinets and a white Corian platform.

Just next to the living room lies the Audio-Visual room and just as it should be, the room has been kept dark to create the ambience. The red and black horizontal striped wallpaper does the needful. An L-curve sofa makes for a comfortable lounging space. The roller blinds cover the glass that is the common wall between the AV room and the entrance. They can be simply pulled up if natural light is needed in the room. A projector screen has been rightfully provided for.

The children room has been also designed very creatively in the colours of white and orange. Bunk beds have been provided with extra pull-outs for storage. A convertible study area has been intelligently incorporated, which can be closed to make space when not in use. The bathroom in the children room had no window so the walls of the bathroom have been made of a blend of clear and frosted glass to maintain the openness as well as the privacy. The barcode style design runs throughout the kids’ room. The cycle print roller blinds cutely blend with the theme of the room. In the bathroom, blues and whites have been used to complement the orange in the main room. The blue pearl granite on the flooring, the blue floral wall tiles and the chequered white tiles with blue grouting have been used in a seamless flow to continue to the grid.

Black, white and silver are the colour tones used in the master bedroom, which has a leather finish bed and designer curtains. A floral motif runs through the design of the master bedroom, repeated on the sheers, cushions and wall paper. The wardrobe design is most interesting as it looks like a well-designed mural from afar. Walavalkar says, “The client did not want a usual wardrobe with handles so we have scooped the MDF at odd lengths to reduce the weight of the shutter and create the required design. The wardrobe has also been given in-built lights that prove helpful in the night.” The duct in the room that lies bang opposite the entry door has been converted into the dressing area with a huge mirror covering the door. The enclosed shower cubicle gets a gray Travertino spread.

The parent’s room has been kept simple and contains a recliner chair in a corner to make for an easy read and a TV unit with a chest of drawers to stock up their essentials. Use of mirror has been made to create an illusion of space where necessary. Use of red Lavante marble adds a dash of colour to the room.

With the maximum burst of orange colour, the guest room is the most jazzed up. The peach wall paper is balanced with textured ivory walls. The brown Pothoro marble in the bathroom is accessorized with stenciled steel design at the borders.

The house has a large floor plate to which the designer has convincingly managed to add interesting elements to create a splendid piece of work.