The Canvas Home

Design Firm: Beyond Spaces Design Studio
Principal Architect: Mounika Kodali
Location: Hyderabad, India
Project Typology: Residential
Photographer: Monika Sathe

A plush residence for a Hyderabad-based family that allows colour, pattern and a curated palette of materiality to weave together a bespoke design narrative in the Banjara Hills neighborhood.

The project’s demeanour is rooted in its inherent penchant for tangible and expressive design; one that creates the perfect milieu for the inhabitant family. Sprawling over an area of 2,400 sq. ft, this 4-BHK residence was painstakingly pieced together over a course of 2 years.

The home’s design DNA has been conjured through establishing an equilibrium amidst contemporary nuances and traditional elementality of design. The interplay of colour, warm umber tones and a coalition patterns form the leitmotifs of this residence. Each space in the shared and private zones of the home pay homage to the end-user’s preferences and lifestyle – enabling spaces to resonate with the homeowner’s aspiration of inhabiting the quintessential ‘home’.

With this abode, Mounika was bestowed with an uninhibited sense of trust to create a visual story that is interlaced with bold doses of hue and artisanal elements. With custom furniture and furnishings sourced from across the country, the meaningful engagement of art in spaces and the amalgamated efforts of local honed craftsmen in this project – this home has been a labor of passion and detail-orientation.

The expansive apartment opens into a foyer that sets the tonality with the very first impression. Grounded by red and green traditional-motif cement tiles, this space is earthy in its sentiment. The cement oxide finished wall hosts a colossal brass installation, introducing neoteric character into the foyer. This section of the home hints at the overruling design language of the residence – a concoction of modern design and traditional undertones that create an eclectic montage of spaces. The main door leading into the foyer is a deep forest green that complements the palette of the space seamlessly.

The formal living space adjoining the foyer is a focal space in the construct of the home with its vibrance, employment of colour and curated artistic touches. The original partition wall was replaced for a sleek wood and glass partition system that opened the space up visually instantly, maintaining a balance between the public and private function of the zone. A collage of colour, textures and hand-picked bric-a-brac, this part of the abode exudes stated grandeur. The art on the wall is abstract and modern – a crossover between Indian and contemporary tonality. Meticulously designed with muted grey sofas, a leather jade green center table, a statement antique chandelier and a floral-print printed rug – the formal living is a vision of tasteful colour and elevated ambience for the family to host in.

Heading over into the dining section, a deep navy accent wall is the protagonist in this open-plan space and it hosts personal memoirs of the family. The designer steered clear off false ceilings in these areas to accentuate the original ceiling height that the apartment harbored. A solid wooden dining table with a marble base and chairs handpicked from Delhi crowned with a dainty brass chandelier are the highlights of the family dining space.

The puja room flanking the dining area is approached by a sunny mustard yellow door that is adorned with custom delicate lotus-form handles, hinting towards the cultural roots of design.

The common area spills into the informal living area that frames verdant views of the city through the balcony nook. The informal living space has a comfortable sectional sofa and is complemented by the raw-edge organic wooden centre table. The canvas above the sofa depicts the streetscapes of Hyderabad city and introduces a melange of colour into the neutral shell of the area. Wooden rafters introduced across the ceiling create visual interest and warm up the space. The TV unit is cladded in red marble and inlay work with brass legs, keeping the composition minimal yet impactful.

The bedrooms across the residence are tethered to the vision each end-user had for their personal sanctuaries; yet these spaces are created in tandem with the design language of the project as a whole. The master suite’s design unifies the use of pastel hues, light veneers, cane detailing and artisanal interventions. The pièce de résistance in the space are the custom wardrobe shutters that were created via an ingenious technique through which weaving of colourful threads was made possible through the veneer sheets – thus creating a canvas of exquisite floral prints across the shutters.

The daughter’s bedroom has a visual palette that is ruled by a powder blue theme, which has been carried through in the larger pieces of custom furniture, drapery and the tufted fabric headboard that also engages floral patterns. The son’s bedroom celebrates a monotone palette of materials and is punctuated with colour in the form of upholstery and accent lighting. The colossal wooden headboard scales the wall, creating a sense of gravitas in the bedroom.

One of the bedrooms in the blueprint was converted into an inviting home theatre. The walls are bathed in a light tint of blue-grey and the room houses a sleek sofa cum bed that doubles up on functionality. Iconic cult classic movie posters adorn a wall of the home theatre.

This home has been created by Beyond Spaces Design Studio with utmost attention to detail, with the celebration of colour at its nucleus and with a penchant to create an oasis of comfort for the family that resides here.

This piece was published on 30 Small Apartment Interiors by The Architect’s Diary (2021 - Vol 2) and The Architect’s Diary (February 2021).