Cohesive zones that bring people together.
A welcoming lobby transitions between the abode and the outdoors, opening up into the spacious apartment with a gorgeous view. The ambience of this cohesive space reflects modernity and elegance. Upon entering, the vestibule connects to a long passageway leading to the dining room, living room and kitchen, staggered in an ‘L-shape. An open kitchen is planned and oriented to allow easy movement between the dining area and kitchen while overlooking the television area, making the entire space more interactive. A black, translucent wooden partition partially blocks the view of the house, thereby kindling curiosity amongst the guests while providing the necessary privacy to the homeowners.
Swathes of grey
Designed for a family of five, the most prominent colour used in the apartment is grey, with four to five different shades used meticulously throughout the house. This complements the blue hues of the Arabian Sea, a backdrop for the living room. The overall public area is designed to feel airy and the use of colour connects the three zones. The grey tones flow in the kitchen with darker shades as highlights, complemented by a partially finished Statuario stone.
A landscape of stylish elements
Three key design touches govern this home: rich materials, well-crafted details and bespoke furniture. The linear alignment of the living and dining room has a ceiling that hosts sleek magnetic-track lighting, installed in three stilts running across the spaces. This state-of-the-art lighting adds a dramatic touch and creates an illusion of the room being more spacious. For the flooring of these spaces, a combination of four different types of polished Italian marble creates a unique pattern that radiates elegance. The wall paneling of 3mm Neolith and Laminam stone slim tiles and teak wood slats has a playful combination of grey tones and ambient lighting installed in slits.
A modish library is an unusual but distinctive approach to optimizing the living room wall. Designed using fabricated metal, the combination of horizontal and wood-finished vertical divisions lead to an exciting play of form to display the books and artefacts. The shelf is intricately designed as the vertical members have flushed profile lights that become a part of the arrangement.
Bedroom with a view
Taking off from the main concept, the master bedroom is designed with a picturesque view of the sea from two sides. A four-poster bed, fabricated in stainless steel, is located in the heart of the room, along with a black clear glass wardrobe on one side. The colour scheme and palette establish the design intent of the house- bold, elegant and chic. Grey tones in the master bedroom are backed by a concrete-textured paint finish by San Marco on walls with a hybrid wooden flooring by Xylos. The trendy bathroom with flooring finished in concrete vitrified tiles and walls in Kolkata marble has warm lighting and sleek under-counter cabinets for storage.
A box within a box
Patterns and subtle colours on the wall create a three-dimensional illusion in the son’s bedroom. The boxed enclosure for the bed placed on a raised platform is a comforting corner with storage cleverly concealed in the platform. The quirky bespoke armchair adds depth to the simplicity of the design. A wooden finish shelf composed within the wall optimizes this compact space, and a similar pattern continues in the bathroom with innovative lighting design and rich materials.
The zone doused in comfort
A minimalist design approach carries through the grandparents’ bedroom, focusing on comfort and creating a user-friendly space. The marble backdrop to the bed, with grooves, is the room’s highlight, which exemplifies the sophistication of the material palette used. Cement tiles with an offbeat pattern have their distinct charm. The material and furniture fit in well with the overall scheme about modern and smart design, with comfort being the primary factor.
The home is interwoven with a combination of subtlety and sophistication, grey tones and accent colours, comfort and contemporariness, all with an open and airy design that enhances the expediency of its location. Grey tones connect the spaces coherently and lets the design flow while not compromising the overall material palette. The Open Atelier Mumbai team aims to create experiences and narrate urban lives through design, keeping the client’s requirements as priority.
Fact File:
Design Firm: Open Atelier Mumbai
Year of Completion: 2021
Project Typology: Residential Interior Design
Square Footage: 1,800 sq ft
Photography Credits: Prashant Bhat Photography
About the architect:
Open Atelier Mumbai, an award-winning, multi-disciplinary design studio based out of Mumbai, strives towards transforming urban lives. Founded by designer Rahul Mistri in 2010, the studio aims to craft spaces of experiential quality derived from a rooted understanding of how design affects lives as a result of urban necessities.
