The Art Deco House
Residential Interior I Mumbai, Maharashtra
Area 3,000 Sq.ft
Status Completed 2015
Photographer Suleiman Merchant
Team Shimul Javeri Kadri, Roshni Kshirsagar, Bijal Parikh, Nikita Nadkarni
The brief given to us was to create an environment that showcased 10% of their extensive collection of miniatures, exquisite bronzes and rare scrolls among other things.
It was delightful to intervene into a beautiful Art deco building at Cuffe Parade through the home of long standing clients who are now dear friends. However, when the house requires extensive changes to accommodate a contemporary lifestyle of simple attached toilets, air conditioning and fewer passages (more family space), the challenge of retaining character yet bringing modernity into the space can be a dilemma.
Earthy warmth through Art Deco
For the Art Deco House interiors we found interesting ways of preserving the multicolored cement tile floors, the wooden doors and windows, the replicating the edge details between wall and floor and ceiling that Art Deco celebrates beautifully. The discovery of excellent brickwork behind the crumbling plaster helped us to bring in the earthy warmth that personifies the aesthetic of our dancer client. We exposed the brickwork, and created jambs of plastered surfaces that allowed conduits and AC pipes to go through. The pattern of brick and plaster that emerges enhances the openings as sources of light, creating contrasts that brightens a space that could have been perceived as dark.
Central congregation space
All toilets are designed with a soft Carrara white marble, brass fixtures and lights, that bridge the story of the old and new. The main passage has been disrupted to create a family room with arches and diwans so that the length of the house is interrupted with a central space that the family can use as a cosy congregation.
