The client- a man of few (but precise) words, with a multicultural identity and a strong desire to creatively explore, experiment with, and experience his space. Within the first couple of meetings, I knew that behind that quiet, serious façade was a vibrant personality, with a healthy appetite for risk and a clear fondness for colour (especially blue), simple geometry, and restraint. With expansive views of one of the city’s flourishing lakes, the residence spans a little over 8000 square feet across two floors with a well-thought layout designed taking into account the client’s need for utmost privacy and his specific lifestyle and day-to-day use of the home. The top floor, the most private zone, has the master bedroom, a library, a pantry, a private dining area, a gym, and an extra guest bedroom. A compact staircase next to the library connects the top floor to the family space comprising of the family living room, main kitchen, dining room, music room, bedrooms for the two kids, and the main guest bedroom. These together form the private zone and are intended to be accessible only to family & close friends. The adjacent space to the family space has a separate entrance which leads to the communal zone of the residence – with a lounge, a bar area, dining space for entertaining & hosting large gatherings, and an elaborate & fully equipped home-office set-up to accommodate client’s round-the-clock work schedule as a very successful serial entrepreneur. A rectilinear entrance featuring a mix of vertical and horizontal elements sets the tone and tempo of the apartment at the very first glimpse. The rectangular shape drawn by the backrest of the bench along with the printed horizontal stripes on the seat make a loud graphic statement. Library: Books are the client’s chosen companion – his ever-growing, meticulously categorised collection runs into thousands and is a joy to behold! The library is designed with a bit of a living room vibe: super relaxed with an open plan layout with alcoves within for bibliophiles to escape inside. “I wanted a playful look mixing the unexpected, with changes in mood & atmosphere through use of different colours, materials, textures, & shapes. The end-result here is a tongue-in-cheek alternative to the usual monotonous library set-ups while staying mindful of all the practical requirements in terms of comfortable furniture, storage needs, functional lighting, & of course contemplative corners. “ Dining: In contrast to the library where colour is tactically dispersed across the room, the adjoining dining room and kitchenette is largely of muted hues of greys and blues with colour being confined to the boundaries of the large perky piece of art on the wall. With the colour staying restricted, geometric & textural complexity takes over the space: a pinstripe graphic paired with steel blue as the background to the art wall, the opposite kitchenette with ribbed cabinets in powder blue and a wall covered in quartz stone, a dining set-up with curvy upholstered chairs in a combination of geometric houndstooth pattern and soft velvet in chartreuse-yellow. This complex layering sets the tone for the project’s bold & unapologetic personality. Guest Bedroom: The door on the art wall leads to the spare guest bedroom enveloped in a warm shade of peach. The sugary hue feels balanced and contemporary with striking black accents, dominant touches of warm timber, robust light fixtures, and a refined material palette. The framed pieces of art may suggest lightness and frivolity, but an imposing mirror in black along with a classic pinstripe pattern in a grounding grey establishes a no-nonsense counterpoint. This clever layering plays down the pastel vibrancy and offers an enhanced emotive experience. Master Bedroom: The door next to the kitchenette opens into a secluded master bedroom flooded with natural light. The space follows an open plan layout with large windows looking out onto expansive views of the lake on all sides. A headboard extending past the confines of the bed forms a backdrop for the extra-wide nightstands and minimalist geometric pendants making it all seem like one unified form. While the abstract piece of art or even the bed itself may appear to be the protagonist in this composition, it is the conflicting shades of blue in differing textures (paint, laminate, lacquer, linen, canvas) existing alongside one another that draw the user to engage with the space. The curvy silhouette of the couch tailored in soft velvet and suede gives it a sense of sculpture amidst all that symmetry and clean lines. The pop of orange on the couch, along with the b&w plaid rug, micro-cement ceiling and wooden floors, is integral in bonding the two different personalities of the room. A wide pillar with ribbed panelling separates the neutral tones from the vibrant ones. A playful fusion of warm colours, graphics, and shapes in the panels of the built-in bookshelf gives the space a playful energy. A large desk is carefully appointed to take advantage of the apartment’s best views for those ‘work from bedroom’ hours. Staircase: A pitch black, softly curving metal staircase acts as a knot, mediating shifting between the two levels while contrasting the predominant verticality of the soaring walls next to it. 18th family room: A scenic mural someplace in the house was one specific request from the client. A woodland scene depicted in abstract brushstrokes with a vague, sombre sunset in soft muted shades of greens, greys, and earthy browns envelopes the walls and offers a sensorial experience. The plush furnishings, finely woven rug, & wooden accents are offset by black industrial lights & striped patterns. It’s this subtle placement of pattern & light fittings that aligns the two storeys. The shades of blues & pinks from the top floor are demonstrated again in the dining room & the kitchen area adjacent to the family room. While the dining room is anchored by chairs in blush with an athletic aesthetic, the boldest statement is contained to the kitchen with its floor to ceiling lacquer glass cabinetry in a custom shade of blue. Main Guest Bedroom: Washed in muted shades of blue, seafoam green, and greys, the soothing ambience of the room is off-set by imposing black metal rails framing the bed and the desk. A dominant element in the space, the rails have both a practical and a conceptual raison d'être. The industrial references interlaced with playful geometric art, globe lights, striped rug, and hues of yellow – bestow a surreal sense of stepping into a graphic illustration. Music Room: “The children’s zone comprising of the music room and their bedrooms, was my canvas for untethered creativity’. The standout moment is without a doubt the theatrical, oversized Bluetooth operated boom box along with playful art and bespoke vinyl light fixtures. As an installation piece, it is intended for interaction and has a communicative quality to encourage the kids to engage with the space. A palette of soft but stimulating pastel hues accented with bolder shades, specifically the yellow, make the room pop, while a mix of carefully proportioned matt & glossy textures enhance the sense of space. Meanwhile, a playful grid pattern is tempered by the perfectly curved chair and the arc of the entrance frame. Numerous nuanced, playful touches (such as a favourite music artist’s signature, pictures of musicians, framed covers of music albums) have been injected to create moments of discovery for the kids. Sports Themed Bedroom for a young athlete (Girl): Upon stepping into the blue and yellow doused room, you experience the sports theme in fun and unexpected ways throughout the room. The entrance space takes its visual identity directly from sport stadiums, with doors designed as shutters, wardrobe as a locker room, along with signage lights, & personalised athletic graphics. Every detail in the space takes it cue from a mix of sports activity, equipment, or an accessory: a bookshelf displaying memorabilia of sports equipment, a study desk designed to look like a podium, basketball hoop lights as bedside light with a neon backboard, & a bespoke boxing bag with hand embroidered silhouettes of Indian female runners for our young aspiring athlete. The graphic mural behind the bed features inspirational athletes, both as examples of ideal qualities, as well as goals to strive towards. The visual collage uses a blend of faces, key phrases associated with these superstars, all wrapped in an aesthetic that is reminiscent of the trendy ground-breaking campaigns from sports brands that we have grown up with. Star Wars Themed Room (Boy): A full-on Star-Wars themed room with no compromises is what the young Jedi-in-training requested, leaving me with no choice but to bring the force to the space. With any Star Wars fan, putting ourselves in the scene is a natural part of the experience. We've all imagined piloting an X-wing through the trenches of the Death Star, or flying a land speeder through the giant legs of an AT-AT at some point. 
The visual design of the room has been set up to accommodate these dreams. The large spaces on the walls depict legendary cinematic scenes, such as the Imperial assault on Yavin 4 from A New Hope, and the battle on the ice planet of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back. The lower half of the walls along with the wardrobe, and the doors are designed to match the interiors of the Deathstar and the legendary characters are incorporated as furniture & light pieces. All elements are meant to smoothly flow into each other, so that the entire space forms a familiar ecosystem: a three-dimensional reality that constantly reminds the little Star Wars fan of why he loves the franchise. 18th Lounge & Bar: The floor adjacent to the family zone is a communal space that would work both as a place to entertain and socialise but also as a place to work & hold work meetings. The longitudinal nature of the lounge area is harnessed to create meaningful sections for dialogue and conversation. The intricate ribbed panelling covering the walls of the two seating areas in a muted blue fosters intimacy and comfort. There is a playful fusion of mixing colour, texture, shapes, & furniture: from minimalist, straight line linen and leather couches in shades of greys and blues, to a mix of geometric & sculptural shapes between the chairs and the side tables in pops of blue, seafoam green, and yellow. Placed between the two seating areas is a stately well stocked bar in ribbed leather and bespoke brass detailing to encourage the guests into fixing their own concoctions. 18th Dining & Kitchen: Moving from the lounge to the dining area, the tone is dialled up to wake up the senses. At the centre is the large dining table in shades of white and timber surrounded by ‘Cesca’ chairs in a vibrant shade of yellow. The sculptural lighting fixture with its unusual shape becomes the centrepiece and the colours of the art piece link the dining with the kitchen. This arrangement emphasizes the casual, youthful atmosphere of the space. Accompanying the dining space is the third kitchen of the residence- complete with custom made colour-blocked cabinetry in blue & white. Walls of the kitchen are emphatically geometrical- tiles in shades of grey, white, black, & red create a Tetris-like pattern on the side wall, and the backsplash stands out with a geometric pattern articulated with black grout on quartz stone. Smooth curves, high gloss, & the ever-enduring appeal of a SMEG refrigerator adds chutzpah to the space. Cabin/Conference room: An arched powder-coated metal partition divides the space into two distinct areas - a personal cabin and a conference room without sacrificing the open-plan configuration. A mix of geometric and abstract patterns leap from the walls to the ceiling eventually lining the floor in the form of a buttery rug. This capricious layering of mixed patterns in similar tones and different textures responds to the playful streak running across the residence. The same dynamic is extended to the furniture and the light fixtures through playful use of colour and shapes to soften the space and un-stiffen the office atmosphere. Workstation: The geometric language of the apartment is picked up by the striped ceiling, the graphic arch on the blush wall, and the abstract mix of framed geometric prints on the brick in the area designated as a high productivity space for a small team that works out of the home-office. In addition, the unconventional graphic collage slotted between the floating shelves surreptitiously slides in shades of blue connecting the space with the rest of the house. The bespoke light fixtures in vibrant shades of yellow & orange pop against the subdued colour palette of the collage wall.