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A Sophisticated Apartment in an Upscale Neighborhood in Hyderabad where Contemporary Meets Tradition

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A Sophisticated Apartment in an Upscale Neighborhood in Hyderabad where Contemporary Meets Tradition

A Sophisticated Apartment in an Upscale Neighborhood in Hyderabad where Contemporary Meets Tradition

This is the second home in a row I’m featuring that’s designed by Unnati Pingle. Unnati has designed this home for an elderly couple in Hyderabad who wanted to move out of an independent house to a more “communal” neighborhood.  An apartment in a plush neighborhood was their obvious choice.

The post is packed with nuggets of wisdom from Unnati that comes from experience. She offers her insights on what factors are important to give that luxurious feel to a home even on a  budget that homeowners often fail to budget for, while focusing on frill items. If you are in the process of designing your home, latch on to every word she says. Over to Unnati now:

Can you tell us a big about the project and the brief from clients?

The apartment is about 2900 sq.ft. The brief was simple- they wanted a clean, low maintenance apartment, accommodating most of their exiting furniture which they had collected over a period of time. Challenging, but we took it up! Let’s call the project LANCO.
It is very easy to do everything afresh. In my profession, what challenges me is “problem solving”. The more constraints the more I enjoy my work. Hence, my forte in renovation in the world of architecture and interiors. Saying so, apart from using some existing furniture pieces, LANCO was a fresh piece of canvas. Budget was a constraint, though. Very tight!

living room

What’s beneath the glass in the dining table?

The client had an old 6-seater Burma teak dining table and disposing that off wasn’t their choice or an option. Hence covered the top with fabric and topped it with glass to make it an 8 seater. The chairs are new and the whole set come together as if they were a match made in heaven. A quick fix and it is believe it or not a show stopper in the space.

The gigantic mirror on the wall doubles up the size of the apartment and makes it look bigger than what it is. Another vital element in the design which is a highlight at LANCO. All the old Persian rugs are clients’ own. We kept the flooring the same as provided by the community- vitrified tiles, budget dictating the terms there. The doors were stained to imitate wood.

8-seater dining table

lights

What were your choices for wallpaper, lighting?

The client was receptive to a lot of ideas we had and which we eventually implemented. Especially the spark/throw of colours, wallpaper, contemporary lighting which I was skeptical about their acceptance for.

Wallpaper gives a character to any space. Considering the age group of the client, we kept the concept subtle, but classy. I like to experiment with colours. I think it adds a great dimension to any space in an instant. Lighting was a highlight at LANCO. The space feels warm and inviting. The credit for the way LANCO turned out, completely goes to furnishings, lighting and furniture.

living rooms reeks of opulence

A cute picture of Unnati and her colleague with the clients.

unnati pingle

Expert speaks: finally, what are the primary elements one should budget for while doing the interiors of a house?

As a designer to a client, I propagate that the most important part (primary elements) in any space is space planning, lighting, furnishings, furniture pieces, in that order. Rest all are secondary. So if one has a budget constraint, the primary elements need to be focused on from the beginning. What happens typically is that clients (budget specific), concentrate on elements like flooring, veneer, hardware used etc and neglect the primary elements. Because of which they are left with very little or no budget at the end for the more important aspects of a space. That comprise is the reason for a show down in most of the ‘mediocre’ looking projects.
You may also be interested in this renovation project by Unnati where she converted a terrace into a home space. Yes, you read it right.
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