A Sprawling Mumbai Home Gets a Scandinavian-Inspired Makeover

Siddharth Kothari shares this 3-bedroom, 2,000 sq. feet apartment in Mumbai with his parents, Pradip and Nila. Yes, you read it right. In Marine Drive, Mumbai. I wouldn’t be surprised if your jaws dropped on seeing the square footage. They have called this space their home for more than five decades. Needless to say, the home in its earlier avatar was crying for restoration and a style upgrade to keep up with the times.

Livspace worked on the renovation of entryway, living, dining, kitchen, puja room, and the powder room. The before pictures would have made us appreciate the makeover. Key takeaways from this project:

Exposed brick wall always works irrespective of your theme. For a contemporary setting, go with a white exposed brick wall such as this one. For a retro or an ethnic theme, opt for a red brick wall.
Use the ceilings and windows to your advantage. Flaunting the high ceilings when you have one without using a false ceiling will give an expanse of space.
Go white: when the square footage is small or natural lighting is limited, go white all the way from wall color to furnishings. This will allow the natural light to flood in. This works especially when you can’t break down walls to open up a space.
Can walls be done away with? For privacy use dividers or sliding glass doors.
Use funky accessories. I loved the bicycle frame on the shelves, the art work and the floating shelves. If you are confined to a conservative budget, look for free printable images on Pinterest, print them, and frame them.
Create drama on the floor: notice how the flooring is laid diagonally. Think out of the box.
Select lighting judiciously: if there is not enough drama happening in the form of accessories or wall treatment, go overboard with your choice of lighting. Else, stay restrained. the wire pendant lamp and functional table lamps blend with the surroundings without grabbing your eyeballs, which is a good thing.
Repeat materials: too many disparate materials do not work. Marble is cleverly repeated in the dining, living room center table and side tables. the white marble reinforces the minimal Scandinavian theme. A regular wooden table would have made it look darker than it is now.