This Hyderabad Apartment Is a Delicious Blend of Indian Heritage and Contemporary Design

Good design to me is both appearance and functionality together. It’s the experience that makes it good design. – Michael Graves

Our homes should be an extension of our personalities; a mirror of our tastes in life; a reflection of our beliefs; where every wall has a stamp of your memory. Someone commented the other day saying so many homes these days feel so impersonal, more like hotels, and a showcase for trends. I would be lying if I said I didn’t agree.

This home, designed by Tangerine Turfs, an interior design firm in Hyderabad, defies that opinion.

Even though it has been designed by an interior design firm, the home gives out a very personal vibe as a vast personal collection of arts and crafts sourced over the years from across the country by the owners adorn its walls. It is a beautiful interplay of modern comfort and a design rooted deep in our heritage.

Who lives here: a young couple with their 5-year old son

Location: Hyderabad

Size/Type: a 2,700 sq.ft apartment with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms

Interior designer: Deepti Gali of Tangerine Turfs

Design aesthetic: a blend of Indian ethnic and contemporary

Time taken to complete: 1.5 months

What was the brief from the client?

No clutter.

They wanted a space that was bright, airy and felt spacious. So we opted for a blank canvas with white walls; to bring in the trademark color associated with any Indian home, we chose artifacts and vibrant furnishings such as cushions, rugs, and paintings.

‘No clutter’ dictated the design for the house. This, of course, does not imply minimalism but to create a designated place for everything. We provided lots of hidden storage in addition to the wardrobes and cabinets.

Can you visually take us through the home?

Main entrance opens into the foyer and then into the living room. There was a dead space in the living room by the window, a sort of niche. We placed the kids bunk bed here with slide and storage that adds a fun element to the space.

Living room flows into the large dining room which has doors opening into the 3 bedrooms, powder room, and the kitchen.

To one end of the room is the family room cum media room. The media room has wallpapered (pink floral design on brown) wooden shutters that house 3 X 6 feet pooja area behind.

Did you do any structural changes to the apartment?

It was a new apartment. We made a few structural changes to optimize the space, make the plan more fluid , and create room for things that would otherwise have not been possible. Sometimes, small changes create big impact.

The wall between the kitchen and the dining was taken down to open up the space.
We combined the originally designated pooja space with the master bath to make room for a jacuzzi in the bathroom.
A beautiful self-contained pooja room was instead created in the family room.
The dead space in the living room was made usable by designing a bunk bed cum kids slide area with storage space for toys and books.

Living

While the furniture, walls and interiors all scream contemporary, the artwork is all Indian.

A traditional Radha Krishna painting sits above the sofa in the living room. My eyes were drawn towards that intricate and vibrant Rajasthani tapestry hanging above the day bed in the informal living room. A framed Tanjore art above the yellow chairs complements the swing/oonjal/jhoola in the informal living room. Ceramic and brass pots and planters with Meenakari work are used throughout the house.

Dining + Kitchen

To effectively utilize the space, we opted for banquette styled dining pushed to one corner against the wall with storage space beneath. The dining table overlooks the kitchen.

The kitchen uses marine plywood with lacquered glass and HD laminate shutters. The counter-top is made of Quartz counter-top while the back splash is marble.

A contemporary kitchen with quartz countertop and marble backsplash

Pooja Room

The pooja room has brick tiles for its roof to give it a traditional look. When used as a media room, the ceiling mounted projector screen drops down. When the home theater is not in use, this room gives ample space for the kids to play around.

Bedroom

The yellow blinds (silk and brocade border) in the master bedroom are custom made as is the bed.

All the wardrobes are sliding ones. While the master bedroom wardrobe shutters are finished in lacquered glass, HD gloss and matte laminates are used in the other bedrooms.