4 BHK

Custom Lights Steal The Show in This Luxury Apartment Designed by Rubel Dhuna

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Custom Lights Steal The Show in This Luxury Apartment Designed by Rubel Dhuna
Lobby of the 4-bedroom luxury apartment in Pune designed by leading Mumbai based interior design firm Rubel Dhuna Architects.

Rubel Dhuna of Mumbai-based firm Rubel Dhuna Architects designed this luxury apartment in Pune for the Khemlanis. A heady cocktail (in a pleasant way) of design styles, this house showcases traditional, modern, and contemporary design with some never-seen-before creations of art such as the LIAH pillars, the custom made ghungroo chandeliers, or magnolia-petal inspired pendant light.

About the project:

Who lives here: Hema and Tarun Khemlani along with their two boys, Arjun and Veer.

Location: Waterfront Apartments by Panchshil realtors, located in Kalyani Nagar, Pune

Year built: 2018

Size: sq feet : 2000 sqft + 200sqft floor plate has an open-air deck extension

Type: 4 bedroom apartment

Designed by: Mumbai based firm Rubel Dhuna architects.

Principal architect: Ar.Rubel S Dhuna

Photograph courtesy for the images: HarbirzInc 

Budget: above 1 cr

When the Khemlanis moved from Mumbai to Pune, they found their dream home in the luxurious property of Waterfront Apartments. The design connoisseurs trusted Rubel with the task of giving shape to their dream.

Rubel says, “

They wanted the house to have a unique experience and to be a narrative of their life. A place where they could surround themselves with memories/things they had collected over time and one where they could make found memories with friends and family. Subtle elegance and sophistication were what they preferred.

There were no rules laid out. I was given complete creative freedom and that is a blessing for a designer.

Floor Plan & Layout

The 4-bedroom apartment in Kalyani Nagar, Pune has an open air deck extension. The house did come with its set of challenges.

It was a typical four bedroom apartment with  attached bathrooms. The spacious but disjointed spaces with a/c ducts running through the living room limited air flow, movement and lowered the ceiling height.

The layout was redesigned to maximize light and seamless flow from one room to the other.

Floor plan of the four bedroom apartment in Waterfront Apartments by Panchshil in Pune

Rubel says,

The house has an earthy tone . We’ve used a blend of traditional and contemporary design elements that are subtle yet leave a lasting impression. Broadly the palate consists of natural materials. We’ve used textured stones, graphic cement tiles, wooden floors with hints of brass.

RDa was involved from pin to piano on this project, every single piece of furniture/ light is custom designed by the RDa studio.

Traditional Art & Mirror in Foyer / Lobby

The entrance opens up into the lobby and the guest bedroom.

The classic floral patterned cement floor tiles from Bharat Flooring are complemented by the subdued beige walls. The tiles continue on to the guest bedroom.

The foyer in a classic Indian style design has on one wall is a ceiling to floor mirror that gives the illusion of a larger space. On the opposite wall is a vintage bench and a gallery wall of traditional Indianartwork including lithographs, Tanjore painting, and carved wooden artifacts.

The devil is in the details. Here, it is the custom designed light made of brass ghungroos called the Dalah chandelier. The stunner is a reinforcement of the traditional Indian theme of the foyer.

Dalah, meaning Petal in Kannada, is a customized chandelier deriving its name from the petals of a small bud. The light consists of several brass Ghungroos of varying sizes (used in traditional dance forms in India). The ghungroos are shaped like a flower bud that is about bloom.

Light emits from the inside the petals in turn casting shadows on the walls. One enters the house to a dramatic experience created by the refractions of light and the ringing sound of the ghungroos. 

A classic patterned floor tile is complemented by the beige walls in the lobby. A vintage bench and a gallery wall of traditional Indian artwork with a custom designed light made of brass ghungroos called the Dalah chandilier complete the foyer. A mirror on the opposite side gives the illusion of a double space.
Indian style foyer. A classic patterned floor tile is complemented by the beige walls in the lobby. A vintage bench and a gallery wall of traditional Indian artwork with a custom designed light made of brass ghungroos called the Dalah chandilier complete the foyer.

Guest Bedroom

The guest bedroom gets its access from the lobby. The floral patterned Bharat flooring tiles continues from the lobby into this room as well. The wall between the lobby and this room was replace by a clever inbuilt partition for storage.

One side of the lobby opens up into the guest bedroom. The floral cement tiles are from Bharat Flooring. An inbuilt storage wall acts as partition.
One side of the lobby opens up into the guest bedroom. The floral cement tiles are from Bharat Flooring. An inbuilt storage wall acts as partition.

Living Room

The living room is again very earthy. There is no dramatic transformation as one moves from the foyer to the living in terms of texture or color scheme.

The limestone flooring is again very organic with an undulating smooth texture and sheen to it. Two heavy corten steel coffee tables sit tout on the handwoven hemp dhurrie from Jaipur Rugs.

Classic Scandinavian chairs sit on one side of the deep and clean line gray couch, while an inbuilt wooden bench along the window makes room for more seating. There is an unspoken, effortless natural serenity to this room that’s hard to explain. It has that beautiful lived in look.

A blend of raw and smooth surfaces that give it a feel of country style living.

The dhurrie in the living room is  from Jaipur Rugs.  Art work is an ink on handmade paper by Namita Shah
A classic Indian style living room design. The dhurrie is from Jaipur Rugs. Art work is an ink on handmade paper by Namita Shah. The cushions are from Good Earth.

8 LIAH Pillars are the focal point of the house and are a great conversation starter. Inspired by traditional Tibetan Prayer wheel, these devices have been known for bringing spiritual harmony and positive well being.

The phrase “Om Mani Padme Hum” from the scriptures has been engraved on these pillars using an etching technique. The brass pillars rotate on pivots and act as a screen between the living room and the bar area

8 brass LIAH pillars with engraving from Tibetan scriptures acts as a screen between the living room and the bar.
A closer look at the engraving of the brass LIAH pillars.
A closer look at the engraving of the brass LIAH pillars.

Family Room + Powder Room

The brilliance of this apartment’s design is in the way spaces open up and contract to make more room and camouflage for privacy. The family room cum guest room is separated by sliding folding shutters.

When the screens folds away the living space grows into one huge space stretching from the lobby to the family room on one side, and from living to the dining balcony on the other.

A deep comfortable tufted tan couch sits across the study table overlooking a lush garden. The Khemlanis are avid travellers and collectors of artefacts from across the globe. This library is a sweet reminiscence of all their exploits from around the world. Each little nook of the library has a story to tell.

A 100-year old painting belonging to Tarun’s grandparents’ hangs on the wall opposite the library. Behind the library wall is an all black powder bathroom with accents of brass.

Family room/ guest room is a stark room with black and grey flooring (Giza Le mill tiles) and a long floor to ceiling skewed library wall.
Family room/ guest room is a stark room with black and grey flooring (Giza Le mill tiles) and a long floor to ceiling skewed library wall. The tan couch overlooks a lush garden on the other side.
The folding wall library, study table on one end and the tan couch on the other complete this family room.
The folding wall library, study table on one end and the tan couch on the other complete this family room.
The complete view of the family room with the tan couch, garden on one end, powder room in one corner and the library with several prized artifacts.
The complete view of the family room with the tan couch, garden on one end, powder room in one corner and the library with several prized artifacts.

Dining + Bar

The dining table is of irregular dimensions; it is paired with walnut wood Scandinavian chairs and a custom designed Brass Huva Light. 

The Huva chandelier is inspired by the petals of the magnolia flower. The chandelier is made by assembling hand beaten brass plates. These petals are in 3 sizes and are arranged in an array of varying lengths with larger ones on top and smaller ones towards the bottom.

The petals are then interspersed with light bulbs to give a uniform spread of light. The deep mature gold of the light emanating from the petals makes it perfect for a evening dining setup. Even when not used as a light the chandelier acts as a sculptural element in the space.

The deep mature gold of the light emanating from the petals makes it perfect for a evening dining setup.

The Huva chandelier above the dining table is inspired by the petals of the Magnolia flower.
A closer look at the petals of the Huva chandelier in the dining room.
A closer look at the petals of the Huva chandelier.

The bar table unit is a stand alone piece of furniture custom made for the project.It has a irregular angled fascia with inbuilt lights and a teak wood top.

The shrine windows date back to 11th to 13th century. They are from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The shrine windows  were sourced by RDa,they are from the 11th -13th century from southern Indian regions of Karnataka, Hampi and Tamilnadu. Tribe culture handmade these  windows and were used in their homes with tiny clad gods. This culture ended in the 19th century.

One of the shrine windows is exclusive and has elaborate  carving details and a Nandi in it.

French style accordian metal and glass windows near the dining area open up to a pebbled balcony with a beautiful sight of bougainvilleas and dense rain tress beyond.

Master Bedroom

The master bedroom has a large fluted headboard extending on both sides of the upholstered grey bed. The engineered dark Ember wooden flooring is from Xylos.

Glossed PU shutter wardrobes with inbuilt wooden handles line the entire length of the room across the bed. The walk-in wardrobe acts as a partition wall and has mirrors on 3 sides.

 The tweed green bedding is from Ralph Lauren and accent cushions from Good Earth.
The tweed green bedding is from Ralph Lauren and accent cushions from Good Earth.
Luxury apartment in Pune designed by RDa: The ember engineered wooden flooring is from Xylos.
The ember engineered wooden flooring is from Xylos.

Kids Bedroom

In contrast to the rest of the house, the kids bedroom has a brighter palate with blue Lagoon and white chevron pattern cement tiles from Bharat flooring  paired with Bamboo Vanilla wooden floor from Xylos.

The kids wanted to share a room. The bedroom has a floor bed and bunk bed, for sleepovers with cousins and friends. A winding stairway leads to the upper level and is flanked by caricatures of the family that were made by street artists from various cities in the world. 

The kids room and bathroom was designed in a playful manner. They wanted a bathtub but given the tight space a conventional bathtub could not be fit. So they created an inbuilt one instead wrapped in blue and white mosaic.

The mosaic was taken from floor to ceiling to give it a seamless look. The exposed brick walls adds relief/ contrast. The form of the mirror and window softens the space.

Chevron patterned flooring in kids bedroom from Bharat flooring. Cement tiles.
The chevron pattern cement tiles from Bharat flooring.
Teen kids bedroom with chevron pattern flooring by Bharat flooring
Study table in kids bedroom
Teen kids bedroom
Kids bedroom
Mumbai's best interior designer designed this luxury flat in Pune.
Mosaic tiles in kids toilet
Bathroom of a luxury apartment in Pune designed by a leading interior designer in Mumbai
Mosaic tiles in bathroom designed by Rubel Dhuna

Sources:

Civil contractor– S K Décor 

Carpentry – Umesh Sahani

Electrical contractor-Manvith Electricals 

Metal Work-Prakash Fabricators

Painting –Om Painting works.

Lights: Hybec 

Paints: Asian paints

Furnishings: Ralph Lauren , Cottons and Satins, Bharat furnishing, Yemajee ( pune ),Good earth

Flooring tiles: Bharat Flooring and World of stone

Rugs: Humming haus 

Furniture in living/family room: custom made by RDa, Lohasmith, House of things 

Materials

Flooring: Foyer and guest room- Cement tiles from Bharat Flooring

Living , dining and kitchen – River washed French Vanilla from World of Stone 

Kids Bedroom – Cement tiles from Bharat Flooring and Engineered wood from Xylos

Kids Bathroom– wall and floor is blue and white Mosaic 

Master Bedroom – Engineered wood from Xylos

Master bathroom –River washed Rain forest brown stone  from World of Stone
Lighting fixtures: Light fixture – Dalah chandelier and Huva Chandelier designed and development by Studio RDa  ( custom sizes available on request).Architectural Fixtures from Hybec
Doors – Panelled venner Doors were custom made at site


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