All those beautiful homes featured in the glossies, and many times on the blog here, are wonderful to ogle at. But, are they affordable and practical to maintain without an army of house help? Hell, no. They are for visual pleasure just like window shopping is good for the soul. Which is why my heart goes out to this 3 BHK apartment in Dahod designed by DA Architects for a business family with aspirations of a brighter future.
About the home:
Who lives here: A businessman with his wife and 2 children
Location: Dahod
Year built: 2019
Size: sq feet : 1300 sqft (carpet area)
Type: Apartment with 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms
Designed by: Dhara & Atri from DA Architects
Photograph courtesy for the images: Photographix India
Budget: INR 15,00,000
The apartment is located on the fifth floor. Built by a local builder, it came with vanilla finishes for flooring and walls – brick & vitrified tiles. The scope of DA Architects was to design the interiors of the apartment and there was not structural changes done.
The house is a great example of simple interior design ideas to decorate a home on a shoestring budget; a practical showcase of the magic one can create by paying attention to three things: good lighting, quality furnishings like dhurries, and wallpaper. These are all you need to elevate a home from drab to a fab designer one on a budget.
The architect says,”
This is a family from humble beginnings who wanted their future house to reflect their aspirations. Their main ask was to design a simple house with a playful approach within the budget constraints.
She continued, “For projects like these, as a beginning point, we like to chat up with our clients and more than often, hidden amidst these conversations we find our starting spark. It was no different this time. “
During the initial conversations about the project, it became quite clear to us that the heart of this project would be the merging of the proverbial new and the old. Though the family is strongly rooted in their unique traditions and culture, it is also at the same time a quintessentially a modern Indian family.
This for us was an opportunity disguised as challenge and became the starting point of our design process. In all aspects of the design process we have tried to highlight this merger.
Layout
The apartment is the on the fifth floor. The main door opens up into living area. A large balcony spills out from the living room, bringing in the outside to the inside. A sequential open plan concept leads to the kitchen which is aptly flanked on two sides by two kid’s bedrooms.
Living Room
The well-lit living room has custom made seating arrangement with attention given to not just the form but also its material and its textiles. Block printed fabrics are framed to make a gallery wall in the accent wall of the living room facing the long side of the seating.
The wall art stands out against the contrasting wallpaper. The ceiling has wooden purlins to give a sense of an ambiance of a traditional house. It is this marriage of new and old, which we felt should be the concept of the interior of this house.
Master Bedroom
The master bedroom is separated by a corridor from living area to bedroom giving it the privacy and the space that a master bedroom demands.
Decisions about the materials, textures, artworks, ambient lighting, furniture design, fixtures and overall outlook of the apartment were so taken that they reflected this core concept. This way of designing projects we feel is very interesting for us as it allows us to realize projects as a way of spatial story storytelling, which is unique and hence personal to every client.
Product Sources
Lights: Greatwhite
Paints: Asian Paints
Furnishings: Artex
Sofas: Custom made
Rugs: Khadi
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