A 3BHK, 2,700 sq.ft apartment in Hyderabad designed by Tangerine Turfs. The interior design is a delicious mix of Indian arts and crafts, and contemporary design.
The AH residence in Hyderabad designed by Aamir and Hameeda reeks of class. Every object, every piece of furniture, every artifact fits like a hand in glove as if it were crafted for this space. The color palette is an understated beige to grey that complements the dark and moody furniture and furnishings. The theme vacillates beautifully between modern and rustic elements without letting the eye settle on any corner for too long. I fell for the lighting fixtures, the distressed console, and the stone clad wall. Image courtesy: AANDH
Brief by the client: Imagine a vintage cafe to serve canteen-style finger food and traditional India chai. Retro? Check. Feel of the 50s? Of course. Eerily comfortable and familiar? No doubt. Nostalgia? You bet. I’ve spent the past hour ooh-aahing over this space. Yes, I do swing from my minimalist end of the spectrum to this far extreme if it has an old-world charm to it and is done up every inch in a retro way. I mean, seriously, what is there not to love about this cafe. These breathtakingly gorgeous pictures are of the 750 sq.ft Karachi Cafe in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. If you have been to Hyderabad, you would have heard and tasted the signature biscuits from Karachi Bakery – the cafe is an outlet from them. The cafe has been designed by Aamir and Hameeda. The devil is in the details and AANDH has done an impeccable job of…
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…
Sometimes unplanned weekends are all the more fun. Just on a whim, when I go to know last Wednesday that Monday was a holiday for my son, we decided to go to Hyderabad. Booked tickets on the bus, made reservations at a hotel at a great location, packed lightly on Friday evening and off we went on a two day holiday. Recipe for a great weekend: one day of exploring the city and one day of catching up with friends you haven’t met in years.
It’s been over 25 years since I last went to Hyderabad and this was a first personal trip for my husband and son. The highlight of the trip was that it coincided with the end of Ramadan and festivities were on to celebrate Eid. I’ve never seen Bangalore celebrate Eid on such a large scale. After a while, it felt little awkward as if something was amiss if I didn’t see a “Irani Haleem” sign board every 50 meters. There were a few streets that completely took us by surprise – a street full of paint stores, one just for wedding invitations, another for hardware and electrical stores and yet another for just flowers – flowers of all kinds, sizes and colors, and fruits.
There was so much chaos and yet it looked so organized. As we meandered our way through the old city to the Museum, the contrasts of two cultures existing effortlessly side by side was hard not to miss. This is why India is secular: it was along drive from Golconda Fort to the Museum and I dozed for a few minutes. But, while driving through one of the narrow lanes, I woke up startled by the ringing of the temple bells. The temple was flanked by a mosque on one side and a famous haleem outlet on the other. Most of the old houses have not been renovated, at the max, just painted. So those small windows, painted wooden doors secured with a chain iron lock on the top, and STD-ISD-PCO (it’s hard to see these in Bangalore) signs, was a treat to the senses.
Sunday, we met up with old friends and had lunch at Nautanki Gali – which is what this post was supposed to be about. But, I digressed. There’s nothing much I can describe in words about the restaurant other than that it was everything Indian(rural), kitsch, adventure, happiness, colors of life, street food ( spicy chat and sinful chocolate fountain desserts), celebrating life, making memories and indulgence – all packaged into one. Over to pictures:
A view of the hallway leading up to the dining area designed as a thoroughfare with steel balti seating for waiting guests and bright street-like painting on the walls.
A closer look of the art work with some funny captions. Inspiration comes from the graffiti on the streets, back of trucks and auto rickshaws around the country.