The Nirvana Home

The Design Street takes the minimalist route to create a soulful space for a two generational family in Hyderabad.  

Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Ricken Desai; courtesy The Design Street  

The site

The Nirvana Home project in Hyderabad was commissioned to The Design Street by a two generational family. Spread across 3,600 sq ft, this 4BHK flat was received by Shaily Malpani and Ruchika Agarwal, principal designers, The Design Street, as a bare shell. This ground floor flat overlooked a common garden area which gave the scope of opening an entire wall into the garden.

The brief

The house was to be designed, keeping in mind the needs and aesthetics of the parents and their newly married son and daughter-in-law. Apart from doing up the common areas and opening up the kitchen to make it more spacious, a specific task given by the client was to create a powder room and study/home office.

The civil intervention

As the client requested a powder room, the bathroom of an existing ensuite bedroom was bifurcated into a powder room, the access to which was given from the common area, and closed from the bedroom. The master bedroom and son’s bedroom had small bathrooms and separate dressing areas — the bathroom and dressing area was combined to create a large bathroom with additional wardrobe space. The kitchen had two entry doors, one of which was closed to give the kitchen storage continuity.

The design intent

“Although the apartment had an open vibe to it. Our approach was minimalistic, with the right accents to highlight key areas of the house. We wanted to keep the furniture to the minimum, giving more floor space, which made the area of the house look bigger than it is. Common areas were kept simple, in terms of colours and furniture, and each room was designed specific to its occupant and usage,” explains Shaily.

The design and material details

The apartment opens into the living room which extends into a lounge space overlooking a balcony. The lounge has a swing which is also the focal point of this hall. The TV unit in the living area is panelled to hide a door to the guest bedroom. The other two ensuite bedrooms are the master and son’s bedrooms. The third bedroom was converted into a home office/workout room. The highlight of this apartment is the passage, which connects the living area to the dining, kitchen and balcony. The beautiful blue pooja room door with bidri-work handles opens into this passage too.

The materials used in the design of the Nirvana Home is a play between microtopping and finishes, wall paint and Thermopine panels. The living area, lounge and passage has a grey microtopping finish on the walls to imitate a cement finish. Wall panelling on the TV unit is done in Thermopine panels to contrast the cement-finished walls. The bedroom for the newly married couple sees a play of colours as the designers wanted to keep the space fresh and vibrant. The wall behind the bed is the focal wall of this room, where microtopping sees a terracotta colour, while the wardrobes are green laminated shutters with wooden handles. The console and love seat here were designed specifically keeping the client’s requirements in mind. The high point of the master bedroom is the backdrop for the bed — a painted wall which displays a large framed wallpaper of a lush foliage.

The areas that stand out the most are the powder room and the dining area which opens out into the deck and outdoor garden. The powder room has patterned tiles on the floor, adding drama with part fluted thermopine panelling, and a royal blue paint on the rest of the wall. The art for the pooja room was designed and commissioned specifically for the client. Even the handles for this room is a commissioned piece showcasing handcrafted bidri work.

The challenges

“This project was executed at the peak of the 1st wave of COVID, where apart from battling the scare of COVID, we dealt with migrating workers,” shares Ruchika. “Material availability and mobility was a great challenge. Owing to the pandemic, the labour fare increased which rattled the budgets as well. Also, after the carcass for the carpentry work was complete, the clients decided they wanted to change the flooring which we did. In spite of these challenges we completed and handed over the project in a record time of five months,” she adds.

Fact File

Project: Nirvana Home
Client: Suresh Pothineni
Location: Banjara Hills, Hyderabad
Area: 3,600 sq ft
Principal designers: Shaily Malpani and Ruchika Agarwal