A 3BHK Bengaluru apartments turns into a quaint abode

Kinaaya Design Studio works around challenges posed by budget and timelines to create a warm, earthy home.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Nayan Soni; courtesy Kinaaya Design Studio

The site

This is a 3BHK apartment, part of a 15-year-old building, located amidst the lush green belt area of Bengaluru just a few hundred metres away from Lalbhag. It was to be renovated for a couple and their five-year-old boy. The apartment was left unused for a few months and needed a total makeover especially the bathrooms. The woodwork, too, needed to be ripped down. “The flooring used was a light beige marble which remained as our base canvas to start putting together our design ideas,” says Kanya Samay, founder, Kinaaya Design Studio, who designed this home with her design affiliate Kanivandana. “Considering the short ceiling height as well, we decided not to opt for any false ceiling and worked with existing light points.”

The brief

The clients were clear about wanting a home that suited their taste for a minimalistic modern aesthetic and a material palette exuding earthy appeal. All of this, with a huge amount of priority given to function. “Since it would predominantly be a home for just three, with occasional visits by friends and family, the spaces were designed around their lifestyle,” says the architect.

The design intent

Keeping some fundamental materials that came with the building, the design duo developed mood-boards and materials palettes around these elements. “The exposed brick masonry on the exterior of the apartment was an inspiration to me as a designer and that had to be brought into the home in some minimalistic manner,” discloses Kanya. On entering the living room, you are welcomed by an exposed arched brick wall which not only adds character to the space but also is the focal point around planning the public spaces in this home. The lady of the house harboured a liking for green, which was used to connect with the lush surroundings. The private spaces, that is, the bedrooms and the bathrooms were a lot more subtle and the colours and materials used there were more soothing to the eye.

The civil intervention

“Owing to the fact that the building was over 15 years, we weren’t allowed to break down any walls. However, this was a challenge as we were trying to open up the plan as much as possible in order to ensure light and ventilation,” states Kanya. “Since we couldn’t open up the kitchen, we decided to remove the kitchen door and the window between the kitchen and utility, creating an airy space.”

The spatial configuration

The apartment opens into a fairly small foyer, sufficient enough to house minimal storage and a small seat. This space leads to the open living and dining. The living further opens to a beautiful balcony that overlooks the lush landscape and the pool of the apartment. The living room is adorned with a combination of furniture pieces sourced from Magari. The fabric selection was, however, carefully curated to match the colour palette derived by the designers. “Since the whole family enjoys reading and owns a huge collection of books, my instant thought was to create a library nook that could also be an area for our little client to enjoy playing a game or two all by himself,” the architect tells us.

The kitchen sports a simple combination of an L-counter and a straight counter, splitting the functions into the heavy-duty area and the simple coffee station along with all other appliances packed into the same stretch. A bold patterned tile that the client had set her heart on is paired with subtle ones to create a cooking space that is smart and stylish.

The master bedroom is a simple room sporting wicker on wardrobe shutters and the bed headboard. The master bathroom has hexagonal tiles on the floor and faintly patterned ones on the walls. The second bedroom, belonging to the young boy, has fun, bold prints on the headboard and the curtain, and a relatively big wardrobe for all his toys and clothes. The last bedroom, now turned into a home office, has been kept aesthetically simple and functional. “The clients wanted a relatively large work desk so that two people could also work at the same time, or probably in the future where their child and a parent could use it together for an activity,” says Kanya.

The material palette

The material palette revolved around a combination of earthy colours and hints of green, hence the name Brick and Jade too. “We used a wooden texture similar to that of the grains on the existing doors and framework,” discloses the architect. “Wicker was a material that we used in minimal amounts too, and this detail is seen on most of our fixed furniture. Small metal accents of black and gold were used in the hardware and the light fittings.”

The challenges

One of the major challenges of this renovation involved the restriction of any kind of demolition of walls, at the same time the bathrooms needed a total makeover owing to the age of the fittings and tiles. All of this, along with the rest of the house, had to be up and ready within a short span of three months! “The fact that we had only a short span of seven working hours in a day, was the biggest hurdle to get through — but we finally pulled it off in under three and a half months,” says the founder of Kinaaya Design Studio.

The highlights

“The project budget was quite a constraint for us initially,” Kanya reveals. “A huge part of our design process involved choosing materials and designs that were not only easy on the pocket but also durable and long lasting. This often ended up with basic material options like laminate finish. We have tried our best to work with laminate finish predominantly by fusing a few details of wicker/solid wood/veneer in order to get the best of both worlds. This was extremely challenging and gratifying at the end of the day.”