Deco-rated!

In a central Mumbai home, architects Kayzad Shroff and Maria Leon of Shroffleon steer the highly stylistic Art Deco design towards sleek contemporary living.

Curated by: Ambica Sharma
Photographs: Suleiman Merchant; courtesy Shroffleon

Architect Maria Leon

Architect Kayzad Shroff

The site

Situated in one of the sparkling new skyscrapers of central Mumbai, this three-bedroom home flows across 3,500 sq ft of light-filled space. 

The brief

Created for a lawyer couple and their two young children, the previously four-bedroom apartment had to be restructured into a three-bedroom, complete with a family room and a study. The interiors were to be moulded to reflect the couple’s passion for the Art Deco style. 

The design response

With Art Deco aesthetics taking point, the interiors were transformed accordingly, using the appropriate geometries, materials, and elements. “A series of arcs and arc motifs adorn the ceiling of the home, and a blend of circular forms with straight lines is dominant throughout the house,” say Kayzad Shroff and Maria Leon, principal architects, ShroffLeon.  

In the living room, sculptural art is a refined reminder of the interior styling code of Art Deco.

The material and colour palettes

Using Art Deco as the grail for choice of colours and materials, Kayzad and Maria zeroed in on stucco, concrete and smooth-faced stone surfaces. A large, marble bed-back frames the master bedroom. A shelving unit in the family room attracts the eye with its combination of three marbles: Statuario, Statuario Rosso and Red Lavante, with the last one adding a dash of colour to the room. However, it is in the living area where cement-grey walls hem-in a black stone niche, stands the focus element of the space. A copper patina textured wall, customised in collaboration with Asian Paints, forms the backdrop of the living room. This focus feature continues into the study room, while a minimal Georgian-glass partition ties the two spaces together. “The unconventional colour palette along with the distinctive geometries found throughout the house give the home a rather quirky and eclectic look, admirably reflecting the personality of the home owners,” say Kayzad and Maria. 

The home is dotted with furniture from luxury brands. In the background is the feature wall of the living room, which wraps around into the study room behind the Georgian-glass shelf.

The challenges

The feature wall in the living room posed a hurdle for a bit, which, of course, was sorted to perfection, as can be seen. “While working with artist Dev Khare, we wanted to achieve a very natural look in a way, where the oxidation of material becomes a part of the design,” elucidate Kayzad and Maria. 

The takeaway

The specificity of the design brief, a.k.a the Art Deco style, drove Kayzad and Maria to push their design boundaries, and create an expanded comfort zone, along with a shot of fresh inspiration. “That is how we come up with the children’s rooms’ walls,” they reveal.

In the bedroom, the white marble stands out against the dark grey and blue walls of the room.

Fact file

Project: Crescent Bay
Location: Mumbai
Area: 3,500 sq ft
Principal architects: Kayzad Shroff and Maria Leon
Design team: Surbhi Bansal, Shubham Jain and Reya Singh