Natural elements and earthy tones create a beautiful bungalow living environment

Spaces by Vintage Wood Crafts’ Dhara Mehta scripts a narrative that brings together Scandi and Japanese styles.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Umang Shah Photography; courtesy Spaces by Vintage Wood Crafts

The site

The site was a ready built-form in a gated society of bungalows. Its carpet area was 6,000 sq ft with a lush garden around it.

The brief

“Having designed a 4BHK apartment for them four years back, we both knew what we wanted from each other,” says Dhara Mehta of Spaces by Vintage Wood Crafts. “Functionally a house should feel like a home with less cluttered spaces, more expansiveness to the given space and aesthetically more soothing. The client had lived In Scandinavia and Japan for quite some time. So you can glimpse those styles in the home.”

The design intent

The design team based the narrative on a grid. This flows through the flooring and smallest of the furniture elements to the soft furnishings.

The civil intervention

“One of the major changes we did was creating a double height dining space,” says Dhara. “The volume created here binds the home. Light and sound travels through the home.”

The spatial configuration

The flow is such that you don’t see the entire house at once. There are pause points, transitional spaces and spaces to relax and places where the entire family gathers. The vestibule area is where you pause, and then enter the living room. From here, you proceed to the double-height dining space. The kitchen and a guest room complete the ground level. The first level houses the master and kids room, while the second storey has a study lounge leading to the parents’ room adjoining the terrace.

The design and material details

The design of each space keeps the grid concept in mind. “We started with the base of the home — that’s the flooring. Kota stone was used to give a more earthy feel to the space. And it remains constant in the entire house,” explains Dhara. The kitchen and guest rooms have stained veneers and metal to complement this base. Another major aspect that connects the entire house is the staircase: this is an oak wood element accented with black metal as contrast.

The master bedroom carries the Japandi influence of low beds, wicker and brass, while the kids’ room veers towards a fun approach, articulated through a suspended swing, a metal four-poster bed and a height-adjustable study table. The room on the top floors has a Scandinavian feel, and uses cork sheets on the shutters of the furniture and the headboard of the bed.

The highlight

“Without doubt, the double height that was created for the dining volume is a highpoint,” opines the designer. “Such interactive spaces are always fun to design since it creates a dialogue between the spaces and the ones using it.”