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Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar is an internationally published architecture, design and art journalist.

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Vaishnavi works out of a sunny studio called Mangomonk where she writes for publications big and small.

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Latest Articles

Architectural Digest India •

AD Small Spaces: This Netflix executive's Mumbai home is an exercise in optical illusions

Humans are creatures of habit, but they’re also creatures of change—especially if that change involves moving into a larger home, preferably one with plenty of breeze and light. Karishma Panvelkar-Saraf, a creative executive at Netflix India, and her chartered accountant husband, Siddharth Saraf—who runs a financial consultancy by day and a soft beverage company by night—are creatures of both habit and change. When they moved from a tiny one-bedroom flat to their current two-bedroom abode, they...
Architectural Digest •

This Bengaluru home is a magnificent Mexican daydream

Between interior designer Sunayana Rao and her latest clients, finance professional Pranay Desai and entrepreneur Aditi Ravi, deciding who’s the crazier one is no easy task. On one side, there’s Desai and Ravi, who stumbled upon Rao on Instagram, called her on a whim, and hired her three days later with the same conviction one might have when buying a bar of soap. On the other, there’s Rao, who meticulously added a bar-themed wallpaper to the mood board, stared at it for five minutes, muttered “...
Architectural Digest •

Inside a History-Filled Dallas Home With a Vibrant Reboot

Garza was captivated by its rich history. Once spanning several acres, the property originally included a greenhouse and a horse stable—its only remnant now a hitching post by the back door. There was even another house behind the main one, built in the 1930s. History seemed to be tucked into every corner. “We were told that the grandmother arrived in Dallas with 11 dollars and Stanley Marcus’s phone number, befriended the Marcus family, and became a Neiman Marcus showroom girl. And that his gra...
Architectural Digest •

This 18,000-square-foot mansion in Hyderabad is a masterpiece of exquisite craftsmanship

Nothing about Bengaluru-based interior designer Vinita Chaitanya is ordinary. Every room she touches becomes a canvas, every design choice a statement. To meet her is to step into a world where maximalism reigns and beauty—whether beheld through her eye or yours—is always dialled up to the highest setting. Hyderabad-based real estate developer Rohit Reddy knew these things about Chaitanya when he called her one morning a few years ago. “He had definitely heard stories,” laughs the interior desig...
Architectural Digest •

Osman Abdul Razak's 900-square-foot boutique in Chennai is an elegant slice of Milan

On Chennai’s bustling Khader Nawaz Khan Road, nestled between glittering storefronts and chic restaurants, stands a boutique that feels willfully at odds with its flashy neighbors. “It’s like someone plucked it straight from Milan,” quips Faisal Manzur, founder and principal of his eponymous Chennai-based design studio—the someone being none other than himself. But anyone familiar with Manzur’s flair knows that’s not quite true. After all, if there’s one thing this swashbuckling architect excels...
Architectural Digest •

This architect's Ahmedabad studio is an oasis of light

To work or not to work (in the office)—that is the question.Workplaces the world over suffer from a common conundrum: nobody wants to be in them. People may come and go, but no one really wants to stay. “At least not inside,” says Malay Doshi, founder and principal architect of the Ahmedabad-based Studio Saransh, who ensured that the interior of his office equaled—or even surpassed—the outdoors. “The idea was to integrate nature,” says Doshi, who pulled the surroundings into the very skin of the...
Architectural Digest •

This 10,000-square-foot holiday home in Karnataka's Malpe stands sentinel between sea and river

Anyone who knows architect Thomas Parambil can be forgiven for thinking he is a fitness fiend. “It’s true,” nods the founder and principal of Bengaluru-based Thomas Parambil Architects, whose gym membership, by his own admission, is motivated more by a proclivity for keeping company than keeping fit. Take his latest project, a home in Karnataka’s Malpe. “I wouldn’t have landed it if I hadn’t been on the elliptical that morning,” he grins, speaking of the morning he met his client Lavina Oberoi, an entrepreneur whose sporadic gymnastic pursuits were not too dissimilar to his own. “We got chatting and she started telling me about her beautiful property in the Karnataka hinterland, one on which she wanted to build her dream holiday home.” But the conversation never concluded. That is, until three years later when Oberoi dialled Parambil and finished what she had to say.
Architectural Digest •

This Tamil director’s home in Chennai is bold, brooding and brutalist

Hearing the name Design DNA might make you think the architects behind it are hardwired for design—but few would expect that their specialty is the unapologetically eccentric kind. “Guilty!” chuckles architect Karthik Arcot when asked about the accuracy of said description. It’s an unsurprising confession, given the studio’s latest project on Chennai’s East Coast Road—or more specifically, the short flight of stairs leading up to it—which Arcot took on with in-house architects Thejaswini Pandura...
Vogue •

‘Never Have I Ever’ actor Sendhil Ramamurthy on why it’s tough being brown and beautiful in Hollywood

This past December, as the festive buzz in Bengaluru softened into a quiet lull, Sendhil Ramamurthy and I took a trip to Chikmagalur. We moseyed through coffee plantations, lolled around bonfires, and gallivanted up and down beautiful forest paths—and yet, we never once saw each other. He was on vacation with his family, and I with mine. And though we stayed at resorts situated within an hour of each other, owned by the same company, on nearly exactly the same dates, meeting the actor of Heroes...
Architectural Digest India •

A 70-year-old family home inspires the layout of the owners' new bungalow in Kerala

Most new homeowners are accustomed to compliments—the kind that gush over their impeccable design choices, chic décor, and a kitchen so picture-perfect it’s practically a shrine to Pinterest. Designer Jishnu Vijay, however, experienced a different kind of flattery. “Someone mistook it for a movie theatre,” he guffaws when asked what kind. To be fair, the home, situated on green farmland with towering trees and open skies, wasn’t like anything nearby—or anything remotely within driving distance....
Architectural Digest •

Inside a Colorado Log Cabin With a Rock-and-Roll Soul

Anyone who knows her will confirm that interior designer Blair Moore is as dauntless in life as she is in her career—going so far as to stop by a bar, without fail, each morning before work. “But not the kind of bar you’re thinking of,” jokes the founder and principal of Rhode Island– and New York City–based AD PRO Directory firm Moore House Design, who frequented an oxygen bar one too many times while working on a vacation cabin in Mountain Village, a holiday habitat near the town of Telluride,...
Architectural Digest •

This Japandi-style apartment in Pune has a soul the colour of sunshine

The thing about designing a home, more often than not, is that there’s a method to the madness—and if you’re lucky, the method is all that remains when the madness dies down. Anyone who knows architect Preeti Dhumal knows this to be true—not only because she’s a magnificent mad-hatter, but also because she’s the kind to disguise the madness in the method so you never even know it’s there. “We certainly never felt the madness,” jokes Manisha, the Pune-based IT professional who was at the receivin...
Vogue •

Rayna Vallandingham looks like the girl of your dreams, but she can also make you scream

‘Vallandingham’ has the same ring as several surnames in southern India, and in the minute or so before Rayna Vallandingham appears on the screen, I make a mental note to ask which region it originates from. “It’s Dutch,” she says, moments after flickering to life, the morning sun in London haloing her heart-shaped face. “But don’t worry, I get that a lot.” The fourth-degree taekwondo black belt, as I will soon learn, is forgiving when it comes to questions about her ethnicity. The daughter of a...
Wallpaper* •

The top 10 architecture stories of the year: who, what, where and why?

For the top 10 architecture stories of 2024, look no further; we researched, reviewed and reflected to present you with some of the most-read news and features that dominated the headlines of the Wallpaper* world in the past year.The old and the new meet in our pick of the year's finest architecture stories. New cultural institutions, rediscovered modernist marvels, world-class transport infrastructure, interviews, and our annual Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory – all form part of the architectu...
Wallpaper* •

STO.M.P on the architecture studio's work, love of craftmanship and 'the cinematic details'

Husband-and-wife architect duo Vignesh Sekar and Shamini Vignesh love to relax with a good movie, but their weekly routine doesn’t always involve a Coke apiece and a giant tub of popcorn. ‘We love to lean into the cinematic details—the camera angles, the quality of light, the artistic sensibility,’ says Vignesh.The founders and principals of STO.M.P (short for Studio for Modernism & Practical Aesthetics), based in the southern Indian city of Madurai, approach a site in much the same way a cinema...
Wallpaper* •

An Indian mud house and more natural architectural wonders from Sketch Design Studio in Rajasthan

If her weekend home is any indication, it’s safe to assume that Rajasthan-based interior designer Shipra Singhania likes to put her money where her mouth is. In 2023, the founder and principal of Sketch Design Studio, a natural building and interior design practice she established in 2014, used kitchen ingredients to build her family’s pied-à-terre on a four-acre permaculture farm in Alwar, Rajasthan.She conjured the structure with nothing more than mud, lime, and edibles such as neem, jaggery,...
Architectural Digest •

Inside an ethereal Kozhikode home designed to delight the senses

Questions about cake aren’t exactly the sort of thing you lead with when attempting to impress a potential client looking to design their Kozhikode home—but anyone who knows architects Priya Rose and Rahul Mathew can confirm that confection and conversation, for better or worse, go hand in hand for the dauntless duo. “‘Do you like cake?’ That’s the first thing they asked us,” laughs their client, one half of a middle-aged Dubai-based couple who enlisted the duo—after being introduced by a mutual...
Vogue •

Radhika Apte: “My pregnancy wasn’t an accident, but it still came as a shock”

I was curious to know whether, like most women—including myself—Apte ever felt fully prepared to welcome children. “I don’t think you ever come to terms with it,” she said, referring to the notion of parenthood—how one cannot truly understand it without experiencing it. “I think it’s easier when people know whether they want a child or not. In our case, neither of us wanted kids, but there was this one per cent curiosity about what it would be like. Then, when this happened, we wondered whether...
Wallpaper* •

North Studio’s Rahul Bhushan: ‘I’m just a simple boy with a big dream – to make the world a better place’

If you dropped North Studio’s Rahul Bhushan in the middle of a forest with no food or water, by the end of the week, he’ll have designed a sustainable treehouse, started a wildlife yoga retreat, and convinced the squirrels to invest in eco-friendly architecture. The architect, hailing from the Indian Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, is a master at harmonising with nature, infusing it into his work by reviving ancient mountain-building techniques.Using wood, stone, and mud, Bhushan creates ea...
The Local Project •

FORTH Atlanta by Morris Adjmi Architects

Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward holds many distinctions: it is the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., a haven of scintillating street art, and now, the site of FORTH Atlanta, a new hotel and social club by Method Co. and New City Properties, designed by Morris Adjmi Architects.
Nestled in the green interlude between Historic Fourth Ward Park and Ponce City Market, this innovative hospitality concept exemplifies wellness, design and culture. FORTH Atlanta is where mid-century design meets 1970s pana...
Architectural Digest •

This serene and semi-open farmhouse in Hyderabad is a love letter to Bali

When it came to seeking direction, Kumar listened to his client’s instincts and his own, yes, but he also listened—and looked—to the past. “The design process kicked off by drawing inspiration from the existing structures on-site, with the goal of blending the new building seamlessly into its surroundings,” he says. The brief specified six bedrooms, each with its own semi-open space and connectivity to a common open area. What it didn’t specify was a layout—so Kumar devised his own. He modelled...
Architectural Digest •

Inside a 10,000-square foot Chennai bungalow inspired by a magical childhood home

It’s fascinating how certain childhood memories leave their imprint on adult life: the heady fragrance of frangipanis conjuring your grandmother’s garden; a chequered floor bringing to life the frenzy of hopscotch games; and long, sweeping balconies summoning winds just before a roaring rainstorm. Architect Varsha Menon has her own version of these memories—except in hers, the garden, floor, and balconies were all her own. “The house I grew up in, the one my grandfather built, meant so much to m...
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Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Diipa Büller-Khosla's canal house in Amsterdam is a postcard from 1614

Even from 6,000 kilometres away, Diipa Büller-Khosla’s energy is palpable through the screen. It’s morning where she is, and she and her husband and business partner, Dutch former diplomat, Oleg Büller-Khosla (the couple legally adopted each other's last names when they married in 2018) are perched in the kitchen of their Amsterdam home, in the company of their pet pooches, Kubii and Bimbo.

By their own admission, it’s a scene that just a few years ago, was a figment of their imagination. “We'd
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Ishaan Khatter’s Mumbai apartment is a sunset sanctuary

When he isn't busy filming or promoting or air-dashing off to exotic locales, Ishaan Khatter likes to appreciate the little things in life. “On Sunday mornings, when time permits, I slip off for a bike ride. In the evenings, I like to watch the sunset with some music and coffee,” says the actor, who was last seen in supernatural comedy Phone Bhoot, alongside Katrina Kaif and Siddhant Chaturvedi. So when he moved in a three-bedroom apartment along the Bandra sea face, naturally, his first priorit
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Actor Aahana Kumra’s Mumbai apartment is a pretty-in-pink princess pad

In a building full of identical brown doors, Aahana Kumra's entrance is the only non-brown curiosity. "I absolutely love pink. It's my all-time favourite colour—that's why it's right at the front," she laughs, holding open the candyfloss-coloured opuscule as she ushers me inside. For Kumra, the home is a manifestation twenty years in the making, and one that nods equally to her Lucknowi roots and her life in Mumbai. "There are whiffs of Kashmir, London and Delhi too. It's a collection of all my
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Actor Aparshakti Khurana’s Mumbai home displays drama in the details

Even before they had finalised their house, or decided who would design it, actor Aparshakti Khurana and his wife, events entrepreneur Aakriti Ahuja, had a chandelier picked out and stowed away in storage. "I had spotted it some years ago in Delhi and just knew I had to buy it," laughs Aakriti, and Aparshakti chimes in, "We had no idea what our future house would look like. Nothing was set in stone, except this big, blue bhaisahab." The bhaisahab in question now occupies a corner of their living
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Singer Armaan Malik’s Mumbai home is halfway between London and Los Angeles

At 10 AM on a Sunday, the last thing you'd expect is for Armaan Malik to be crisping the edges of a frittata. And yet, that's exactly the sight that greets me as I step into his kitchen, a California-cool bolthole with a London-esque edge. "I love making breakfast and treating myself to a good spread," he says, drizzling butter on bruschettas. Dressed in a casual button-up and chinos, he looks like a laid-back version of his on-screen alter ego, who, as fans of The Voice (on which Armaan appears
Architectural Digest •

AD Visits: Actors Aditya Seal and Anushka Ranjan’s newlywed nest is a storybook come to life

At the door of actors (and newlyweds) Aditya Seal and Anushka Ranjan Seal's new Mumbai duplex, the nameplate is conspicuous by its absence. What is not is the cheery (LED) baby seal that takes its place, animating the wall and nodding to its namesake owners. “It's fun to watch people guess," says Anushka. "Those who get it, get it. And it makes for a great conversation-starter." But the unlikely sea creature isn’t the only thing setting the entryway apart—because if the peach-toned front door (a