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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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The Local Project •

Virgin Active Bondi Westfield by Quattro Architecture with Cosentino

At Westfield Bondi Junction, Virgin Active has unveiled its first global social wellness club – a departure from the traditional gym model and a decisive step towards community-led wellbeing. Designed by Sydney-headquartered Quattro Architecture in collaboration with surfaces company Cosentino, Virgin Active Bondi reimagines the fitness environment as a luxury social destination grounded in ritual, recovery and connection. Material innovation underpins this shift. Central to the project is Dekton, an ultra-compact surface developed by Cosentino through a proprietary process that mirrors the natural metamorphic transformation of stone. The result is a dense, low-porosity surface resistant to heat, moisture and abrasion – attributes particularly suited to wet, high-traffic wellness settings. Carbon neutral and sustainably produced as part of Cosentino’s broader environmental commitments, Dekton enables durability and responsible specification to sit alongside aesthetic refinement.
The Local Project •

Mondrian Gold Coast by Fraser & Partners, Studio Carter and Alexander &CO. - Issue 19 Feature - The Local Project

Beachside locales are often characterised by a free-spirited charm and laid-back energy, but Mondrian Gold Coast, Australia’s first luxury lifestyle property by Mondrian Hotels, elegantly breaks the mould with its elevated coastal flair. Situated in the chic enclave of Burleigh Heads, the 24-storey hotel comprises studios, suites, private beach houses, a sky house, a bio-wellness spa, event spaces and two podium restaurants. The architecture was helmed by Melbourne-based Fraser & Partners, while the interior design was divided between Studio Carter – a California practice that previously worked on the Mondrian Singapore Duxton – and Sydney’s Alexander &CO. The Barrett Group was entrusted with the fit-out and construction of the two restaurants.
The Local Project •

RJ Living Launches Roam Collection

Homes are rarely still. They expand, contract and quietly collect the evidence of everyday life. With Roam, Melbourne-based RJ Living leans into that gentle chaos, delivering its most expansive collection to date – and one designed to move with you. Spanning living, dining, bedroom, storage and accent pieces, Roam is built around the idea that interiors should feel layered and lived-in rather than overly styled. There’s a subtle mid-century influence at play in the confident lines and textural f...
Architectural Digest •

This 150-year-old bungalow in Goa is a sanctuary with a speakeasy soul

Architect Rochelle Santimano doesn’t just see the world in colour—she sees it in full-blown technicolour. “It’s the opposite of being colour-blind,” laughs the founder and principal of Goa-based Studio Praia, for whom every decision is assessed in fifty shades of nuance. The upside? She can spot the difference between scarlet and the right scarlet at twenty paces. The downside? Achieving that exact shade occasionally means sanding down a perfectly good tile in pursuit of chromatic perfection. Su...
Architectural Digest •

This designer in Bhavnagar, Gujarat is turning abandoned tree trunks into living sculptures

Most of us drive past discarded tree trunks without a second glance. Shetal Parekh slows down. She looks again. And then she looks closer. Through her Bhavnagar-based practice, Inochi, she transforms what others leave behind into living sculptural works—pieces that don’t just occupy a room, but quietly alter its energy. Rooted in restraint and guided by intuition, Parekh’s interventions allow each trunk to retain its inherent rhythm, asymmetry, and memory.
Architectural Digest •

This café-bar in Mumbai channels the easy energy of a well-loved living room

Ever since Friends gave us Central Perk, the idea of a café as a second living room has felt less like fiction and more like fellowship. Not the orange sofa or the punchlines, necessarily—but that easy, casual togetherness. The sense that you could walk in at any hour and find your people, your corner, your rhythm. In Bandra, Mumbai, restaurateur Rashi Morbia channels precisely that spirit with The Nook, a 1,500-square-foot café-bar hybrid designed as a social anchor for coffee, cocktails, and conversation. Conceived by Dhvani Shah of her eponymous Mumbai-based design studio, the space nods to Central Perk’s ethos of belonging—not as a motif, but as a mood. Shah describes it as a contemporary “third place”—that elusive zone between home and work where you can loiter with—or without—purpose. “We weren’t interested in replicating a sitcom set,” she says. “It was about capturing that core ethos—a place where everyone belongs, where the seating makes you stay longer than you planned, and the atmosphere feels effortlessly warm.”
The Local Project •

In Focus: CDK Stone - Issue 19 Feature

Comfort, connection and inspiration are the three key elements of CDK Stone’s elevated new experience centre in Sydney. The new selection centre in Sydney’s Alexandria defies the conventions of a typical retail offering. The products don’t vie for attention, nor do they dominate the space: instead, they’re thoughtfully integrated into a calm, gallery-like setting that invites slow discovery and tactile engagement. The new centre is emblematic of a shift towards more elevated, design-led experiences – an ethos that will soon extend to the stone specialist’s other retail formats.
The Local Project •

120 Collins Street by Hassell - Issue 19 Feature

Some things get better with age – though, as Ingrid Bakker, the principal, board director and co-leader of the commercial and workplace sector at Hassell, will attest, they sometimes need a little help along the way. Such was the case with 120 Collins Street, a landmark skyscraper on the storied street in Melbourne’s CBD, originally completed by Hassell in association with architect Daryl Jackson in 1991. The ground floor and entrance had gradually lost their lustre, and to restore the 35-year-old spaces to their former glory, Hassell returned to lead the transformation, creating a revitalised, future-facing experience that pays homage to the original while meeting contemporary expectations.
Architectural Digest •

Abandoned for 20 years, this century-old granary in Kerala is now a weekend home

In the village of Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, framed against the hazy outline of the Western Ghats and cradled by paddy fields and a tranquil pond, stands a century-old granary that passersby might mistake for a forgotten relic, its laterite walls burnished by monsoon after monsoon, its timber beams darkened with age. Abandoned for over twenty years, it served as a silent sentinel to passing seasons—slowly forgotten by generation after generation of the family to whom it belonged....
Architectural Digest •

Inside a Mumbai apartment where colour keeps its cool across 3 bedrooms

Colour is a tricky affair. Whisper “beige” and a maximalist shudders; shout “fuchsia” and a minimalist reaches for a calming white wall. For some, it’s a love language. For others, a calculated risk. But for architects Kasturi Wagh and Vineet Hingorani of Mumbai-based kaviar:collaborative, it was a bit of both. “We like to think we’re colour-committed, not colour-crazy,” laughs Wagh, nodding to the studio’s past work—comfortably hushed, quietly tonal, and far more fluent in nuance than in noise. That knack for subtlety is exactly what Priyankka and Prathamesh Sonawane were looking for when they stumbled upon the studio on Instagram. “They’d been following our work for a while and reached out saying they felt aligned with our design language and wanted to work with us specifically,” says Hingorani. The energies clicked—and suddenly, colour didn’t feel quite so tricky anymore.
Architectural Digest •

This 24-seater, 12-course restaurant in Bengaluru mirrors the phases of the moon

In the city's ever-evolving dining firmament, Nila rises gently rather than in a blaze of neon. The 24-seater, chef-led restaurant in Bengaluru by Rahul Sharma is devoted to hyper-regional cuisine, expressed through a 12-course tasting menu that changes every three months—an edible cycle attuned to harvests, memory and mood. The name means moon, and while Prachi Joshi of the Bengaluru studio Designworx did not christen it, she designed the space as though it were in quiet orbit around that idea....
Vogue •

An upcoming exhibit in Hyderabad transforms a table into an art gallery

These days, nothing surprises Eeshaan Kashyap. “It’s the new normal,” he says, smiling from his Zoom tile, referring to the sort of commissions currently crossing his desk. A ruby-studded knife to slice a wedding cake. And more recently, a thali set emblazoned with jade. Then again, for Kashyap, what’s normal anyway?At 40, most roads in his world lead back to food. A trained chef who no longer cooks professionally, Kashyap treats the table less as furniture and more as theatre—a platform where m...
Domino •

This 1954 Cottage Is Swedish Seaside Living at Its Finest

Ask anyone who knows Ika Ramel and Sanna Nathanson, and they’ll swear that the Stockholm-based designers are 1950s souls living in millennial bodies. “We just love anything old,” says Ramel—and by anything, she mostly means homes. So when a father and his three children invited the Studio Ramson founders to reimagine their single-story midcentury house along Sweden’s southwestern coast, it felt less like a commission and more like fate.
The Local Project •

Michael Kirby Building by Hassell

A few years ago, Macquarie University’s Wallumattagal Campus, situated on Dharug Country in Sydney, Australia, looked a little different. The tired circa-1985 structure that masqueraded as the administration centre is now where the Michael Kirby Building stands. When architectural firm Hassell ultimately took up the gauntlet of reimagining the space into a contemporary learning destination, the intent was never to undo the past but to honour it in making room for the future.
Vogue •

How restoring a 125-year-old bungalow in Goa prepared a busy publicist for fatherhood

If you had asked Prabhat Choudhary where home was ten years ago, he might have hesitated—hemming and hawing, flicking through a mental slideshow of places he’d visited, and even the homes he had designed for himself across the country—before finally conceding that home was everywhere, and nowhere at all. Today, seated across from me in a hotel café, the 46-year-old PR honcho does none of that. He does not deliver a dialogue on all the cities he’s disembarked in this year, nor does he treat me to...
The Local Project •

Hendry Compound by Garret Cord Werner Architects & Interior Designers, HB Design and Donohoe Living Landscapes

“What drew us to this project was the combination of beautiful architecture, a site with great potential and clients whose vision aligned with ours,” says Bradner, a partner at Vancouver-based HB Design. Her interiors are anchored in a neutral, earthy palette inspired by the tones of the North Shore, layered with darker, timeless finishes. Brick, stone and warm timber are softened with tactile fabrics and calibrated light. Custom millwork integrates storage into the architecture, while expansive...
The Local Project •

Basil Bangs at the Mondrian Gold Coast

Mondrian Gold Coast – the esteemed hotel brand’s debut outpost in Australia – is a kaleidoscope of ocean vistas, sun-drenched interiors and bold design gestures that blur the line between laid-back luxury and contemporary sophistication. In the surfside enclave of Burleigh Heads, the property channels the area’s relaxed energy while layering it with Mondrian’s signature edge. With architecture by Fraser & Partners and interiors by Studio Carter and Alexander &CO, the hotel strikes a harmonious balance between playful and polished.
The Local Project •

Chromatica by Arent&Pyke

Perched on the upper level of a contemporary residential building in Elizabeth Bay, Chromatica is a light-filled three-bedroom apartment that peers out towards Sydney Harbour through a leafy canopy. Purchased off the plan, the home offered its owners a blank slate, one they were keen to personalise into a refined yet inviting retreat. The result is an interior that balances intimacy with elegance, drawing inspiration from the suburb’s storied Art Deco legacy through a rich material palette and finely tuned detailing.
Architectural Digest •

This 50th-floor home in South Mumbai bridges art, sound and space

Combining two apartments, more often than not, is a conundrum in and of itself. But in this home in South Mumbai, the apartments in question are separated by a skybridge, so the challenge shifts from clever planning to near-architectural gymnastics. Luckily, architects Amit Khanolkar and Advait Potnia enjoy a bit of mental parkour—and the occasional design puzzle that refuses to sit still. And if there was one thing about their latest brief that hit the spot, it was that: a spatial riddle that r...
The Local Project •

Campbell Parade Apartment by Lawless & Meyerson and MHNDU

Discreetly positioned behind a restored, century-old heritage facade, Campbell Parade Apartment commands uninterrupted 180-degree views of Australia’s most iconic shoreline: Bondi Beach. Yet despite its coveted address, the home embraces a sense of privacy and serenity.
Bondi is a lively beachside suburb where tourists, sunseekers and local fitness enthusiasts bring the streets to life year-round. In contrast, this thoughtfully designed residence is a refuge – a cocooning retreat from the vibran...
The Local Project •

Basecamp by Composition

Avalon Beach, a community-minded enclave nestled between Pittwater and the sea, moves to the rhythm of the breeze – calm, unhurried and deeply connected to nature. It’s here, within this tranquil corner of New South Wales, that Claire Perini of Sydney-based showroom Composition reimagined a house for herself and her family. Set on a tree-lined street, just a block back from the village, the mid-century home sits quietly beneath the canopy of ancient angophoras that frame its unassuming facade.
Architectural Digest •

An architect designed a home in Hyderabad for her parents, with intimacy in every detail

“Ornateness held little appeal to them,” says Lokirev of her parents, the primary homeowners, describing them as “simple, easy-going people” who value a quiet, grounded way of life and a close relationship with nature. Instead of grandeur, they wanted a home that felt natural, comfortable, and uncluttered. “We were never looking for anything grand,” they explain. “Our main expectation was just to have a home that works for us—comfortable, practical, and easy to live in.” This sensibility shaped...
Architectural Digest India •

Inside the restoration of Kerala’s Kilimanoor Palace, the birthplace of Raja Ravi Varma

Walls, as historians will avouch, are enchanting relics—holding on to architectural memory even when everything else has faded. Few places demonstrate this better than the Kilimanoor Palace, the famed ancestral home of Raja Ravi Varma, where long corridors, quiet verandahs, and timeworn masonry speak more eloquently than ornament ever could. Recently, one small yet significant fragment of this vast palace complex—the southern wing known as the Thekkekottaram—was gently coaxed back to life. The task, however, was far from straightforward. There were no old photographs to refer to, no grand restoration budget, and nary any pressure—none whatsoever—to turn the house into a polished showpiece. Instead, architect Aswathy Ganesh of Kochi-based The One Architecture Studio was presented with a deceptively simple question: how do you restore a home that survives largely in memory? The brief came from eminent Malayalam literary translator Prasanna Varma and seven of her cousins, the current custodians of this inherited wing of the palace—family friends of the architect, and quietly confident that she would understand what the place truly needed.
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Architectural Digest •

Inside a coastal Karnataka bungalow inspired by childhood memory

As sometimes happens when inspiration strikes, Salian found himself guided by flashes of memory, or as he puts it, “a faint, sensorial fragment from childhood. I remember stepping into a Mangalore tile factory, now long vanished, and being enveloped by its vastness. A double-height roof stretched overhead, its terracotta tiles resting on an exposed lattice of wooden trusses. The air was thick with the scent of sun-baked clay and ash. Light filtered in from high openings, casting long shadows acr...
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