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Architectural Digest

Architectural Digest India •

This 50-year-old bungalow in Vadodara is reborn as a tribute to its owners' worldly adventures

There’s something special about travelling the world, but there’s something even more special about returning home. Just ask Abhit and Shilpi Banerjee. After fifteen years in Singapore, another three in Bangkok, and exploring over 25 countries, returning to India felt like a different kind of homecoming for the couple, now in their sixties. As Abhit explains, however, they had already moved mentally long before. “Six years prior, to be precise,” he says, referring to the moment they found their...
Architectural Digest India •

This 50-year-old bungalow in Vadodara is reborn as a tribute to its owners' worldly adventures

There’s something special about travelling the world, but there’s something even more special about returning home. Just ask Abhit and Shilpi Banerjee. After fifteen years in Singapore, another three in Bangkok, and exploring over 25 countries, returning to India felt like a different kind of homecoming for the couple, now in their sixties. As Abhit explains, however, they had already moved mentally long before. “Six years prior, to be precise,” he says, referring to the moment they found their...
Architectural Digest India •

Inside a calming Thrissur home where the outdoors inspire the indoors

Bringing the colours and textures of nature indoors was one thing, but introducing its sounds was quite another. Imagine the gushing of waterfalls, the chirping of birds, or the gentle pitter-patter of water mimicking distant rain. Muaz conjured all of this—and more—inside the home, merging (or demerging, depending on how you see it) the interior with the natural environment. Muaz emphasised playfulness, yes, but he also focused on practicality. He shaped the home into an "H," incorporating vert...
Architectural Digest •

Tour a Designer’s 100-Year-Old LA Retreat

Interior designer Jessica Pell has a knack for spotting beauty in the unexpected and, better still, magically unlocking it. Her home in Eagle Rock is proof. “Having lived in a Schindler for many years, I am drawn to soulful spaces that connect thoughtfully to the site, light, and nature, and I developed a deep appreciation for places with history and a strong sense of presence,” says the founder and principal of Manola Studio. But Pell’s dream of owning a home in Los Angeles that checked all her...
Architectural Digest India •

A new exhibition in Bengaluru highlights worship and celebration through varied craft forms

Anastasio and Baghel exercised a deft touch with their joint collection of metal lamps—designed by the former and crafted in Dhokra by the latter. But look closer, and there’s more to their repertoire than meets the eye. Each lamp embodies celestial aspects of the goddess, re-explores Dhokra art, and serves as a symbolic lesson in light triumphing over darkness. “The pieces continue KAASH’s exploration of light, but this time through the traditional oil lamp. Andrea has deconstructed the archety...
Architectural Digest India •

This calm and collected home in Mumbai is a one-way ticket to Bali

Jayesh and Archana Patil like a good tropical getaway but don’t always have the time to get away. Referring to the couple’s Bali-themed lakeside home in Mumbai, Jayesh jokes, “So we bought a one-way ticket,” further adding “We didn’t want a typical home, and as avid travellers, we wanted it to feel like a bohemian postcard from holidays gone by.” Their postage stamp in the way of a recommendation came from a mutual friend. By the time they reached out to architects Anand Deshmukh and Chetan Laho...
The Local Project •

Maytor Place by Marmol Radziner

Situated at the end of a cul-de-sac in the star-studded Trousdale Estates of Beverly Hills, Maytor Place is an exceptional home.
Originally designed in 1962 by architect John Elgin Woolf, this Hollywood Regency-style dwelling has been restored by Los Angeles-based design firm Marmol Radziner. The home blends 19th-century French and Greek Revival influences with modernist touches and contemporary luxuries, creating a unique living space.
Once owned by actress and philanthropist Marjorie Lord, May...
Architectural Digest India •

This 5,000-square-foot farmhouse in Delhi is a tapestry of jewel tones

Every dog has its day, but in the case of one pup in this farmhouse in Delhi, that day was every day. “She took to following us everywhere,” says The Vrindavan Project’s Shreenu Mukherjee. “She would eagerly await our arrival at the gate as if she somehow had access to the project calendar, knowing exactly when to expect and welcome us in.” Whether the pooch in question, a little Indie named Skye, was a metaphor for the opportunities that lay ahead in the 5,000-square-foot farmhouse in Delhi tha...
Architectural Digest •

This Prewar Apartment in Brooklyn Is a Sun-Kissed Postcard From Sweden

Jordan and Ethan Green remember everything about their first visit to what would become their next home: the spectacular ceiling height, the abundance of light, and the oak floors, still in great condition. “There was an aura of calm that we just couldn’t find anywhere else,” says Jordan, a strategy consultant, about the Brooklyn apartment, situated in a prewar building that once served as the headquarters for the Bell Telephone Company. For the couple, who both work long hours, mostly in the of...
Architectural Digest India •

This home in Pune is an extension of the Earth with natural finishes and its meditative spirit

They say that those on the path to enlightenment have few worldly desires. This was true for Mayuri Jadeja and Vishwajit Gohil, who had it on their heart to pursue salvation and self-actualisation—eventually, sure—but also have a home back on earth to tide them over in the meantime. By the time they reached out to architects Tejas Shintre and Ojas Hiwrekar of Pune-based Koriv Design Studio, they already had a clear vision for their home in Pune’s Wakad: something with natural finishes and an ear...
Architectural Digest •

This Historic Queens Apartment Takes Inspiration from NYC’s Cobblestone Streets

For one New York City–based finance professional, coming home to her apartment in Forest Hills Gardens is the ultimate form of therapy. “My favorite thing about it is the serenity you feel the moment you step inside—it’s like being transported back in time,” she says, admitting that the peaceful vibe of the home, built around 1930, and the neighborhood at large—designed like a traditional English village—cast a spell on her during the first visit. In her eyes, in those moments, nothing else mattered: not the tired bathroom fittings, the worn kitchen floor, or the light-starved living room layout. “Plus, discovering that the kitchen garbage chute is fully functional was an unexpected bonus,” she jokes. The home needed updating, sure, but it was nothing a light refresh couldn’t fix. She entrusted Paulina Hospod and Albert Rutkowski of AhA!nteriors, a family-owned design-build firm based in Queens, to work their magic and bring the 1,000-square-foot home to life.
Architectural Digest India •

This set designer’s New Delhi home evokes the magic of the movies

“My design process is all about colour. So when we were figuring out the mood and tone for each room, I knew I wanted colour drenching to be the focus, allowing each space to have its own unique vibe.” It was one thing to draw inspiration from her job, but quite another to replicate that style entirely. “One of the biggest challenges I faced was breaking out of my usual set design mindset, where everything looks great but doesn’t always feel right. In set design, everything is temporary—you’re c...
Architectural Digest India •

This farmhouse in Tamil Nadu’s Rajapalayam is a labour of love by three generations

Textile designers are well-versed in the art of dyeing with mango leaves, but the tincturing effects of the tropical evergreen, except maybe during festivals, are lost on most architects and interior designers. The architects at Kollam-based The Design Room don’t claim to be the exception. “We learned it the hard way,” laughs principal Nanda Kishor, the we in question being himself and fellow principals Vivin Shankar and Sebastian K. John. It wasn’t until some mango leaves yellowed the grey oxid...
Architectural Digest •

A 900-Square-Foot Prewar Brooklyn Apartment Gets a Kaleidoscopic Spin

Thea Traff doesn’t consider herself a quitter—but when the Minnesota native set out to buy an apartment in the Big Apple, she nearly threw in the towel (and tossed out the plan). “When I began looking, everything I saw felt too small for the price it was listed at. I gave up on the search until the day my apartment came on the market,” recalls the editorial photographer, whose work has been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone, among others.Although the Brooklyn Hei...
Architectural Digest India •

This Mumbai home proves that downsizing doesn’t mean downgrading

Fund managers are no strangers to bearish outcomes, but when it came to designing the Juhu, Mumbai, home he shares with his wife and their 9-year-old daughter, one Mumbai-based financial analyst didn’t need the slightest help feeling bullish. “This was our first experience designing a home from scratch, so it felt a bit daunting at first, but the excitement of creating something uniquely ours outweighed everything,” says the finance professional, who, along with his wife, entrusted interior designer, Dhvani Shah, from her namesake Mumbai-based studio, to guide the design direction for their home. The couple, both in their forties, had a clear idea of what they wanted: something modern and luxurious, yet homely and uncluttered, with a largely monochromatic palette. Their non-negotiables? A clean, open living area, a well-integrated bar setup, and a spacious balcony that could comfortably seat several people.
Architectural Digest India •

This Mumbai home proves that downsizing doesn’t mean downgrading

Fund managers are no strangers to bearish outcomes, but when it came to designing the Juhu, Mumbai, home he shares with his wife and their 9-year-old daughter, one Mumbai-based financial analyst didn’t need the slightest help feeling bullish. “This was our first experience designing a home from scratch, so it felt a bit daunting at first, but the excitement of creating something uniquely ours outweighed everything,” says the finance professional, who, along with his wife, entrusted interior desi...
Architectural Digest India •

This bungalow in Bengaluru is an ode to its owners’ roots in Kerala

Being from one place and living in another is a fate unwittingly bestowed upon many urban dwellers, whose jobs, fortunately or unfortunately, keep them tethered to the pace and frenzy of big-city life. It was no different for one Bengaluru couple, Malayalis by heritage, not birth, whose upbringing across various Indian cities left them yearning to reconnect with their roots—at least mentally. They reflected on their calling through conversation and contemplation; then, still feeling none the wis...
Architectural Digest India •

This Mumbai apartment is an Aladdin’s cave of gleaming treasures

The thing about being empty nesters is that you begin to see things in a new light—corners of the home you never really noticed, a wall that seems emptier than it used to, and rooms that suddenly feel too quiet, like they’re waiting for the next burst of life. When their sons flew the coop and moved to the U.S. a few years ago, Mumbai couple Chetan and Falguni Shah had a similar revelation. They’d lived in their Kandivali West apartment in Mumbai for over twenty years, and it was a home they and their boys knew well—so well that the Shahs decided, with the junior members gone, that it was time for a change. “Over the years, we hadn’t changed much from the original design, just a few minor tweaks here and there. With the boys away, the space had become more of a retreat for the two of us, and we felt it was time for a much-needed update,” says Chetan, though by we, what he really means is she. “In our family, whatever Falguni says goes—she has a much better eye for design, and I was more than happy to leave those decisions to her.” As for Falguni, she entrusted the project to interior designers Nidhi Shetty and Nidhi Chawla of Mumbai-based Dusq Studio to help bring her—nay, their—vision to life.
Architectural Digest India •

This bungalow in Karnataka’s Kundapur reimagines the ancestral home that stood before it

When it came to the interior design, the Shettys expected the bare minimum. They wanted simple layouts, minimum furniture, and little to no decor for their bungalow in Karnataka. Their prudence, however, made an exception for the sun, which they wanted in abundance, and the kitchen and entertaining areas, which they wanted large. Of course, as Suchith’s wife, Vasavi, explains, not everything went according to plan. “We got a big surprise the day we walked in when we saw brick walls in the living...
Architectural Digest India •

[Print] Glass Half Full: Lobmeyr x Douglas Friedman

What do Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the phonograph, and photographer and tastemaker Douglas Friedman have in common? Besides being trailblazers in their respective fields, the two Americans, born over a century apart, both collaborated with the 200-year-old Austrian glassware company Lobmeyr to create things the world had never before seen. In Edison’s case, it was the world’s first electric chandelier; in Friedman’s, a collection of exquisite hand-painted glasses inspired by the spectacular views behind his home in Marfa, Texas.
Architectural Digest •

Glass Half Full

What do Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the phonograph, and photographer and tastemaker Douglas Friedman have in common? Besides being trailblazers in their respective fields, the two Americans, born over a century apart, both collaborated with the 200-year-old Austrian glassware company Lobmeyr to create things the world had never before seen. In Edison’s case, it was the world’s first electric chandelier; in Friedman’s, a collection of exquisite hand-painted glasses inspired by the spectacular views behind his home in Marfa, Texas.
Architectural Digest India •

This 3,500-square-foot bungalow in Kerala’s Karunagappally is an oasis in nature

Everyone in Karunagappally, Kerala, a bustling municipality in Kollam just shy of two hours by road from Alleppey, has a story to share about the town. Wise elders will proudly recall seeing the making of the first ever kettuvallam, a traditional barge invented in Karunagappally, known for its idiosyncratic thatched covers. Their children will tell you about the Sree Narayana Trophy boat race, a spectacular backwater competition held every Onam, where colourful snake boats, decorated with silk u...
Architectural Digest •

A 1960s Arkansas Bungalow Gets a Cinematic Glow-Up

Ten years ago, Anna E. Cottrell walked into a hillside home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and knew in her bones that it was the one. She didn’t mind that the bungalow was a circa-1961 build, or that it hadn’t been restored for decades. “I immediately felt a very cool California vibe,” the creative director recalls.“I could imagine myself being happy and inspired here. The black concrete floors, clean lines, and floor-to-ceiling windows that wash the space in natural light really sealed the deal.” F...
Architectural Digest •

This Memphis Home Is the Picture of Eternal Spring

Anyone who knows David Quarles, whether in person or through his brilliantly bohemian Instagram account, will tell you that the Memphis-based interior designer loves living his life in technicolor. “I’m a synesthete,” David says of his preternatural talent. “I see sound and hear color.” Which is why, when he meets clients for the very first time, the first thing he does is ask them their favorite songs. “It comes in especially handy when they can’t express how they want their space to feel or lo...
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