Colours Of Joy!
A walk through architect and interior designer Shruti Choudhari’s warm and passionate home in Bengaluru’s Cunningham Road...
Amelange of colours.
riot of passions. And a plethora of art. Akash and Shruti Choudhari’s home is a vision that tasteful dreams are made of! Each corner is an extension of their personality as well as their common love for certain design elements. For instance, it is but obvious that both love
all things colourful, so the bedrooms as well as other living spaces are akin to canvasses. Wood being another favourite, has been used extensively. The home has an aura of flexibility and casual chic. Art, of course, a common passion, is showcased in every available corner of their house.
THE CHOUDHARI’S A small and loving family, that’s the best way to describe the Choudhari’s. Akash owns a company, which deals with the manufacture of automobiles and construction equipment, as well as a smaller furniture construction unit. Shruti is a renowned interior designer as well as director at Soul Space Projects Limited, a real estate development company. Recently, Shruti set up her own architectural design company — Chrysalis Design Studio. The couple have two sons, aged three and seven.
THE HOME
For Shruti her house is a warm, earthy and eclectic environment. She says, “My house describes me as a person.” As she and her husband love art, frames are strewn all over the house. She has personally collected each art work over the years and for her, art acts as layers of décor. “Every frame has a story behind it,” she adds. From quirky frames in the family sitting room to the warmth of the living room, to the décor of the garden, for Shruti every element is a messenger of positive vibration and an extension of the occupants’ personalities.
ADDITIONS AND SUBTRACTION
A standard 4 BHK duplex with a beautiful garden (a luxury in Bangalore apartments), Shruti stuck to the original plan when designing the house. Only a few minor alterations were carried out. The fourth bedroom was converted into a study cum play area. The lower level of the apartment has a foyer, living and dining zone, a guest room, kitchen, utility area and a help’s room with a common toilet. The living room flows into the garden. On the upper level, there is a family room, the gathering zone, the master bedroom, kids room (with an attached balcony). The upper floor also has an open terrace.
AS YOU ENTER... The foyer is Shruti’s favourite part of the house. She believes it has very strong positive vibrations, which come from the artworks placed around. She actually calls this area ‘My art walk’! There’s a gold painted Tanka of 100 Buddhas with a Buddhist chant close to the entrance, that she picked up from Dharamasala. There is a Shankar Kendale painting of a priest. Then there is a typical pandit and Ganesha painting by Sujata Achrekar; and a Hanuman series painted by Anand Panchal. On the opposite side resides a collection of silver Ganeshas and Krishnas. Lanterns are placed on the floor and a chandelier adds the finishing touch to the space.
GRAND LIVING The living room is an open plan, which flows into the garden. The windows frame the garden in all their splendour with pretty views. Most of the furniture (mostly contemporary) — barring a few chairs from Raseel Gujral’s store — has been made at husband Akash’s factory in Delhi. A few tables have been sourced locally too. The lighting here is subtle. The lovely Belgian crystal chandelier with champagne coloured drops are utterly eye catching! The base colours are beige with an accent wall in ochre tones. The cushions in the room are a riot of colours. The accessories have been collected during various family travels. From Norbolinka — a Tibetan Monastery in Himachal— to Turkey; Shruti has a piece of every custom and tradition. The art in the living room includes: Water colours by Samir Mondal, Mahatma by Yusuf Arrakal, Ganesha by KK Raghava, Badami series by JMS Mani, Puppet girls by Anand Panchal, and a charcoal by Kanchanamala. Then there are sculptures by Dimpy Menon and other artists too.
Shruti has a penchant for masks. There are masks picked up from all over the world. Butterflies and mirrors from turkey, puppets from Bali, sculptures from Spain, wooden painted chests from Norbolinka monastery, birds of semiprecious stones from Brazil, candle stands from Austria, painted eggs from Budapest, sandstone tiles from Prague! All of them add to the eclectic feel of the space. The mini bar was added as a way of demarcating the living and the dining area and also acts as a secondary breakfast unit, which the kids use on their holidays, at meal times! It has a top hung glass, which is supported by the beam, and a frosted glass lit from below.
GUESTS AND KIDS The guest room, on the ground floor, is simple, with minimalistic furniture with straight lines. It was purposely kept neutral, with the focus on two paintings of vibrant blues picked up by Shruti during an art fundraiser. Shruti has designed the children’s bedroom keeping functionality in mind. The floor is as uncluttered as possible. The bunk bed is the attraction, from which the lower bunk opens into a double bed. There is an accent wall of lime green, with a border of trains. Lots of shelves are provided to fit in books and toys. There are stickers and blackboards on the wall where the children doodle happily away! The highlight of the room are the washable walls! We like...
THE FAVE Shruti's favourite room is the master bedroom. “The master bedroom has calming colours. Beige, whites, teal and blues are what we have used,” she explains. There is a focus wall behind the clean lines of the bed, which has squares painted in beige and white. On these are mounted
three faces by Anindya Mukherjee who specialises in portraits from Kolkata. The furniture is modern, with straight lines and has accents of stainless steel. It naturally complements the squares on the wall. The windows frame the trees below and that forms another point of focus.
THE 'GATHERING' ZONE This zone is the most used area in the house, and is on the first floor. Shruti adds, “We are a family of avid readers, and the gathering zone houses some of our favourite books. It also has quirky elements like Audrey Hepburn plates on walls, antique posters salvaged from a closed down bar, painted cows and other figurines.” The furniture here is simple, which acts like a showcase for the funky cushions. Forest green, hot pink and beige are the three base colours here.
FRESH AIR Shruti's garden, which is parallel to the living room is the ‘spot’ where the family enjoys nature in its element! The piece de resistance of the home, it boasts of a collection of fir trees, ficus, birds of paradise, Poinsettias, ferns, etc. Shruti has accented the greenery with terracotta butterflies, glazed pots from Bali and lanterns. Smack in the middle is a wooden bench, which at some point was an old temple pillar!
On the foot of the bench, three clay ducks make their home. The bench is usually draped with a hot pink throw and cushions, which add colour to the garden on dull and cloudy days. Wind chimes also make their presence felt here. Every morning, according to Shruti, “The branches of a tree that overlooks our garden sheds lilac leaves, and we have a carpet of lilac that is simply breathtaking! My house is a happy place. A place that makes us believe that there is nothing sweeter than home.” We fully agree!