The Modern Muse is a thoughtfully curated boutique Airbnb design set within the cultural heart of Koregaon Park, Pune, a location renowned for its leafy avenues, colonial-era architecture, and thriving café and arts scene. Designed and executed for Touching Grass Hospitality-Abhibha Stays, this project involved the sensitive transformation of a 30-year-old apartment into an experiential urban retreat. The design brief emphasised the creation of a space that balances tranquillity and warmth with an immersive sense of character, one that speaks to both contemporary travellers and design-conscious guests.

This project is a study in contrasts and harmonies: between the old and the new, the minimal and the ornate, and the urban and the serene. The apartment’s design language draws inspiration from modern contemporary sensibilities while subtly integrating traditional Indian nuances, resulting in a layered space that is both inviting and inspiring.

This Airbnb Design Is Thoughtfully Curated For An Immersive Experience | Espee Designs

Context and Intent

People know Koregaon Park, one of Pune’s most sought-after neighborhoods, for its mix of the historic and the modern. Amidst its charming, tree-shaded lanes and proximity to restaurants, boutiques, and cultural venues, the airbnb design offers the ideal setting for a short-stay property that feels both local and luxurious.

Touching Grass Hospitality approached the project with the intent to reimagine an ageing structure into a boutique living experience that aligns with the evolving expectations of modern travelers. This vision included not only an aesthetic overhaul, but also a reconfiguration of spatial functions to better suit a lifestyle that prioritizes comfort, intimacy, and experience.

Design Approach

The airbnb design concept for The Modern Muse was grounded in a simple but compelling idea: to create a home that feels like a retreat, where each room offers moments of calm, beauty, and discovery. Rather than conforming to conventional hospitality design models, the apartment was treated as a living, breathing space, one that reflects an authentic lived-in charm, with details that evoke memory and emotion.

Spatial Reconfiguration and Flow

The designers re-evaluated the existing apartment layout to introduce fluid circulation and a more intuitive use of space. They selectively knocked down walls to allow for better spatial connectivity, improved natural light flow, and a more open yet zoned layout.

The heart of the apartment now features a multi-functional living and dining space, seamlessly connected to a compact yet efficient kitchen. The spatial arrangement encourages slow living, making room for intimate dinners, long reading sessions, or quiet reflection.

Aesthetic Direction: Layered and Lived-In

The aesthetic strategy was to achieve a soft modernity a design that feels elevated but approachable. The palette relies on earthy neutrals, muted greens, terracotta accents, and natural materials like wood, cane, linen, and stone. These elements work together to create a textural depth and a tactile richness, giving the interiors a soulfully curated feel.

At the core of this layered airbnb design approach are the hand-painted walls that lend each room a bespoke identity. Created by local artisans, the wall finishes vary from abstract brushwork to subtle botanical-inspired motifs, forming a visual dialogue between traditional craftsmanship and modern artistry.

Signature Elements

The designers placed an open bathtub within the bedroom suite, making it one of the most striking design interventions. This bold design transforms typical layouts and turns bathing into indulgence. Stone-finish tiles and soft lighting make the bathtub a sculptural centerpiece that invites admiration and touch. They planned the layout for privacy using partitions, zoning, and material transitions to balance function and style.

Statement Headboards and Bespoke Furniture

The designers design each bedroom as a unique vignette, centered around custom-designed statement headboards. These headboards, made of textiles, wood, and cane, anchor and add character to the bedrooms. No two rooms are alike, and this sense of individuality within unity is a key theme throughout the apartment.

Artisans and small-scale studios largely handcraft the furniture pieces, and many sources or commission them locally. They choose every piece, from reclaimed teakwood tables to rattan chairs, for its form and story.

Craft and Curation

In The Modern Muse, these principles are expressed through locally produced ceramics and textiles. Sustainable materials like natural stone, reclaimed wood, and organic fabrics, along with regional artworks and minimal plastics, create a curated environment featuring linen bedding, brass fixtures, handmade planters, and vintage mirrors.

Sensory and Emotional Design

Beyond the visual, the design is orchestrated to engage the five senses. There is an emphasis on natural light, calming acoustics, and touchable surfaces. Indoor plants add softness and biophilia, while a local signature scent lingers in linens and common areas. Every detail, from fabrics to custom joinery, is designed to evoke comfort, nostalgia, and ease.

Urban Retreat: City-Connected Yet World-Apart

Despite being in one of Pune’s liveliest neighborhoods, The Modern Muse offers an atmosphere of quiet seclusion. Double-glazed windows and a muted interior palette insulate the apartment from the outside buzz. Yet, the design never turns its back on the city. Instead, it establishes a gentle dialogue embracing the cultural richness and spontaneity of Koregaon Park, while offering a private realm of pause and introspection.

This duality defines the guest experience: a temporary home that feels simultaneously integrated and detached, worldly and intimate.

Conclusion

The Modern Muse is not merely a renovated apartment it is a deliberate act of design storytelling. It stands as a testament to the transformative power of space when guided by clarity of vision, respect for context, and commitment to craft. More than aesthetics, it is about emotion. About memory. About what it means to feel “at home,” even far from one’s own.

By embracing imperfection, layering meaning, and celebrating both heritage and innovation, Touching Grass Hospitality has created a space that elevates short-term living into something poetic and personal—a muse, indeed, for the modern soul.

Fact File

Designed by: Espee Designs

Project Type: Boutique Airbnb

Project Name: The Modern Muse

Location: Prime park, Koregaon parrk, Pune, Maharashtra

Year Built: 2025

Duration of the project: 4 Months

Project Size: 800 Sq.ft.

Project Cost: 35 Lakhs

Principal Designer: Namrata Mulchandani Garg

Team Design Credits: Abhibha stays, Mr. Yash Garg, Miss Samiksha Deshmukh & Miss Anushree Ubale

Photograph Courtesy: architectural_captures

Firm’s Instagram Link: Espee Designs

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