The name Nalme comes from the Kannada word for affection, warmth, and heartfelt belonging. The design extends these qualities into a home shaped around the lives of the family. The family wanted a home rooted in simplicity, comfort, and a deep connection to nature. The design uses light, craft, and materiality to give everyday living a more meaningful quality. The residence sits on a compact 30′ x 40′ urban plot and revolves around a sculptural circular staircase. The staircase anchors both the spatial planning and the emotional heart of the home. The staircase does more than connect the levels vertically. It anchors the entire plan, creating visual continuity and a series of spaces that unfold around it.
Editor’s Note: Some homes find their character in the details that make everyday life feel special. Nalme does this through light, craft, and a strong connection to nature, creating a sense of openness within a compact urban plot. Its circular staircase becomes more than a way to move between floors, bringing the family’s spaces together around a shared heart. Handmade brick, clay, terracotta, and Kota stone add warmth and texture, while skylights and natural ventilation keep the home connected to its surroundings. The result is a home that feels thoughtful rather than extravagant, showing how careful design can make even a small space feel generous, personal, and full of life. ~ Yashika Bajaniya
Inside a 30′ x 40′ Home That Makes Compact Living Feel Expansive | Wright Inspires
The ground floor accommodates the family’s shared activities, with the living area, kitchen, pooja space, and bedroom arranged as fluid yet distinct zones. Curved walls soften transitions between spaces, while carefully positioned openings draw natural light deep into the interiors. The first floor houses the private family quarters, with bedrooms, study areas, and dressing spaces connected by a central circulation spine. This spine overlooks the stairwell below, strengthening visual connections across the levels.
Above, the terrace transforms into a contemplative open space centered around a handcrafted dome and skylight. A circular oculus crowns the stair volume, allowing daylight to penetrate through the core of the house and animate the interiors throughout the day. This interplay of light and shadow becomes one of the defining experiences of the home, constantly changing with the movement of the sun.
Materiality plays an equally significant role in shaping the character of Nalme. Exposed clay masonry, handcrafted brick details, terracotta elements, and kota stone flooring create a tactile architectural language rooted in tradition yet expressed with contemporary restraint. The natural textures are allowed to weather gracefully, lending the house an authenticity that grows richerover time.
Climate responsiveness is embedded within the design. Brick-crafted skylights, perforated surfaces, deep openings, and naturally ventilated volumes work together to moderate heat, improve airflow, and reduce dependence on artificial lighting. Spaces are woven into the architectural composition, influencing views, shading patterns, and the overall ambience of the home.
Small handcrafted interventions further strengthen the connection between architecture and nature. Leaf imprints embedded within the flooring, filtered daylight through brick screens, and framed views of foliage introduce moments of discovery and delight within everyday routines.
These elements celebrate the imperfect beauty of handmade craftsmanship and the subtle presence of the natural world.
NALME is not a house defined by scale or extravagance, but by its ability to create meaningful relationships between people, light, material, and place. Through its central skylit core, crafted brickwork, earthen textures, and intimate spatial planning, the project offers a quiet yet enduring expression of home one that remains deeply rooted in context, climate, and the lives of its inhabitants.
As architects we found this project an interesting challenge where the site was compact, and we simplified and thought minimally to feel the largeness of the space. Nalme goes onto our portfolios as the home that stands out for detaiing and material expression.
Fact File
Designed by: Wright Inspires
Project Type: Residential Architecture Design
Project Name: Nalme
Location: Bangalore
Year Built: 2025
Built Area: 1837 sq.ft
Principal Architect: Ar. Prathima Seethur
Photograph Courtesy: Studio Envy
Architect in charge: Ar. Sukumar, Ar. Surabhi
Firm’s Website Link: Wright Inspires
Firm’s Instagram Link: Wright Inspires
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