A mélange of styles come together under one roof in this Art Deco interior design where classic and timeless pieces make memories.

The home of Anubhav Gupta is a collection of stories across time, bringing together the past, the present, and the future with an underlying theme.  Searching for a place he could call his own, he zeroed in on one that spoke most to him – a modest 480 square feet, one-bedroom flat in a vibrant community in Mumbai. Having lived in different cities across the world, he recalls each home he lived in to be rooted contextually to that city. “This one had to be quintessentially Mumbai.”  He adds, “I have always been fascinated by the Art Deco interior design, Bollywood glamour, and the city’s vibrant nightlife.”

Editor’s Note: Just like the saying, “Home is where the heart is,” this abode weaves together the eclectic imagination of the client. The collaboration between Studio Vikhroli and Mangrove Collective creates a cosy interior where every corner is adorned with tasteful decor. It is a treasure chest of cherished memories and collectibles, decorated aesthetically without any clutter. – Gopika Pramod

A Curious talk of Art Deco Interior Design | Studio Vikhroli & Mangrove Collective

Anubhav elaborates, “I made 3 buckets across time – what I wanted to bring from my past; how I wanted to live in the present and where my aspirations were headed for the foreseeable future.”  It seems to have been an exhilarating journey for him, being both client and designer, “This time travel exercise was quite enlightening – it was a story which I could creatively script the way I wanted.”

For his home, he sought to create an urban style that is compact yet productive, versatile yet not devoid of culture, soul-lifting yet rooted to context, and, most importantly timeless in the way things age.

Anubhav is also an avid art collector, with his collection at home essaying as a set of characters almost like theatre – The Blacksmith, The Clown, The Actor, The Saint, The Lady, The Samurai, The Collector and so on. The walls and surfaces of his new space are brought to life with this collection along with antiquity, objects, toys and his love for vintage motorcycles.

He started with deconstructing all non-structural walls to reconfigure the space minimizing utility areas for optimal use. The heart of the house is a day-lit, open kitchen with a bar table, adjacent to a home office that also doubles up as a dining space.  

Anubhav mentions, “the dining table is a ‘found’ log of oak that was naturally split down the middle and repaired by an infill of brass much like the Japanese technique of Kintsugi.” The table lamp is repurposed from a 100-year-old German bicycle headlight.

The warm heart at the center of the home opens generously into the living room, making it look larger and airier. The room is anchored by a comfortable couch and a light settee, crafted in wood and leather, allowing for the host to entertain from behind the kitchen counter.

The center table is adapted from an antique thangka monastery door framed in brass, which also works as a display case for found objects. On the far-right corner is an period console reminiscent of an apothecary’s desk adorned all over by hand-painted mirror revealing the artist’s signature in its aged patina which casts playful reflections.

The day-lit, airy master bedroom is demarcated by a black framed fluted glass door partition, which adds to the depth of the apartment. The bed is elegantly crafted in oak and punctuated with woven leather on its headboard. The vanity table in black Marquina marble and brass framed by bespoke light fittings, extends the volume of the bedroom. On the terminal wall rests The Actor, a painting in knife and palette style of the doyen of Bollywood.

Anubhav reveals, “When the entire home is illuminated with candles, a comforting yet playful dance of shadows and firelight across various reflective surfaces instantly transports me across time – lifting my soul yet making me feel rooted to this space that is as much an extension of me, and my story as it is of bricks and mortar.”

Fact File

Designed by: Studio Vikhroli & Mangrove Collective

Project Type: Residential Interior Design

Project Name: A604 The Trees

Location: Vikhroli, Mumbai

Project Size: 480 Sq.ft

Principal Architect: Anubhav Gupta

Photograph Courtesy: Manoj Jadhav

Firm’s Instagram Link: Studio Vikhroli & Mangrove Collective

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