An Eclectic Parisian Home |  The Plot Studio 

The basic brief given to us by the family of three, was that they wanted a “home away from home” feel to the space, and not a cookie-cutter modern home without a personal touch.  Being avid travelers, they wanted to create a vibe of an AirBnB apartment straight out of Europe, though punctuated with Indian accents. 

Hence, for this project we adopted a mid-century modern design, layered with brass elements, restrained color and texture. The project consists of  Living Room, Games Room, bedrooms, Kitchen & Dining and terraces.  All four bedrooms follow a similar monotone color concept reminiscent of boutique hotels in Europe. We added arches in the living room entryway to accentuate and highlight the height of the space. All the furniture was custom-made by us specific to the design style adopted. The material palette incorporates wood, stone, cane, glass and brass. 

The design started with the client giving us two of their favorite design vibes – Parisian homes with strong neutral bones (Herringbone floors, white walls, mouldings, arches) and Eclectic homes with splashes of color and a “layered” design. 

CONCEPT 

“An eclectic parisian home with mid-century modern bones” 

The basic shell of the bungalow (walls, floors & staircase) is inspired from vintage Parisian homes. It follows a monochrome, neutral and natural material and color palette – White, black, grey and wood. The rest of the elements liven and bring together the space to create a colorful and fun yet a mature contemporary vibe. 

LIVING ROOM

The living room is the main space, the core of the home, the most used room of all the rooms. 

The layout of the living room was tricky, as the clients had decided – they had to have a swing (jhoola) in the living room. Hence, we created an unconventional layout – the sofa is right in the centre of the room rather than aligned with the walls, with sufficient space for circulation, that makes the living room look larger and spacious. We tried to create different “pockets” of seating – a ledge runs across the length of the entire window, that creates a different setting apart from the sofas and the swing, a corner nook with a lounge chair, creating a corner to relax/ read a book. The flow of the space is open and seamless. The living room flows into the dining room & the open kitchen.

The main element that we added to the living room – 2 arches right at the entrance – envelop the room while adding a bit of drama.  

Doing away with specific walls allocated to a TV, we went ahead with a projector TV that is concealed when not required, adding to the spaciousness and openness.

DINING ROOM AND KITCHEN

The dining area is connected to the living room, also enveloped with an arch. A glass partition with a  black aluminium frame separates the kitchen and the dining room, adding character to the space, and dividing the space visually while not cutting down the space into separate rooms. 

A large circular art piece adds drama to the dining console. The dining table was custom-made in wood & quartz with a lazy suzan & the dining chairs are made in metal with backs woven in cane. 

MATERIALS AND FINISHES

To create a layered look and feel, we have incorporated materials of different colors, textures and patterns. 

Flooring –  Wooden finish tiles placed in a herringbone pattern 

Furniture – Wooden frame with suede upholstery, cane weaving/ cane furniture

Lights – Brass finish/ antique lights positioned against modern track lights and spotlights 

Upholstery – An eclectic mix of different fabrics for the seating, cane woven curtains in the living room allow ample sunlight to filter in through the full height windows, while blocking out harsh sunlight in the afternoons. For the bedrooms, we have sourced ikat fabric to add an eclectic element to the otherwise plain bedrooms. 

BEDROOMS 

There are three bedrooms and one multipurpose room in the bungalow. All the bedrooms follow a similar monotone color scheme, inspired by boutique hotels in Europe. The wardrobes have mouldings and the walls are painted in the same color, to create an impactful yet subtle vibe. 

MULTIPURPOSE ROOM 

The multipurpose room flaunts a huge bed (for friends to laze/ play games), cane papasan chairs to curl up in and relax. The color scheme is a similar monotone approach as the other rooms.

Key furniture elements in the house :– 

1) Lounger Chair 

The lounger chair is a beautiful custom made relaxing chair with its own attached side table that serves as a self-sufficient unit on its own. It marries the old and new with its material palette – brass, wood and pink suede. 

2) The dining chair is fabricated in house in powder coated Mild Steel with a back woven in cane and an upsolstered seat. 

3) The wardrobes in the bedrooms have a minimalist white moulding on white laminate shutters, making a refined picture. 

4) Dining Table 

The round 6-seater dining table is custom made with a quartz counter top and wooden frame. It has a wooden lasy suzan on top for ease of service. 

As the project is in Lonavla, a moisture-dense area, we have stayed away from using wood excessively as the weather conditions don’t advise it. However, we have used a lot of elements that resemble wood to add the warmth that only wood can – wooden herringbone tiles, teak-wood laminate and mouldings.

This home marries European sensibilities with Mid-century Modern furniture & some Indian elements to make it unpredictable yet come together as a seamless union. 

Total Area:- 3000 sq. Ft.

Total number of rooms:- 4 bedrooms, Living Room, Kitchen & 2 terraces

Location:- Lonavala, Maharashtra

PLOT Studio

We are a company of three principal designers Arpita Dhokia, Dhwani Kanakia & Tanvi Shah. The PLOT Studio is a specialized interior design house, offering a bespoke and innovative approach to design. At PLOT, we believe certain spaces set a mood, talk, and inspire us. We believe in the motto – “Form follows Function”, and we try to create functional, comfortable and aesthetic spaces with utmost attention to detail. 

Photographer credits: Varun Kodolikar (Kodoclicker)