Kerala style homes have courtyards surrounded by rooms on each side. Traditional Kerala-style homes have a central courtyard known as Nadumuttam surrounded by rooms. These homes promote natural light and ventilation according to the region’s climate. These homes, due to the feature of courtyards as their core spaces, offer beautiful opportunities for social gatherings. This blog explores 15 Kerala style homes in India that use design characteristics as their core concept for carving beautiful spaces.
These are the two types of Kerala homes that people have designed to take advantage of their light and ventilation characteristics. Building homes with the Kerala-style homes’ characteristics of revolving around courtyards is something that people will want in their houses.
The house is a huge haveli that has its spaces woven around the number of courtyards. It offers gathering spaces, balconies that are spacious and full of light and ventilation.
The house is just like a maze with a hidden entry that leads you to the courtyards in the house. Here, Kerala-style homes possess several courtyards that lead you to different spaces of the house. Although the house inspires Maratha Architecture, the courtyards resemble typical Kerala homes. These courtyards bring harmony within the spaces that tie the house in a way. Also, the use of brick as the main building material brings the cost down to a certain level.
The house has a central courtyard that is the focal point of the house, which is concentrated inside. As the surroundings of the house are very lively, it had to have privacy as the main design concern.
The house has 8 bedrooms and spaces such as a living room, dining and kitchen are allocated around the courtyard. This design arrangement around the house is similar to that of any Kerala-style home. The residence has a distinct quality achieved with the exposed brickwork, along with cement textures, and wooden furniture. It has spaces woven around the central courtyard that lead to a better environment.
This house has been a renovation project that had to maximize light and ventilation in the home. It also had to repair and fix the terracotta roof tiles that ensured the traditional and local effect in the design.
The most significant part of the house is the central courtyard that gives the maximum amount of light and ventilation into the rooms. They acquire spaces such as the living room and dining area of the house. Kerala-style homes are not only about the courtyards but also about the materials and the elements used in the house. Here, the terracotta jail walls and the wooden furniture make the house traditional and full of life.
This house is inspired by the houses in Karnataka that have a special central courtyard as the heart of the house. It allows the house to have a vernacular feel with its materials and building elements.
Drawing inspiration from a Kerala-style home, this house has a double-heighted living room that acts as the central courtyard. It has spacious rooms, and the thoughtful design fosters both introspection and connection.
Breaking the traditional norms of the Kerala-style homes, this house incorporates the characteristics of the courtyards in it while being modern in overall appearance.
The house has a courtyard that connects the spaces internally, giving abundant light and ventilation. There is the main courtyard with stone paving, and a private sitting area, while the house also has wooden furniture that includes the play of geometry in the design.
The house has the philosophy of being as calm as a Zen which reflects on the design features and spaces of the house. The house has a sloping roof with terracotta tiles that show its characteristics as a Kerala-style home.
This house has a front rain courtyard that gives the feeling of calm when one enters the house. The rain that falls in the courtyard can be enjoyed from various positions inside and outside the house. Amongst the luminous and free-flowing spaces inside the house, the courtyards act as wonderful transition spaces enjoyed at any time of the day.
This house is the best example of modern Kerala-style homes, as it has courtyards on the outer sides that act as gathering spaces with functions.
As a sign of tradition, the house is made of bricks and wooden openings that make it more efficient and local. The house has jack arch roofs and jail walls as part of its design structure. Overall, the house has the best construction technique, which is shown in the roofs, windows, and doors of the house. There are also flooring patterns in the house that attract when in the house.
Here, there was less space but a lot to plan in the house. As the client had requested a duplex house that has different functions on different floors, one had to think about keeping the Kerala-style homes’ characteristics intact.
In this modern living home, where the double-height space had to be the courtyard, the traditional construction elements were kept intact. The wooden furniture and openings had a touch of elegance in them. Overall, the house has the traditional elements that make it a Traditional Indian house with a touch of modernity in the design concept.
The house is situated amongst the mint and mango farms in the place, which gives the house the feel and air of freshness and calm. The bricks dwell in the atmosphere naturally, giving a sensory experience with their aesthetics.
The house has a central courtyard that is similar to that in Kerala-style homes. One can see the spaces that are separated from the middle by the courtyard. The house is made of locally available materials such as bricks and stones, which makes the aesthetics traditional and communicative.
The house has a unique characteristic of a linear courtyard that connects the house. The clients had different choices, but the main thing was having a courtyard that connects the house.
The spaces are made organic, looking at the choices of the residents, which can evolve. Some elements are connected in such a way that they make the spaces lively. The house overall has a Kerala-style home feeling that cannot escape one’s head while being in the house. The courtyard that breathes air and light into the dining area and other spaces also gives the house linearity.
This is a house that had to be renovated by providing an abundant amount of light and ventilation. The best way to do that was to have a courtyard on one side of the house.
The courtyard helps break the verticality of the double-height and enhances the living room. It creates a breathing pocket of 6’ X 16’ that gives air and ventilation to the living room. An earthen palette of materials is used in the house to make it feel traditional. The courtyard fulfills the effect of Kerala-style homes, where it becomes the heart of the house.
The house is built on a 6-acre of land in North Kerala, with the love of music and agriculture of the clients. Additionally, it is an L-shaped home that depicts their choice of space interactions.
It has stone paving, brick walls, a sloping roof, and a courtyard connecting all the spaces. The courtyard has spaces such as a water body that uplifts the quality of space while transitioning. The surroundings have long trees in front of the water body surrounding the spaces of the house. Moreover, this environment and the presence of the courtyard connecting the house make it feel like a Kerala-style home.
The house had to be converted into a four-bedroom, spacious house that was responsive to the existing climate. Hence, it was constructed with a front courtyard, jail walls in the exterior, and an earthen palette of materials for the aesthetics and light.
The courtyard here is the extension of the house, which is covered with the jail wall and is used for various purposes. The spaces are stacked in the form of floors in the house, which is connected to each room. The front courtyard also serves as the air and ventilation channel of the house, connecting it vertically and making it a space for communication.
This house has a front courtyard that covers the staircase inside the house. The use of brick cladding makes the house traditional yet modern in the form of spatial organization.
The house gives connectivity, light, and ventilation to the central part due to the use of jail walls in the exterior. The entrance of the house is the main part where the courtyard has the effect of a connection as well as ventilation.
The house is a contemporary design that achieves the harmony between the traditional elements and the modern lifestyle. The house stands with a small garden and a courtyard inside that opens to the living room on one side and the dining room on the other.
The courtyard separates the living room and other spaces, while giving a beautiful transition space within. As a result, it maintains privacy by keeping the openness intact. The presence of the courtyard inside the house gives the effect of Kerala-style homes to those staying in it. The ground floor is organizes itself around the courtyard, which is the interpretation of the traditional houses.
Looking at all 15 examples of Kerala-style homes, one can see how these traditional techniques of construction and spatial organization have been evolving. The traditional Kerala-style homes had a concept of having courtyards in the center, either dividing or connecting spaces. The front courtyards were always giving out aesthetic vibes to the house, or being the means of connection between spaces. Thus, in whichever way we see, Kerala-style homes are still in trend with a touch of modernity.
Content Writing and Research: Rajeshwari Pandya Modi
This North Facing villa opens towards the East to always soak in the cool and diffused light. Its orientation is mindful of the adjoining clubhouse and its expansive garden. The planning allows the villa’s private lawn to visually merge with it, creating a larger and cohesive space. With a connection to the open space at […]
An Urban Sanctuary Woven with Craft, Warmth, and Light Explicitly tucked into a quiet residential pocket, this home with a jaali facade is a thoughtfully layered expression of calm, character, and craftsmanship. Every surface and corner is rooted in intention — where light, material, and memory meet. The Jaali Design in this Layered Home Exudes […]
The design of the house prioritises connectivity to nature by incorporating green elements like vertical gardens or landscaped courtyards. This is achieved through various means, such as large windows framing scenic views, outdoor living spaces seamlessly merging with the surrounding landscape. The emphasis on connectivity to nature creates a serene and harmonious environment, fostering a […]
“Viraam,” a 4000 sq ft house design that embodies its literal translation: “a pause.” The vision is to create a sanctuary for relaxation, introspection, and to escape from the constant demands of daily life – an urban void for personal retreat. Editor’s Note: “Viraam is not just a house, it’s a pause. A place to […]
The facade of this Indian contemporary house design strikes a careful balance between solids and voids, with sculpted forms that reveal the inner workings of the space. The design plays with light and shadow, creating visual depth and intrigue from the exterior. The form resembles a cuboid that has been scooped out, while the outer […]
This 5 storey building takes inspiration from ancient haveli architecture. “Hailing from north India, the family held deep nostalgia for haveli, large residences with communal courtyards called chowks, projecting balconies called jharokhas and intricate brick or stone lattice screens called jaalis, vernacular to many western and northern regions of India,” said SJK Architects partner Vaishali […]
Set in the serene landscape of Nashik, the Dabholkar Residence by GDA is a home, embracing stone clad walls. Here, tradition and contemporary design exist in harmony. Designed to reflect the family’s deep connection to tradition and art while embracing the style of contemporary living, it is a space where architectural details, heritage furniture, artwork […]
This remodelling project aimed to revitalise a load-bearing house while respecting its original integrity and adapting it to contemporary needs. The design approach prioritised minimal structural intervention, allowing the existing framework to guide spatial reconfiguration. Careful consideration was given to preserving the load-bearing walls, which formed the backbone of the original construction. Openings were strategically […]
Nestled within a 30×40 ft plot is the compact house design in Banashankari 6th Stage, Bengaluru. This residence for the Ellappans, reimagines traditional Indian living in a contemporary, spatially dynamic form. Designed for a family of three- Mr. Ellappan, his wife, and their teenage son- the house expresses a deep connection to vernacular roots while […]
The Indian farmhouse accommodation goes on to capitalize on a mature evolutionary synthesis of ancestral aesthetics and contemporary features. With this, the outside and the inside of farmhouses became places of comfort with nature. In this blog, we delve into 15 incredible farmhouse designs that entail a harmonious blending. While they exhibit different spaces in […]