This house in Indore is designed for a joint family of 9-10 members, with common spaces such as the entry foyer, parking, mandir, home theatre, 1^st floor terrace sitout, terrace floor with gym, and cabana whereas individually they have 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, a drawing room and a twin height living room.

This is a residential villa project with a plot area of 4800 sq.ft and a total built-up area of 10000 sqft.

Designing a home for a joint family of 9-10 members is a challenge by itself. It was tough to have a different set of ideas and choices and still make them fall together in the same place. But we would like to agree that this challenge actually the strength of the design. 

This House In Indore Is Designed For A Joint Family Of 9-10 Members | Reflective Practices

Location

This plot lies within a gated colony situated in almost the central part of the old and new city of Indore. Indore has many developed recreational grounds, they work as gardens, jogging parks, kid’s play areas. This plot sits just opposite one of those recreational areas. So the best thing that this house has is ample amount of fresh air and light and birds chirping throughout the day due to number of big trees. 

Architecture & Planning

This house thus, accommodates two individual families yet they are connected with some shared spaces to maintain the joint family culture. So our vision for the planning was to design the common spaces, filtering into the private zones.

The transition from similarly styled common spaces to differently styled private spaces reflects individuals’ tastes in interior design. To avoid any style disconnect, we tried binding all the areas with a neutral colour plate while still achieving diversity with materials. 

The planning was shaped by the client’s very first expectation to have two houses within one that were definitely very connected, yet they needed to have private spaces. 

So we have planned the house in such a way that the common entry and rest commonly used zones like puja room, home theatre and extra guest rooms, staff rooms occur at the ground floor level, the split happens at the 1st-floor level where they have individual twin height living rooms, dining spaces, kitchens, drawing rooms and guest rooms.  

Still, this level is not very private but allows filtering, with a very wide partition happening in the dining space, which allows movement between the two. This floor again connects to the landscaped balcony terrace, which allows outdoor sit-out space for both. 

The staircase and lift serve both families and upon reaching the 2nd floor, each family has their own individual bedrooms, which are completely private in terms of approach. The last floor is a terrace floor, which again has commonly used landscaped terrace space, a cabana, and a gym. 

Vertical Planning

Furthermore, the vertical planning was purely based on vastu. The brahmasthana of the plot has a skylight catering to both the twin-height living rooms.

Moving further, the horizontal planning takes place; the kitchens are located in the south-east and north-west directions. The dining areas also occur on the southern wall, which is the only open façade of the house. 

However, all sides are surrounded by neighbouring plots. These dining areas are interconnected as per one’s comfort with sliding. 

The master bedrooms, however, face the southwest direction, allowing ample light to enter.

Moreover, the skylight at the brahmasthana of the plot is the most interesting part of this house. The skylight changing from morning to evening creates its pattern in the space.

Material Choices

Different materials used inside reflect the light, creating a kinetic pattern. We thus call this area “the charging station” for the family, as they experience a magnificent flow of energy in this space. 

This is the most exciting space we have designed, as the family members are feeling connected with nature while still being in a built environment. 

The sole of the house

This house is like a tree with many branches, but the root is the same and the direction of growth is the same. 

Moreover, the ground floor is the root where they have a common puja space, which is the most active space in the morning hours; a garden that has tea sessions after the morning walks; and a home theatre where the whole family comes together for cricket matches, OTT series, movies, and endless discussions over family’s event videos and photos. 

First Floor

Moving further, on the 1st floor, there are individual spaces like living and dining areas, drawing rooms, and kitchen and guest bedrooms. Like the thick branches of a tree, they grow in different directions yet remain connected at the stem, much like the dining areas connected by a sliding partition.

However, the 2nd floor has completely private space being individual bedrooms. So we call these the freely swaying branches of the tree. 

The 3rd floor is a terrace floor, which again is a common area for both, with large open spaces, a covered cabana, and a gym. This level features a skylight designed for the double-height living rooms below.

The house, however, joins together for parties and festivals on the large open terrace. They find their family bonding, their prosperity, and their growth like how they fly the kites up in the sky by holding the thread tightly together. 

The family, however, cherishes each other’s different mindsets by spending time together. We were very much inspired by their living pattern. Rarely do you find such families who want common spaces for celebrations, and for them, every little moment is a celebration. 

We say we live with the four walls, but we don’t! We live where we can stretch our possibilities. However, the design says the same as we experience the different spaces of the house. The open kitchen allows the user to spread one’s limits beyond just a banal act of cooking and allows for more interactivity with the living area. 

Moreover, a sliding mirror partition connects the individual living rooms in the dining space. Thus, it hides between the two double-height highlighting panels.

Dining and Living

Once opened, the partition connects both dining spaces, allowing family members to have meals together or entertain common guests together.

It doubles up the energy of the food served on the table. Thus, this space, we think, is a perfect example of smart space planning. 

Drawing Room

The drawing rooms are more for entertaining the guests, so the designs needed to be eye-catching. One of the drawing rooms has customised wallpaper with patterned fabric panels.

The leather chesterfield sofas in a profound teal tone grab one’s attention. 

Kitchen

The kitchen has an island counter for cooking as well as space for a breakfast table. This is an eye-catching piece to look at from the living room, as the kitchen has a large slide-fold partition. This central area of the kitchen is the most interactive part. 

The island counter has utility drawers on the kitchen side and a display unit on the living room side. The display unit has Moroccan tiles as a background. 

The misty grey colour of the kitchen cabinets gives a fresh look to the busy furniture. The panelled style of the shutters gels with the neo-classical style of the living room and other common spaces. 

Master Bedroom

The master bedroom is luxurious, like the occupant’s lifestyle. It has a high bed with gilded posts, which stand bold on the grey-brown monochromatic canvas of the room. The brown chevron-patterned wooden flooring gives a base to the grey walls. 

The TV panel is an arch with fluting details that gel with the rest of the walls as it gets coloured in the same tone. The role of the black colour is quite subtle, as it appears on the borders of the furniture, like the legs of the chairs, the console top and sides, the floating study ledge, and the structure of the bed end. 

We have used a set of nightstands in white and an ochre shade with ribbing details on the circular peripheral surface.

The height of the backrest of the bed is connected with a circular fabric panel with a floral design, which again plays its role by breaking the linear geometry of the poster bed. 

The daughter’s bedroom talks about the feminine character. The pampered girl of the family has her cosy space with a specially designed library for her books, planters, and artefacts. A comfy round couch for her endless good reads. 

A standalone study table with nostalgic Indian touch, a high chesterfield bed backrest make bold statements.

Her dressing area has wardrobes with fluted glass shutters and drawers with moulding details and a big scale circular mirror to double up the drama.

Guest Bedroom

Guest bedroom 2 has an arch with a gold paint highlight. It has artwork on the inside surface in black and white. 

This arch creates a niche effect behind the bed, which gives a cosy effect to the bedroom. The ceiling has grooving in punning, which helps merge the ceiling and walls together. 

The dressing area has a play of black cotton-finished Kadapa flooring, which plays a vital role against the simple grey wardrobes. The line of wardrobes has two sliding shutters clad with mirrors, which enhance the volume and let the user have a maximum surface area of the mirror for dressing up. 

Guest bedroom has a burnt orange tapestry for bed. A matching artwork and table décors are the bold ideas on monochromatic canvas.

The walls have a pattern running from the bedback wall to the ceiling. They are created in HDF moulding and painted the same colour as the walls. A floor lamp with a shelf gives a good utility for a corner accent chair near the window. 

The living room, which gets ample light from the Brahmasthana skylight, has a bright white double-height wall panel with a 3D pattern. It creates its flow along with the skylight. 

We have used plenty of brass in classical styles, but we have always used it in ornate forms. Here we have used brass in geometrical forms. 

Son’s Bedroom

One of the son’s bedrooms is a grey-brown-toned bedroom with customised graphical wallpaper. The wallpaper has vintage-style graphics that stand in contrast with the rest of the modern palette of the room. 

This bedroom has a wall unit for décor and book displays, along with dual sliding doors. This space opens up to his dressing room. 

The sliding doors are fluted glass with a black metal profile, and they overlap the unit, giving another dimension to the design. 

A textured grey surface gives a background for brass to highlight. Rough stone panels are used against mirror polished Italian marble flooring. Vintage wallpapers are clubbed with velvet fabric panelling.

Wall mouldings are merged with walls by having the same colours so that only patterns can be read. Arch patterns are used in a linear setting of the space to create contrast and boldness. 

Basically using contrasting natures of materials together is the key of creating the moodboard. 

Fact File

Designed by: Reflective Practices

Project Type: Residential Interior Design

Project Name: Namokar Residence

Location: Indore

Year Built: 2023

Duration of the project: 1 Year 8 Months

Plot Area: 4800 Sq.ft

Built-up Area: 14,400 Sq.ft

Project Cost: 4.5 Crore

Principal Architects: Ar. Ashish Sethi & Ar. Vrushali Pavaskar Sethi

Team Design Credits: Ar. Priyanshi Gupta & Ar. Samiksha Saboo

Photograph Courtesy: Pixcelcraft.in

Products/Materials/Vendors: Wallcovering / Cladding – Stone world for treated stones / Asian Paints – Nilaya – Sabyasachi Collection / Lighting – Ravishing Homes & More, Jacquar Lights / Sanitaryware –  Kohler / Windows – Torfenster / Furniture – Mor Decor / Flooring – Italian Marbles from RK marbles kishangadh / Kitchen – Sleek Kitchens / Paint – Asian paints / Artefacts – Madhurya Artifacts / Wallpaper – Asian Paints – Nilaya – Sabyasachi Collection  / Hardware – Grass & Haffle

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