The design theme for Rathore Residence centered on minimalism, enriched with elements of Wabi-Sabi and Japandi style interiors. Our goal was to create a tranquil retreat that embraces simplicity and functionality, all while ensuring a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Editor’s Note: “Located in Chennai, Rathore residence reflects wabi-sabi and Japandi interiors in a minimalistic style. Through customized design elements, detailed patterns, and well-planned interior spaces, this abode is peculiar in its way. Moreover, this residence features modern and creative design solutions while satisfying aesthetics and practicality.” ~ Anusha Sridhar
This Wabi-Sabi Interior Design Is Centered On Minimalism | Kebani_The Design Studio
The foyer in the Rathore residence segregates the space from the living area subtly. Thus, ensuring that visitors don’t directly enter the living room. We placed a custom-made bench inspired by Wabi-sabi, featuring muted-tone fabric and wood detailing, to create a welcoming yet restrained atmosphere. Additionally, we differentiated the flooring with a distinct marble pattern to visually separate the foyer from the living area.
The living space in the Rathore residence creates a sense of openness and fluidity. Opening the bi-fold aluminum doors to the terrace seamlessly dissolves the boundary between the living area and the outdoor home theatre, making the entire space feel larger and more connected.
The furniture in the living area seamlessly provides ample seating while maintaining an unobstructed circulation path through its custom design. This layout ensures easy movement to adjoining spaces such as the dining area, kitchen, and bedrooms, creating a harmonious flow throughout the home.
Custom-designed glass doors preserves privacy without compromising on light. These doors effectively prevent visitors from looking into more private areas while still maintaining an airy, open feel.
Rich veneer finishes enhance the ceiling, introducing warmth and sophistication to the space. This not only adds to the aesthetic appeal but also serves to define different areas. The pooja unit, positioned beneath the veneered ceiling, acts as a subtle partition that elegantly separates the living area from the pooja space, maintaining a sense of privacy and reverence.
The dining space in the Rathore residence fosters family bonding, ensuring that the family spends ample time together. Embracing minimalism, we focused on creating a functional and aesthetically pleasing space. The client desired a subtle tone with a touch of black, which led to incorporating a striking 8-foot dining table. Paired with the most comfortable swivel chairs, this design invites the family to linger over long meals, whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, while also providing a cozy setting for conversations.
A key design feature was the removal of the wall connecting the dining area to the open terrace. This design move not only maximized natural light but also provided a seamless connection to the outdoor 10-foot high home theater space, enhancing the overall ambiance and creating a visual flow between the indoor and outdoor living spaces. To maintain a clean, minimal aesthetic, we chose a chandelier that incorporates organic shapes, adding a subtle yet artistic element to the space without overwhelming it. The chandelier’s design complements the minimalistic theme, offering both functionality and visual appeal.
Additionally, we integrated a floor-to-ceiling crockery unit with a countertop. This clever addition serves dual purposes: it offers storage and a practical surface for guests to serve themselves during meals, while ensuring the dining table remains uncluttered. By positioning the food on the counter, we allow guests to enjoy their meals comfortably without the distraction of extra items on the table. This setup also keeps the kitchen out of sight from guests, maintaining the seamless, intimate atmosphere during gatherings. Ultimately, the dining space blends practicality with elegance, ensuring that it serves as both a place of nourishment and connection for the family.
The kitchen was designed with careful attention to the client’s specific needs. Thus, emphasizing functionality and efficiency. A key feature of the design is the tall pantry units, which provide ample space for storing grains, jars, and other essentials. The pantry, strategically planned, accommodates the exact size of the jars and bottles the client uses, ensuring that everything fits perfectly.
On the opposite side of the kitchen, we dedicated the space for the cooking area, with a central island counter that serves as a prep zone. This design allows for easy meal preparation while maintaining a clear and unobstructed path for movement. The island helps keep the cooking space separate from the rest of the kitchen, preventing congestion while people move around.
Additionally, the layout follows the “work triangle” principle, optimizing the placement of the three main work zones: the cooking area, the washing area (sink), and the appliance zone (refrigerator and other appliances). This ensures that the person working in the kitchen doesn’t have to cross paths with others, even when accessing the fridge or using the sink. By strategically planning these zones, we’ve created a seamless workflow, where everything is within reach and movement is efficient.
The informal family room caters to the client’s love for weekly get-togethers. Every Sunday, the space becomes a hub for the family to chat, play board games, or simply relax together. To accommodate this, the room was planned with limited seating to maintain an intimate and cozy atmosphere, while still offering enough space for the family to gather comfortably.
A custom-built study table was incorporated into the design. Thus, featuring ample storage for the client’s extensive book collection, as they are passionate about reading. The room also integrates with the parents’ bedroom, providing a versatile lounger space that can be used for relaxing or entertaining friends when needed.
The Rathore residence features four distinct bedrooms, each tailored to reflect the unique personality and tastes of the family members, while staying true to a cohesive design philosophy.
The central theme throughout the home is minimalism, with muted tones and rich wooden elements that create a calming, harmonious atmosphere.
To ensure each family member has their sanctuary, every bedroom offers a balance of privacy and openness. The rooms are kept minimal, with custom-designed furniture that caters to individual needs without overwhelming the space.
A key feature in each room is the walk-in wardrobe, thoughtfully integrated to maintain the bedroom’s tranquility and avoid the bulkiness of large wardrobes.
Natural light plays a crucial role in the design, with ample windows allowing sunlight to pour in. This enhances the sense of openness and connection to the outside. This focus on light and space fosters a serene, inviting ambiance.
All furniture pieces were custom-designed and crafted to meet the family’s specific requirements. Thus, ensuring a perfect blend of form, function, and personal style. Through these carefully considered details, the bedrooms contribute to the overall minimalistic yet warm atmosphere of the home, where each room reflects the individuality of its occupant while seamlessly tying together the entire residence.
The home theatre project for the Rathore residence presented a significant challenge, primarily due to space limitations and regulatory constraints. The client had a clear request for a home theatre, but no room was available inside the house. To address this, we decided to repurpose the open terrace area, transforming it into an outdoor home theatre.
The terrace was split into two sections. It creates a space that combines both the elements of an open environment and the comfort of an indoor theatre. We designed a temporary structure made from metal trusses and ACP (Aluminum Composite Panel) cladding, ensuring durability and protection against weather conditions without violating regulations.
The home theatre’s design emphasizes a high ceiling to enhance acoustics, and the open terrace features 10-foot-high sliding glass doors. These doors can be fully opened, seamlessly merging the home theatre with the outdoors. It allows the client to enjoy the space as a unified area.
Inside, the home theatre has a minimalistic design, intentionally devoid of heavy acoustic treatments on the walls. To address the issue of sound isolation, we installed soundproof sliding glass doors. Moreover, this effectively contains the audio within the space and prevents sound from traveling to the exterior. Thus, maintaining both privacy and sound quality.
The home theatre is a testament to creative design solutions in the face of space constraints and regulatory challenges. It strikes a perfect balance between functionality, aesthetics, and compliance, offering the client a unique and immersive home entertainment experience.
Fact File
Designed by: Kebani_The Design Studio
Project Type: Residential Interior Design
Project Name: The Rathore Residence
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Year Built: 2023
Duration of the project: 2 Years
Built-up Area: 4950 Sq.ft
Project Size: 4500 Sq.ft
Principal Architect: Kevin Samuel & Nipun Shah
Team Design Credits: Ar. Shyam Rao & Ar. Mohamed Akram
Photograph Courtesy: Yash R Jain
Products /Materials / Vendors: Curtains: Wallcovering or Cladding – Inhouse Carpentry with ICA Finish / Wallcovering or Cladding – Inhouse Carpentry with ICA Finish / Lighting – Shailesh Rajput Studio, Lumi Shop & Bohra Lighting Company / Doors and Partitions – Custom Made with ICA Finishes / Sanitaryware – Jaquar & Aritze / Windows – Kommerling / Furniture – Creatomy by escape, Dtale, Not Just Brown, All Things Marble, Fleck, Style Xtra / Flooring – Goyal Marble / Kitchen – Interwood / Paint – Asian PaintsArtefacts – Westelm, H&M, Purple Turtle, Oma living, Westside / Hardware – Hettich & Hafele
Firm’s Instagram Link: Kebani_The Design Studio
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