The house sits high on top of the hills and offers a panoramic view of the city. In an instant, after we first walked on the site as potential buyers, we decided that the most important spaces in our house will be located in the rear side facing this magnificent view.
We were completely sold with the endless view of the city, oblivious to all the site related problems that we later faced... The site was our biggest challenge with huge rocks and vast level differences (up to 40 feet!) within its 1000 square yards.
Externally, we designed it to look like a single family house, but internally it is divided into two identical homes for two brothers and their families. A large common portico at the entrance of the homes help in achieving the feel of a one single house and also acts as a semi open play/ site-out area for the families.
The interiors have been conceptualized to take in a large, unobstructed View as soon as one enters the house.
The other important criteria while planning the interiors was to maximize of natural light and ventilation. Large Skylights above the main staircase and in the upper level bathrooms, serves the purpose of providing ample light from within the house on both the levels.
A house for a young family, this project was conceived to be a large open space with lots of natural light – through French windows, fixed glazing and skylight over the staircase; a space where the little kids of the house can run around, and the mother can keep an eye on them while doing her chores.
A lot of thought and effort has been put in while planning the house. We wanted to give every space a meaning and define activities that we would be reminded of when we step in. Once the spaces were formed, equal amount of effort has gone into dressing it up with different yet complementing materials and textures, experimenting with details as to how each joinery, cladding or even hardware came along.
We started out by identifying one space which would be the center of all the family activities, including cooking, cleaning, emails, reading, board games, etc. This space is now an open-kitchen island. The island is not only the core of all activities; it divides the rest of the ground level into living, kitchen, and family areas. To top it, it makes an excellent entertainment counter for the family friends.
The living space is dressed predominantly in white, with Greek marble, white leather sofas and accessorized with bold cushions, a rug and a coffee table. The tall corner lamps add a touch of glamour to the formal seating. The staircase base, next to the sofas, act as an additional seating space when there is a larger group over. As a back drop, the dining space has huge French windows opening into a small garden and overlooking the valley with a view of the Golconda fort.
The family room on the other side of the kitchen is more casual, with stone cladding on one wall, picture frames consisting of family’s vacation photos, and a very welcoming seating.
A large center space on the upper level is the family studio, designed for activities such as indoor games, soft ball, and pre-bedtime stories. Its wall unit has sliding shutters in the center, covered with Jute wall paper and lots of bookshelves which are back lit with natural light. With these back lit book shelves and near-by sky light, this space is well lit during the day without brining in the harsh sun.
Children’s room, for the two boys is designed with a theme that allows for an easy transition from the cartoon loving age of two and five to that of older boys the sliding wardrobe shutters are made in stainless steel pasted onto a ply base and duco painted white. This can be used as a magnet board for the kids to have an ever changing display of their art work. On one side of the wardrobe is an open book shelf done up to form a diagonal pattern each colors in different hues of blue. This book shelf forms a very interesting pattern with the mirror perpendicular to it.