Residence | Kochi
Living in an apartment is undoubtedly quite different from living in an independent home. Beyond the obvious reasons, there is a certain detachment that apartment owners have to navigate when moving in. You have had no part in the design of the layout or where what would go. It was all decided for you and would be pretty much the same for all the others in that building. It is a bit sad, in a way. Maybe not all of us agree to that.
Anyhow, when you first move into such a space, in a rush, you deck it up with far less thought than you would have put into a home you painstakingly build from scratch, independent or otherwise. Time is scarce and yet, we want to make the nest as comfortable as we can. And a few years down the lane, you begin to feel the effects of the lack of thought you had missed out in those early days of setting up a home.
This is one such project, where the client wanted to change a few things around to make it more effective about utilising space, and give it an overall makeover aesthetically.
Below are photographs of the living room, now and earlier.
We started off with the furniture in the living room - the layout as well as its upholstery. The client was quite attached to the Rosewood sofas, having customised it for a previous home years ago. So that had to stay, but it had a matching coffee table, placed underneath the wall-mounted television, both of which had outgrown their use. So we decided to take that out of the space. The TV was removed and the coffee table was given a new life as a foot-wide screen between the living and dining spaces, as well as a ledge behind the longer sofa.
The framework of the screen was fashioned out of the material from the coffee table. The foggy glass panel at bottom showed off the silhouette of the simple Paper Machiere Ganesha idol that the client has had it since childhood. It is just a touch of intrigue for the view from the dining room.
For the upholstery, we decided to go with handspun Khadi from Janapada Khadi in Mysore. It was an attempt to be aware of the materials we use in the project that are ethically and sustainably produced. Although when the upholsterer refused to refurbish the sofa cushioning with anything but foam, it sort of invalidated our efforts. But the fabric in itself is beautiful, to the eyes and the touch. A point to note here is the seamless interaction with the brand from placing the order to the delivery and their eco-friendly packaging.
Styling a space during a nationwide (or global) lockdown was not an easy task. Shopping in physical stores was not an option. Once online markets re-opened, there was hope again. Linen was the preferred fabric for the cushions, so as to avoid that uncomfortable experience of skin contact with a fabric with polyester in the mix. We landed on Gulmohar Lane’s lovely collection of cushions; and found a simple, beige-toned linen fabric for the shades from a local vendor. The only new furniture addition to the space was a wooden stool from Ellementry. Again handmade, with beautiful workmanship and a seamless buying process, there was nothing we could complain off.
