Some homes are simply alluring not only for their stunning décor, but for the warmth they exude. Ramya and Harish Padmanabhan’s abode by Begonia Innovations at MIMS Espacio, Jakkur is one such.
BY NAMITA GUPTA
This house is an epitome of modernity, functional and aesthetic, radiating welcome, care and poise in every nook and cranny. Ingenuous and innovative in design, it’s truly an owner’s pride. As we browse around the beautiful home, we ask what the owners themselves like about their house and what was the idea behind this design and they share, “We wanted openness and more natural light. Also, warmth, and sober design that can complement a peaceful lifestyle. We wanted the design team to introduce a walk-in wardrobe in the available space, relocate and add uniqueness to the Puja room, create a pod like feature to our daughter’s room, make a function-oriented kitchen, and increase the overall storage capacity of the house to make our basement clutter free usable space. The backyard has always been our favourite space, and now, we feel that all our spaces have become a part of the same. Also, we love our new bay window in the bedroom,” says Harish Padmanabhan, founder, Begonia and KIPDCo and the proud owner of the villa.
The beauty of Scandinavian design at its core, is simplistic minimalism – elegant but understated lines and forms that define intent and function. Sudeshna, Business Head at Kanchan Integrated says, “The furniture is both functional and aesthetic. Straight lines, minimal wood, colourful upholstery, use of live edge designs and solid wood like North Indian rose wood and teak adds to the beauty of the space. Mohammed, Furniture specialist, Kanchan Integrated got every wooden grain crafted and polished to perfection. The furniture has been customised under a concept furniture model by the BareBase team.”
Siddhartha Rauniar, co-founder, Begonia states, “On our first interaction, Ramya, gave us a beautiful story of two nesting birds in their backyard, and how it inspires her to handle the cumbersome aspects of life, in a simpler manner. It defined a home to her, and this love of their backyard, acted like a springing point of our idea of a perfect home for them. We sought to bring this backyard into their life, and opened up the same to all their interactive living spaces. The kitchen, the dining, the new Puja space, the rejuvenated master bedroom, and even the master toilet, looks into their backyard and borrow both the greenery as well as daylight from it. We went about removing partitions, blockages, and open spaces up, for smoother circulation and flow of energy. Material wise, we introduced wood and concrete as floor elements, that give them the required warmth, and compliments the expansiveness of the new spaces. Tones of Greys, Whites, and Beiges, bring into the midst the peace that the family desired, making the space calmer. We aimed at bringing colours, with dynamic elements like furniture, and wall features. This act as dash of exuberance, acting like a foreground, and the overall space intervention kind of blends-in and becomes a calm backdrop to the liveliness of the home.”
“At Begonia, we are an enterprising bunch of young architects, designers and managers, who believe in an organic space matrix of circulation and function. Ramya was kind enough to give us the opportunity to convert their run of the mill builder villa into a fascinating realization of their dream home. We have been able to deliver a space that the family relishes, and has been an agent of transformation. The family wished for openness, more natural light, warmth, and sober easy to the eye units of design that compliment a peaceful lifestyle. Basic space requirements were to introduce a walk-in wardrobe in the available space, relocate and add uniqueness to the Puja room, create a dash of life to the Kid’s room to make it feel more like her own pod, make a lively yet sober function-oriented kitchen, and increase the overall storage capacity of their house to make their basement clutter free usable space. We also aimed at adding a niche service system to the house, that includes, a centralised water heating system, VRV based and automation ready Air Conditioning system, avoiding ugly split units, and water softening system that helps the family lead a healthier life,” adds Siddhartha.
Harish Padmanabhan adds, “We, here, have a five-point differentiated process of going about a renovation project, which comes with its own baggage of constraints. We start off with a wish list, which gives us an idea of a home story. This basically, defines the perused lifestyle and also defines the brief for us. Then we move on to giving the family inspiration and references, added with the responsibility of keeping them aware of design standards, regulations and safety procedures. Documentation is the next step, which is basically categorically mapping the existing space, and come up with space intervention, that will transpire into the wish list that we started with. We want this to be a process of discovery, and have the family, redefine their own conception of requirements, which will give them a lifestyle that they want, and a space or a home that actually compliments it. Begonia, along with, it’s parent associate, Kanchan Integrated, stands to make this possible in a big way. We have gone for an Indianised version of the Scandinavian feel. Minimalistic in essence; the style revolves around solving the functional issues and yet feel like a very Indian home.”
Talking about the importance of natural light in its design, Harish avers, “The most important aspect of our home was bringing more views, more green, and more sunlight. Lights have been made a feature at no place in the house. They are all warm, not too bright and very simple and functional.” Ask him about the modern trends he has incorporated in his space and he answers, “The most important thing was incorporating a minimalist feel to the house. Simpler materials and simple designs. A very functional integration of home automation was the most important aspect design trend that we followed. Also, the inclusion of green, and a very dynamic design in furniture.” The important entry points, circulation spaces and exterior lighting system have been automated and seamlessly integrated with the design. Some of these are quite striking, including the automated curtains, that make it easier to control the lights at a single touch. Truly, a modern home in every sense of the word.
