One always enters the home of an interior designer or architect, with high expectations. After all, these are professionals who have been creating beautiful homes for their clients, for years. So, when they build one for themselves it is going to be lovingly and painstakingly crafted to be an aesthetic delight, right?

And the Bangalore home of interior designer Sunitha and financial consultant Sudarshan Sampath doesn’t disappoint. With the right blend of style and functionality, it stands out among the rows of villas in this gated community as a strikingly artistic space with warm and welcoming vibes.

Best of ethnic

The home is a richly ethnic, old-style space, built to a contemporary sensibility. The architectural features and interior design are largely Indian ethnic and traditional. The house combines Chettinad, Bastar, Calicut, Jaisalmer, Madhubani, Worli, and Spanish elements in a harmonious blend. “The idea,” say the owners, “was to have an architecture which is both familiar with and suitable to our climate. And to incorporate as much of Indian art as feasible, but yet to have a sensible, utilitarian home where the art blends homogenously with modern furniture and gadgets. Also, the entire house is Vaastu and feng shui - compliant because we believe in both.”

Chettinad rocks!

The Chettinad element is the first you encounter. The enormous pillars at the entrance were sourced from old Chettinad homes and restored by Sunitha. Chettinad styles also figure on the main door’s carvings. The same region is also the source for the Attangudi tiles, with pretty motifs used across the home, though as inserts in a lot of places rather than as main flooring. Sunitha customised the tiles by using  her own mix and match of colours. “They were specially cast for me, cured, and then sent from Attangudi,” she explains.

Entering the drawing room, you are struck by the display of Ganeshas — scores of them in the form of figurines, wall-hangings, lamps, etc, and in a variety of materials. Sunitha explains that she painstakingly collected 108 Ganeshas over the past 15 years (the number 108 is considered auspicious), and used 80 of them here with several niches made specifically to hold this collection. Even the yellow Jaisalmer - stone flooring here, was chosen largely to complement the Ganeshas.

Jaisalmer jazz

Even the dining room has Jaisalmer flooring. The rest of the house sports a floor in natural stone, a combination of wood with slate or limestone. The dining room overlooks greenery through a large glass window, making mealtimes pleasant.

Between the dining and drawing rooms is a stunningly beautiful courtyard. It is the centrepiece of the house which is a perfect square as Vaastu and feng shui recommend. The central courtyard or Brahmasthaanam, according to Vaastu (Earth Centre in feng shui), is supposed to be vacant and so this holds only a tulsi plant. The courtyard receives plenty of natural light from a skylight above, made of earthen and glass tiles and in the shape of a pyramid with equal corners –– another auspicious feature believed to be energising for the Earth Centre. 

Madhubani magic

There are four pillars flanking the courtyard, done up with Madhubani art, handmade by artists from Madhya Pradesh. The couple told them that they wanted a toned down version as they don’t like anything garish or in-the-face.

Bastar buzz

In fact, this imaginative, yet subdued use of ethnic art, is one of the defining characteristics of the home. The guestroom cupboard uses Bastar art panels instead of the usual teak veneer, while the mirror cum storage unit is also empanelled with Bastar wrought-iron work. The master bedroom has a walk-in cupboard made in glass, empanelled with Auroville art, ie, Pondicherry handmade paper with real  leaves of different kinds and sizes. Another bedroom has Madhubani art on the cabinet shutters. These handmade paper-paintings are sandwiched between the glass, to work as panels instead of teak veneer. Even the powder room tiles are custom-designed with Worli art.

Beside the courtyard is the kitchen where the utility area and pantry were done away with, to create one seamless and spacious space. The country-style kitchen is located in the south-east as Vaastu decrees, with large windows to let in plenty of healthy natural light and heat
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A wide staircase leads up from here with wrought-iron grills running alongside. “We used a lot of Spanish-style wrought-iron grills around the house to go with the floral patterns,” explain the couple. Wooden masks on the textured walls catch your eye as you step on to the landing, on your way to the second-floor rooms. The walls were textured so that lovely patterns are created on them when the sunlight (from the skylight) or artificial light, falls on them.

You next encounter the family room, a minimalist space, all in blue and white, so designed to provide a break from and contrast, to the ethnic look of the rest of the home.  

Calicut conclusion

A typical Calicut feature is the terrace (half of which is a lawn), with high wooden roof interspersed with glass tiles. Instead of a railing, there is a series of Calicut benches alternated with planter boxes. This unusual idea of Sunitha looks so eyecatching that it has become a much-imitated feature in the houses of friends of this couple.