A mix of tradition and modernity

BEAUTIFUL HOMES

When creativity is given a professional touch, it would possibly translate into a house such as the one in Panduranga Nagar in the vicinity of IIMB on Bannerghatta road.Fifteen years ago, the Vaidyanathans decided to build a house of their own and went with the blueprint of their dream home to a young architect. Ideas were thrashed out and they came to a consensus on the design of their home – a blend of old and new practical ideas.

The stone duplex housed in a compound amidst greenery has all the regular features of a typical Indian home albeit differently.

For instance, when one enters the home through the front door, a little aisle offers two paths. Guests on a formal visit will be led to the left which descends into a traditional mittham, (a sunken area with a very high roof or sometimes no roof at all) lending the place an old-world aura with its sloping tiled roof going up all the way beyond the first floor area.

The twin pillars which kiss the roof become the focal point of the room in more ways than one. It serves as an open doorway to the interiors of the home, becomes the display board of two imposing dragons, charms of good health besides lending a sense of grandeur to the area. The conventional drawing room is adorned with a blend of seating arrangements including the sofa, chairs, a swing et al. An ancient cradle with its entire works topped with a sheet of glass serves as an unconventional centre table which can hold delicate artefacts securely denying ready access to toddlers.

If one were to take the passageway to the right from the front door, one will have to pass the pooja room housed in the niche below the stairs. A storage unit has been built just above the pooja room using the space between its roof and the stairs ensuring that people will not have to walk over the sacred area. Another meter down the aisle opens into a cosy dining area which can also serve as the drawing room for the family. This room is punctuated with two aisles, one leading to the kitchen and the other leading to the bath and toilet area. The use of the aisles is noteworthy; their walls double up as shelf areas leading into the functional space. The L-shaped kitchen purposely placed in the frontal region of the house serves two purposes. Apart from giving access to the view of the road and gate leading to the house, it also ensures that oily fumes are not confined to the cooking area, making cleaning an easier chore. The functional area of the kitchen opens into the garden and utility area.

The dining area opens into another room at the opposite end and to the garden besides paving way for a staircase that leads to the first floor. The ground floor is an open house with no doors within the premises sans the pooja and the bathroom.

The large bay windows of the home give more space for seating and also for lighting up the stone walls within the home. The sleek steel window frames makes the place look sleek and one cannot overlook the number of trees that were saved from the axe while making this choice.

That textured look...

In the interests of long-term maintenance, strength and aesthetics, the walls have been tiled with hand dressed granite. The result is a textured look as opposed to the uniform look of a machine dressed surface. The cool Betham Cherla – natural stone flooring complements the walls with similar textured looks and has been acquiring sheen with regular mopping over the decade.

The first floor of the home has a huge balcony with ample view of the ground floor which serves as an open drawing room flanked by two bedrooms.

A couple of steps along the bedroom lead up to a rather large attic area improvised into a little library. The cane bookshelves replete with a fabulous collection can prove to be a delightful world unto itself to a book lover. Unlike the ground floor, the first floor has brick walls, red oxide flooring and provides a lot of personal space to the occupants. The entire home has natural ventilation and lighting and every inch of its space has been thoughtfully used.

Show pieces that adorn the home date to different periods. Curios and artefacts from every feasible material rub shoulders with potted indoor plants and have been placed strategically to add to the ambience of the place.

The most recent feature added to the house happens to be rainwater harvesting updating the house to modern needs. An ideal home and a pragmatic one at that!