For her first London project, Aashni Kumar creates a calm, tactile home that pushes her style into new territory. The formal living room balances modern comfort with organic ease, anchored by rounded Roche Bobois sofas, a Nisu Home coffee table, a Benuta rug, and Hestia lamp.
Stacked black and white statues from Muun Home rank among the homeowners' favourite pieces, while on the wall, a monochromatic stepwell photograph by Darshan Mehta - a gift from the client's relative adds a personal touch. Not every email deserves your attention at dawn, but for designer Aashni Kumar, one did. Sitting in her inbox was an opportunity to design a 4,500 sq ft semi-divided Victorian terrace in London, her first commission outside India and the UAE. The email came from Hemal and Roushab, a young couple with little boys, who had discovered her through another client in Dubai. A phone call and cup of coffee later, and Aashni felt it instantly: that it was the beginning of something special.
As Hemal believes "Vibes don't lie." She and Roushab had both grown up surrounded by light and greenery in Singapore and Manchester respectively and felt an instant connection when they first walked into the house."We knew it was going to be our oasis," she says. And, an oasis it is. Tucked into the leafy neighbourhood of Hampstead, the home opens onto a garden at the back and unfolds across two spacious stories: a private ground floor dedicated to the family's bedrooms, and a lower-ground floor designed for gathering, entertaining, and shared rituals.
Throughout the house, She wanted to emphasise light and a connection to nature, opening up sightlines to draw in the light, framing views of the garden, and choosing hues that reflect the soft shifts of London's sky and earth. Soft beiges, light taupes, and warm greys keep the interiors luminous, while moss, natural browns, and clay tones reach back to the garden outside. Limewashed walls (deliberately developed to echo a finish Aashni favours in India), weathered woods, and natural stone form a textured backdrop. thoughtfully tuned to fulfill Hemal and Roushab's vision of a wabi-sabi aesthetic.
Not only was the project an evolution in destination for Aashni, but it also signalled a style shift from her signature material-focused minimalism to a more maximal play of shapes, shades, and styles from classic English architectural details to the Japanese ethos and Indian accents. Nowhere is this seen more than in the dining room, the homeowners' favourite space, where sculptural rattan pendants float like wings above the wooden table and olive greens reverberate through the upholstery and abstract artwork.
Or in the master bedroom, where soft ambient hues give way to bold wabi-sabi accents like a striking chair resembling a carved boulder and pebbled wall art by Indian artist Amal Jayn. A partitioned wall separates it from the walk-in wardrobe, where the dressing table layers stacked slabs and an organic mirror into a composition that reads more like an art installation. Everywhere else, little statements of kinetic lighting,cocooning seating, black and white sculptures, and sand-raked rugs come together to create a home that's rich, tactile, and full of quiet surprises.
Fortunately, the design process held no such surprises: despite working overseas and navigating differences in materials and construction techniques between India and England, the project ended on a high just as Aashni intuited, with "every element finding its rightful place." The homeowners agree that It's wonderful coming home to this serene, welcoming space, with their style reflected in every corner. That homecoming marks a series of new beginnings for their family, for Aashni, and for the friendship that grew from that very first conversation.
