The Extension house is a bright, colourful and eclectic home situated in Bangalore, India. It was designed as an extension to an earlier project of ours called Saravan – the extension both complementing it and contrasting with it at the same time.
Rima and Devaiah are friends and the brief for this home was a space for them which would accommodate all the antiques and knick knacks they had picked up. It needed to be compact and spacious at the same time. And a cozy pad for all their friends to visit and spend time.
The challenge was to accommodate this extension in the space available without eating into the garden between the 2 homes and having connects with the main house which was in different levels.
Once the spaces started forming, it was an interesting exercise putting together the colours and material for this quirky space! The clients were hands on and knew how they would want the spaces to be done up.
The vibrancy of the house is visible right from the moment you get the first sight of it. Against the backdrop of a single storey house painted in a vibrant shade of ochre, you see an intricate cast iron gate set into a dull grey wall which comes alive with a traditional single jharokha window, all of which is framed by the foliage of trees in various hues of green. Once you enter, you truly realise the myriad of colours that form this house – the striking teal blue doors, the kaleidoscopic patterns formed on the floor when sunlight strikes the stained glass panels, exotic tiles in all sizes and colours sourced from various parts of the world set against backgrounds of grey and white.
Much like the various elements in this house, each of these spaces has its own distinctive character and yet they blend together perfectly. The old world charm of the living room opens out into a more rugged sit out space where rough greys are offset with colourful hints of reds, blues, ochres and greens. The sit out looks upon the garden which serves as common ground between this home and the main house.
All in all, the house is an amalgamation of antiques and intricacies. It harmoniously brings together various elements like antique doors and windows, intricate cast iron pieces, colourful patterned tiles offset with plain greys. All of this may sound like a bit of a mish-mash coming together in one place, but the result is anything but that. It's quirky, fun and kitsch in all the right ways.
Material Used:
1. Facade cladding:
Painted façade with Asian paints external emulsion. Antique elements carefully curated from all over India are artistically placed.
2. Flooring:
Tiles from Ceramique, Bangalore and Talavera handmade tiles from Mexico. These are offset with base tiles from Nitco India. Pathways in rough Kota stone and locally sourced granite.
3. Doors and Windows:
Wooden doors and windows which have all been sourced from Antique markets in Bangalore. The door and window accessories and fittings are from sources in Portugal, France and England purchased in eBay, UK.
4. Roofing:
Filler slab using terracota beams and channels from Raja Bricks, Tumkur.
5. Interior lighting:
A mix of original Antiques lamps with few from Purple Turtle, Bengaluru and from sources in Portugal and France. The Antique switches and plates are from Sopher and Co, Mumbai.
6. Furniture:
Most of the furniture are picks from Antique markets in Bengaluru and Ooty and refurbished.
