Located near the coast in Mumbai, the Melange Home fuses a modern Indian family’s lifestyle with contemporary interiors fused with a mid-century modern spirit. Designed for a young couple and their toddler, the 2000 sqft home celebrates the young family, in an attempt to nurture their life together as well as foster their individual personalities.
The start point for the design was the aspiration for a contemporary home for the clients, as a family and as individuals. The home is envisaged as a space where they would raise their daughter and host their loved ones. Functionally, providing a well-lit and fluid space with optimum storage facilities. To address this brief, the walls of the initial three-bedroom apartment were brought down to create a well-lit and cohesive two-bedroom home where spaces flow into one another while retaining their own individual character.
A classic shell in a neutral palette accommodates all the diverse personalities through eclectic accents in cool hues of blues and greens. These are warmed by wooden textures and made opulent through hints of metal. All areas of this home- the living, dining, and bedrooms with multiple walk-in closets- blend seamlessly within the muted pop, yet each space is developed with its own distinct character. The said difference manifests through an understated play in materials like wood, cane, metal, upholstery and stone, all of which are accentuated with various forms of art.
A linear assemblage of partition screens of translucent glass and cane in a brass frame lines the entrance into the home. Bound by a grey marble flooring, the lightly moulded walls present an assembly of monochromatic textures in the furniture and decor. A pair of white sofas peppered with textured cushions along with a pair of green lounge chairs in cane form the seating and frame the solidity of the centre table, with a bone inlay, sitting on a geometric patterned rug. Breaking the linearity of the walls behind, a metal art piece, from White Domus, takes after the chair in a sage green hue and adds a pop of colour. This space is highlighted by an elegant chandelier with brass accents that hangs over the coffee table.
Shaping the resident’s love for hosting and entertaining into space-making, the designers create a statement counter along the living space that acts as a bar and a makeshift work desk, complete with a pair of high chairs. The unit stands out in an Aegean blue fluting highlighting the brass lining in the skirting and the one lining the top. The vertical lines of the finish are juxtaposed with a warm wooden ceiling that hosts a minimalistic light fixture mirroring the metallic accents. The choreography of the setting builds the groundwork for the monochromatic art frames. With their thick black frame, they balance the colour scheme while also channelling the movement of the eye towards itself and off the faint profile of the concealed door beside it.
The living space transitions into a dining area through a framed opening. Following an analogous aesthetic, the space is designed with a customised dining table made with a terrazzo Kalinga top sitting atop two fluted wooden stems. The aesthete piece is paired with blue dining chairs featuring sleek brass-tipped metal legs. A trio of suspended lights bring the placement to focus, thereby creating an ambient aura.
An ingenious game of camouflage manifests in this space, optically hiding all the services. The beams are treated and transformed into an artistic arched ceiling and are finished in a grey lime plaster. The walls in monochromatic moulding detail, conceal the doors to various services, thus creating a cohesive and continuous setting. A classic wooden sliding folding window connects the dining to the kitchen, offering flexible privacy. On the other side of the opening is a classic white and grey modular kitchen with a seamless white counter and dado that blends into a series of overhead storage cabinets with varying porosities, away from the monotony of a usual kitchen space.
Designed as a modern haven, the master bedroom oozes elegance and understated luxury. Arches become the visual language of the space, enhanced by materials like cane and perforated brass sheets. Spatially, a centrally placed bed in walnut-toned wood sits in front of a wall panelling featuring arched shutters in a cool-grey, fitted with cane sandwiched between glass. Addressing the client’s brief, the bed-back conceals cabinets for storage across the length of the room. On one end of the room sits a study, with a sleek foldable wooden table in front of an open display of memorabilia, backed by perforated brass sheets that have a backlight and channel opulence.
Bringing luxury to lifestyle, the bedroom connects to two walk-in closets- both for him and for her. The spaces, individually distinct, tie together with their unique marble inlay floor in black and white. Conjoining that, the master bathroom boasts a graceful white marble with grey veins homogeneously on the floor to the walls and bleeds into the wash basin. The vanity in white and the classic Almira detailed with cornices further pronounce the space's design aesthetic.
The daughter’s bedroom takes a dreamy approach, creating a space befitting for a toddler without being childlike. Designed in collaboration with Wallpaper Scissor and the mother, a customised wallpaper takes the wall, featuring even-spaced graphical representations of flora, fauna and the geographic world. Its white base is balanced by a refreshing sage green grooved panelling that runs across the room until the sill level and eventually evolves into a cosy sitting by the large window. Balancing the green, all the furniture, including the four-poster bed, side tables and the statement kid-size dining equipment, are white and sit on wooden flooring in a playful herringbone pattern.
While the room has a timeless appeal with its mature take on a child’s space, the bathroom is more experimental and fun, created with terrazzo tiles, colourful chips and a popping yellow vanity. The designers go all out in their signature style in the powder room, wafting elements of surprise from the word go. A black and white marble inlay flooring from FCML complements the black marble finish tiles with white veins, cladding the lower half of the wall. The upper half hosts a wallpaper from Cole & Sons that splashes colour to the monochromatic space which also features a customised wash-basin made from the same Marquina black marble The space is adorned with hints of brass through the statement light and the metal framed mirror that feeds the overall drama.
The Melange Home is a play of illusions and surprises - concealed doors, treated beams and camouflage storage. Through this home, Quirk Studio brings in light and life along with their signature element of uniqueness in design through colour and textural elements, while crafting a timeless project centred around the people and life between these spaces.
