A slice of Greek heaven

Rugged white walls, minimalist decor and hues of blues adorn the sprawling flat in South Mumbai’s Prabhadevi and will transport one to the cosy Grecian homes in Santorini — the point of reference for interior designers Ayushi Kanodia and Parakh Jindal for this project.

For siblings Ayushi and Parakh, space doesn’t pose a hurdle in a city like Mumbai as they effortlessly converted a 2bhk into a 1bhk, bringing to life a part of Greece, aptly naming the project as The Passage to India through Greece. It has been selected as the winner of the German Design Award, 2019 in the category of Interior Architecture. While the announcement has already been made the award will be conferred in February next year. “A recently married couple who love Greece were looking for a cosy, non-typical Bombay house with no contemporary or modern interiors. It was fun doing as we could relate better and had the full creative freedom,” says Ayushi.

After discussing the basics with the clients, they sought inspiration from the Island of Santorini. With a lot of white, the team penned down all the shades of blue, dashed in rustic finishes on the wardrobes, focal points and the chairs.

“They wanted a home they shouldn’t feel they have stepped back into a Mumbai home. So if you see the Island it has mostly whitewashed walls and coral blue colours. We kept the whitewash walls and brought in arches which are a trademark of the houses in the Island,” explains Parakh.

Elaborating on the theme The Passage to India through Greece, Ayushi says there are five things that will define a Greek design: colour, ceiling, furniture details, wall finish and kitchen.

“It will always be whites, rustic, blues and never a loud colour. The house has a raw wood ceiling with antique finish and we have given a lot of arches. If you see the detail of the dresser and chair, it has little carvings and rounded effects. Such details have only to be the focal point in one or two pieces of your furniture while other pieces have to be really straight-lined. All the walls are limestone finish, which is the main Greek look. Lastly, the aqua blue kitchen has moldings. This had to be handmade, unlike the modular ones. Otherwise, it would kill the Greek effect,” lists the 29-year-old interior designer.

Parakh Jindal

The plus point of the arch walls, according to the designers is the fact that it will keep a steady air flow inside the house minimising the need for air conditioning. “When you will stay in the room, you will feel as if it is your second home. And you have that feeling only when you go to a resort. You wouldn’t want to come out of the room,” says Ayushi.

As the designing was minimalistic, it took the designers only four months to finish the house. But as far as designing houses in Mumbai is concerned, space has never been an issue for them.

 “The main problem is the mindset of the people. Families are not open to such kind of themes. They will simply say, ‘humay kuch bhi khurdura nahi chaiye’. They want adesign that is easy to maintain. They also don’t want light colours because then you can see the stains easily,” rues Ayushi.

Talking about the award, the sibling is thrilled. Ayushi didn’t expect it to be so easy and views this as a great confidence booster to pursue great work. “It is an achievement for an Indian firm to be recognised on an international platform. It is a great opportunity for us in terms of showcasing our work not only in India but internationally and do some international projects as well,” concludes Parakh.