the open room
When asked to reimagine the first floor of a duplex in Bangalore as an independent apartment, we were confronted with a space that was once entirely communal. This level had always been the heart of the duplex, an open square room that connected all other areas. Suddenly, it had to transform into a complete home of its own, with a living room, dining space, kitchen, lounge, and mandir, alongside new private zones for a children’s study and library. The challenge was not just spatial but emotional: how do you give independence to a place that was once shared, without losing the openness that made it special?
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3000 SQFT
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Residential, Private, Interiors
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Bangalore, India
answer lay in restraint
By choosing a minimal palette and avoiding partitions, we allowed the space to remain expansive while still giving each function its own presence. Furniture and crafted details became the true dividers, marking territories without ever breaking the flow.
The living room became the anchor, arranged around a recliner-style L-shaped sofa, a linear bench, and a sculptural armchair. Behind it, a long back unit with glass partitions hinted at the duplex’s past while offering a refined backdrop for the present. From here, the dining space extends seamlessly, grounded by a granite table on cylindrical supports and illuminated by a delicate suspended light. A built-in credenza clad in warm terracotta brick doubles as a serving station, functional, tactile, and quietly expressive.
The lounge reveals itself against a curved wall treated almost like a mural, while the mandir in the hallway rises in stepped layers, glowing softly with the light of wall sconces. Even the smallest details, like a circular grooved door handle, become sculptural accents designed to be touched, seen, and remembered.
narrative of craft
and intimacy
The narrative of craft and intimacy continues across the apartment. A terracotta brick wall with a marble ledge becomes a storytelling surface lined with family photographs. The children’s study balances playfulness and maturity with its pegboard wall, modular desks, and whimsical lighting, ensuring the room grows along with them. The adjoining library offers a quieter counterpoint, calm and timeless in its presence.
In the end, the apartment feels both open and compartmentalised, expansive yet intimate. It tells the story of transformation, of a shared duplex space that evolved into an independent home. Sculptural, minimal, and deeply personal, it is a place where everyday rituals and family life unfold with grace.