A couple’s first apartment, together, is so much more than their first common address. It not only spells the end of their frequent house-hopping spree, it also means that the two have finally found a place to put down roots. While one is so used to his and hers, mine and yours, a common address signifies shared space, and this in turn entails the merging of two distinct aesthetics and aspirations. Bringing two personalities together to have their own individual spaces in one house is quite a task, and when square footage and budgets are also to be looked out for, it becomes more of a daunting task. Whether one partner is more design savvy, and the other more headstrong, negotiating ideas is negotiating space to build what will be a place for repose and rejuvenation for both. So a man cave, co-existing with a feminine den and a neutral audio-visual recreation room is all possible. And to achieve all this one needs to first work like a team, and then have a solid design guide to follow for those expert innovative ideas and customized space hacks to make more out of what is available, whether in terms of yardage, budgets and time as well. Dextra.in is very interested in this phenomenon of creating homes out of houses, and is setting out to showcase select abodes of young, urban, design-loving Indians, to curate some real-life examples that #DextraLoves, to get your creative juices flowing, for when it comes to your attempts at decorating or redecorating your own home.
To start it off, we have a young, working couple – Saloni and Ankan Brahmachari – from Bengaluru with their cute, character-laden 3 bhk home in an upscale Whitefield apartment complex. Ankan heads the design division at a fashion retail corporate and Saloni is an entrepreneur with her own restaurant, TandoorBox. Together, they also signify the coming together of two cultural sensibilities – a pared down Bengali aesthetic and a bold Punjabi style – which marks their home, which has its share of dark, solid, teakwood furniture with striking red accents thrown in, a generally minimalist approach to interiors with a major emphasis on space and comfort, and a very green balcony with plants-on-walls which is much frequented by their adopted canine member of family, Georgy. Here are some snapshots that give you a peek inside their warm, light-filled home –
There is a warm and cosy feel to this entrance section of the living room with its dark wood furniture and rouge accessories as the eye-catching accents.
The airy and light-filled living room with its comfy sink-in couch, chintz curtains, eco-wool carpet, and a gold-flecked ajrakh inspired artwork on the wall.
These are pretty pale and pink curtains with underlying cream sheers, which adorn the floor-to-ceiling windows in the couple’s bedroom.
The balcony, which flanks the living room also doubles up as a barbecue spot, and is decorated with lots of potted greens with some on the wall.
Georgy occupies pride of place, among the plants, in the other balcony which comes attached to the bedroom.
