Original text by Vaishnavi Nayel Talwadekar, edited for context.
Sage & Brass Hardware—A Winning Combo
Spanning 20,000 square feet, fashion designer Aisha Rao built her dream home in Hyderabad as a rich, maximalist commitment to colour. For the interiors, Rao, bolstered by her intuitive understanding of design and experience designing the Hyderabad and Bombay stores of her brand, took on the challenge of crafting the home of her dreams herself. To describe Aisha Rao’s home as simply ‘colourful’ would be a half-truth. This Hyderabad mansion is so much more; it is a rich commitment to colour—the kind we come across rarely, but when we do, it leaves an indelible impression. Most homeowners, drawn to a current trend of beige minimalism, reserve their experimentations with colour to elements that can be reimagined on a whim: decorative objects, upholsteries, occasional accent walls, and the like. “But I went with colour on the floor,” Rao exclaims proudly, as would anyone whose bold risk paid off. The fashion designer chose the most permanent part of her home interior and lined it with a soulful riot of vibrant stones: blue Macaubas, yellow Travertine, and red Alicante, doubling down with texture and pattern. “It’s a lot of stimulation,” she says. “But it makes me happy.”
Original text by Nuriyah Johar. Edited for context.
Tone-On-Tone Flourishes
Ankush Maria
In the heart of Meerut lies a home tucked behind sculpted topiaries and weathered brickwork. Known for generations as Lal Kothi, it was once upon a time home to Urmila Shastri—a prominent freedom fighter and the niece of Jawaharlal Nehru. The storied bungalow witnessed the arc of history through her life, echoing fond memories, such as her name lovingly inscribed on a balcony façade by her husband. Decades later, the house found its way to a new family—the Gargs, self-described as a household of artists, collectors, and nurturers of a thoughtful, intentional life. For them, Lal Kothi wasn’t simply a place to live, but a living archive of personal and national heritage. Over time, as the structure aged and their way of living evolved, the need to reimagine the home became clear. “Our first impression of Lal Kothi was of a quiet time capsule—an estate steeped in memory, still resonant with echoes of its colonial past,” recall Deepanshu Arneja and Surbhi Singhal, co-founders and principal architects at SIAN Architects, whom the Gargs enlisted for a transformation—not to erase the past, but to coax it gently into the present. Playful yet composed, the blush-toned kitchen balances terrazzo flooring with cabinetry by SEZRA HOME and white quartz counters, while a glass-front unit by How Orderly holds the family’s collection of crockery amassed over the years.
