samira_singh's ideas
Install svelte sliders Doors that open up into spaces take up precious inches. Replace the separators with sliding glass or wooden doors to visually expand the area of your nest. This brings in fluidity of space especially in space starved apartments in big cities. “It is a good idea to bring in sliding doors to increase the visual area of your home spaces,” says interior designer Karishma Malkani.
Deceptive simplicity An elevated wooden platform creates a double-layered flooring in this room and also works as the base for the bed. Simple and small things come together to create the character of this room – the cloth lamp, the artwork in charcoal colour. The feature that makes most impact is the accent lighting underneath the edge of the wooden platform and the stair. Any bedroom in a bungalow can take inspiration from this unique arrangement.
A sliding door with a walk-in closet replete with modular storage options is also a part of the bedroom and is done up in white lacquered glass and veneer. This material was specifically chosen so that the wardrobe would not interfere with the light quality in the room and not create a glare,” Patel says.
The master bedroom brings in ample wood work; be it the bed, the large TV unit or the headboard. To give some balance to the room, the walls and flooring were kept neutral. The low, king-sized bed incorporates a neat, storage alcove inside the headboard to keep essentials. “The media unit with a mounted TV offers ample space below to store books, curios and a charging point. The low bedside tables hold free-standing lamps for those late night reading sessions that don’t disturb the sleeping partner. A sliding door with a walk-in closet replete with modular storage options is also a part of the bedroom and is done up in white lacquered glass and veneer. This material was specifically chosen so that the wardrobe would not interfere with the light quality in the room and not create a glare,” Patel says.
khosla associates HOUSE 1058 Hyderabad
Choose furniture with secret storage Love the idea of putting your feet up on a comfy footstool at the end of the day, only to find it’s covered in TV remotes, kids’ toys, pets’ toys or paperwork? Why not pick one like this, which has a lift-up lid and tons of storage hidden stealthily inside?
Since it’s an actual mattress, the pullout pop-up style provides a comfortable sleeping surface. It’s also comfortable as a sofa, as long as you like a more firm seating surface – you’re sitting on one of the innerspring mattresses. It can also be used in multiple configurations, such as a family-size chaise, as seen here.
The foldout sleeper comes in a wide variety of styles. Comfort and quality vary widely depending on the manufacturer, so if this is going to be a daily-use sofa, purchase the best you can afford. The sofas lack the supportive springs found in a non-sleeper sofa, so they do feel a little different when you sit on them. As for sleeping, the thin mattress means you may feel the support bars when you lie down.
A spiral staircase is a long-established solution for covering vertical distances within a small space. It is also a great way to create a strong focal point within a home. The staircase in this picture looks as if it is emerging out of the wood floor itself. The curving soft-brown wood staircase warms the modern setup.
This stylish, space-efficient staircase fronts a full-wall display unit. Rich textures and dramatic lighting takes the attention away from the tightness of the space, crafting a cosy setting.
This kitchen goes the extra mile, with a painted section of lime yellow above a white-tiled backsplash. The half-yellow and half-white walls, combined the soft-toned cabinets below, create a dynamic, dramatic setting.
This warm kitchen is awash in three lovely colours from nature – sky blue, pastel yellow and wood brown. See how all the hues are nicely spaced out, where the counters, walls and the legs of the table are blue, the flooring and shelves sport brown and the yellow cabinet, kept a little apart, commands its own attention. It has company in the little yellow chair, though, and yellow punctuates the blue all through the kitchen. Tip: Along with paints, vibrant kitchen blinds can add dollops of beauty and design to a kitchen.
Repurposed is sexy The packing-chest-inspired coffee tables are the show-stealers of this living room. The classic combination of old wood with raw metal seems perfect to serve up tea and biscuits, and store your ‘treasures’ as well. Even the stools and side table are distressed – a clever idea to repurpose leftover wood from construction or elsewhere.
Yellow One of the trickiest paint colours to get right is yellow, but this shade is just right. A tip for picking a yellow from a paint fan deck: Select something that looks almost beige. Yellow is always much brighter on a wall than on a paint chip.
kitchen moss green use on walls
Moody Blues Sedate blue hues paired with beiges and browns bring quiet and calm to the room. The floral patterned wallpaper is balanced with solid-hued surfaces to provide visual interest without overwhelming the space.
On a quick first look, this bathroom appears to have stepped right out of the history pages. But then the sunken tub, the fixtures and the styling give away its contemporary leanings. This partially open-to-sky bathroom, with its combination of slate and terracotta tiles, seems like a modern Indian interpretation of the age-old hammams.
We love: The light in this bathroom A big window in most spaces is usually a boon. Except for the bathroom, most would say. This bathroom takes a bold step and instead of minimising the impact of a big window, it dials it up by 10. One entire wall is covered with glass, part frosted, part clear. The two frosted panels on either side of the room form the backdrop for the twin vanities with a marble countertop. The incoming light streams in unhindered below through the steel frames.
We love: The sense of structure and symmetry in this dining room From the overall interplay between darker browns and lighter beiges, and the softness of the leather-bound chairs against the subtle polish on the wooden dining table, to the elegance of the gold-plated pendant chandelier, this room is a study in understated sophistication. The three strips of mirrors instead of one is an ingenious touch that balances out the room by adding layers to its upper part.
Backsplash surprise A backsplash that doubles as a sliding cabinet door is an inspired idea for a compact cooking zone. Here, the sliding panel hides spices and other condiments, making them within easy reach while cooking.
Concealed coffee station If you’ve banished small appliances from your kitchen bench but can’t bear the thought of not having your coffeemaker there, refit a small cupboard with a pullout base and use it as a slide-out coffee counter. Store your machine inside, along with cups, beans or pods and sugar to complete the set-up.
Clever counter storage Do you have an island that doesn’t have cabinetry or drawers below the benchtop? If you like the slimline look but wish the island had more to offer than just aesthetics, search for accessories you can affix temporarily or permanently to the bench that provide extra storage but don’t add bulk. Case in point: This island, which has an in-built bread bin and utensil holders that sit just below the bench for easy access.
Upright pullout pantry While cupboards are standard in most kitchens, sometimes they aren’t the most efficient or space-savvy storage options, particularly when the wall unit is narrow and sits far away from the wall. In these cases, a pullout system is a much better solution. The vertical design utilises every last centimetre of available space, and allows you to find and retrieve pantry items quickly and with ease. Genius.
Appliance cupboard Want to get rid of the benchtop appliances taking over your workspace, but not sure where to put them? An appliance garage (designed for one or multiple gadgets) is just what you need. Install a few power points inside and you only need to slide your heavy appliances out a little way to use them, then slide them back again when finished. The cupboard can sit flush with your existing cabinetry, which means there’s no bulk, so no-one will even guess what’s going on behind those closed doors.
Invite intimate conversation Two chairs flanking a round pedestal table or an octagonal one create a useful space within a larger room.
Designate a spot for reading A comfortable chair, a side table and a reading lamp are all you need to create a favourite spot.
A stylish corner A deep leather armchair, lashings of natural light for the day and an oversized reading lamp for when the sun goes down – this reading corner in a Melbourne home is almost too cool for school. Best keep it for leisure reading then.
textured wall and slate flooring
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