This contemporary haveli in Lutyens’ Delhi has been restored by Vikram Goyal

Mention Lutyens’ Delhi and one immediately visualises stately homes rising imperiously behind vast gates and hedges in the centre of the Indian capital, evoking grandeur and style. In this area resides Nisha Jyoti Mehta Bahadur, a great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated former prime minister of the erstwhile state of Mewar (now Udaipur), Rai Pannalal Mehta (1843-1919). When she decided to refurbish the home she shares with her husband and daughter, and accommodate myriad heirlooms and furnishings, Bahadur obviously turned to her nephew, Vikram Goyal. The lauded product designer has a deep appreciation of India’s craft heritage, having made significant strides in parlaying that tradition into Viya Home, the home design company he founded with his sister Divya. Vikram’s heritage, varied career and global exposure made him the ideal candidate to bring the family’s rich past into the pulsating present.

The resulting look of the park-facing property is of a modern day haveli, in the middle of Lutyens’ Delhi. “All the objects my aunt possesses have a great element of old craftsmanship—the furniture, paintings, sculpture,” Vikram explains. “Given the antecedents of those objects were from the family haveli in Udaipur, and because there’s so much of it, these heirloom pieces drove the aesthetic of the house.” In keeping with the idea of a haveli, an enclosed courtyard is the fulcrum around which the house revolves. Everything contained within the home is a work of art, and very little—except the Viya pieces—is new.

Given the nature and abundance of the objects, Vikram chose different colour schemes for various rooms. “I wanted to move away from the ‘less is more’ aesthetic and to ‘more is more’,” Vikram says with a laugh. The entry hall is a beautiful burgundy. The dining room, surrounded by miniature paintings, boasts tall green-brocade chairs, and aqua walls. “Someone else would have done white walls because the furniture is heavy,” Vikram points out, but he went the other way. “I piled statues on top of tables, creating layers and height.” It’s more dramatic on the eyes. He describes it as “oomphing it up”!

客厅burgu是一样的组合ndy with mint green. “The colours are rich and I have mixed in elements of my favourite chinoiserie [pattern] in a brocade fabric, which I feel adds modernity because it’s not traditionally Indian,” Vikram says. To amplify the element of craftsmanship that suffuses the home, he sourced fabrics for the furniture from high-quality weavers in Varanasi.

The east-facing home, a three-storey unit, receives an array of sunlight that, Vikram says, helps absorb the heavy antique furniture. “If it had not been so sun-drenched and open and green, then perhaps the furniture would have been too overbearing,” he says. The spectacular light negated that issue. The entrance to the home is through a library, which then leads into the entry hall connecting to the serene courtyard, in black-and-white marble replete with a fountain and cavernous triple-height ceilings enclosed in glass. From here, one can move to the living room, kitchen and dining area. A staircase winds up to a corridor that leads to the three family bedrooms.

Perhaps two of the grandest elements in this home—and there are many—are the imposing marble columns from the family’s old manor in Rajasthan, which they were determined to use. These two pillars flank the living room as it merges with the dining area. And in a house full of treasures, natural-dye paintings of Shrinathji take pride of place in the living room. Was working with such stunning pieces a constraint? “I had to use all these heirlooms in a way that [didn’t look like] a shop display,” Vikram concedes, “There was too much emotional attachment to get rid of or sell pieces; there are memories attached to each of them.” He also had to weave comfort into places where it was needed and balance some furniture as accent pieces.

To provide a contemporary element, Vikram interspersed his Viya pieces, including side tables, consoles, and a finial in the courtyard. Just as the world is a smorgasbord of influences, in this home, too, there are Mughal, Oriental and classical styles blending together. It’s like stepping into a jewel box, with wondrous compartments that surprise with each discovery. This contemporary haveli is a breathtaking example of how we can continue to be surrounded by our crafts while not remaining stuck in time.