This apartment in Mumbai follows rules of vastu and western minimalism

Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, known as a buzzing financial district, doesn't just boast of commercial towers and office spaces—there are a few residential enclaves nestled inside it too. Shilpa Jain Balvally, the lead architect at Studio Osmosis, was commissioned to design this 4-bedroom apartment. “This client attributes his success to his spirituality and firmly believes invastu shastra,” says Balvally. He zeroed in specifically on this apartment after an exhaustive search as the property's cardinal directions are vastu-compliant, with large windows on the north-west and south-west façade.

The apartment is laid out with a sprawling living room, kitchen in the centre, and two bedrooms on either side of the living room. All the rooms face the north-west direction while the kitchen is rightly located in the south. Combined with the sun's path, cosmic references and room functions as per Vastu, the moods and tones of the rooms were decided. “I had to work backwards and figure out the finer details first and then look at the larger picture collectively,” she adds.

A Classy Affair

The client's brief was two-fold: “Despite a strong belief in vastu, his taste in decor is spartan and he expressed a desire for a contemporary and classy home. The ethnic galore of a traditional Vedic home is often at odds with western minimalism,” says Balvally on her design challenges.

Since the residence came pre-fitted with Botticino marble flooring and luxurious bathrooms; the furniture, colour palette and upholstery was Studio Osmosis' main focus. The ceiling of the entrance was lowered with grey veneer panelling discreetly concealing the AC units while aesthetically lowering the scale of the space.

A powder room nearby was made inconspicuous with archi-concrete texture paint by Asian Paints. The seriousness in the space is lifted by hanging artworks by Suresh Parihar and Shivani Shroff.

The Interior Realm

Since both, the entrance and the living room belong to the space realm as per Vastu principles, metallic hues with complex textures feature here. A floor metal lamp by Aziz Kachwala casts starry reflections on the walls while the faceted wall panel with rough textures resembles planetary surfaces.

The furniture is a combination of concrete finished shelves held together with thin metal framework lending a sense of weightlessness. Zarwan Elavia's kinetic art wall sculpture steals the show here, with different circular discs independently fixed with cogwheels creating a sense of void and timelessness associated with outer space elements.

The living room permeates effortlessly into the dining area without any permanent barrier. Starry pendant lights, wood wallpaper and fabric wall art by Shivani Shroff craft an intimate ambience as the living room opens into a panoramic balcony with lush greenery and outdoor furniture by Retyrement Plan.

Earth Element

The private rooms belong to earth or the stone realm. The client's personal preference and masculine tastes align with the element's slate colour scheme. A majestic four-poster bed stands tall in the master bedroom amongst grey-panelled walls with a leather carpet by Merge Carpets. The art as per the earth element prescribes triangular mountains symbolising ascension or success. So, a Kailash Rane artwork with speckles of metal ore protruding from earth along with an abstract scenery by Sunil Kale match the rugged ambience.

水相星座

The child's room belongs to the oceanic realms. Serene shades of blue calm the nerves here. A papier-mâché installation by Shruti Jhaveri symbolising ripples hangs above the bedpost as a focal point, with a fluid screen at the study table resembling watery depths. A swinging balcony chair by Retyrement Plan customised in shades of blue and yellow complete the aquatic ambience.

Fire Element

Cooking areas are associated with fire so a custom-designed Alno modular kitchen accentuated by triangular pieces of red backsplash tiles to denote the upward rise of the flames feature here. The kitchen's fiery shades have a stimulating quality in the apartment's mostly neutral palette.

A Holistic Home in Mumbai

Associated with the sun's first rays, the guest room of this Mumbai home needed to be as light and cheerful as the crack of dawn. So, this room is painted in a preppy yellow with a custom-designed bed with a triangular backrest.

The home's media room was intentionally kept stark with dark acoustic wallpaper. But since it also doubles up as the client's home office where video conferences are held, an ochre sofa and bar unit add zest to the dark room.

“Moods and colourful hues form the design philosophy in a Vedic home. The choice of materials resonate independently with the room concept. Every art and piece of furniture has a spiritual role to play to make the room holistic. Our endeavour was that as a person moves from one room to the other, they are overwhelmed by their existence in the cosmic whole,” says Balvally philosophically.

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