Step inside a barn-inspired home on the leafy outskirts of Chennai

Tucked away from the congested roads of the IT Expressway in Thoraipakkam Chennai, Designers Ram Krish and Dinakar Manie of Bricks & Beams have created a quiet,rustichaven synonymous with the tranquil gated community it sits in. This 4,900 square-foot home is a dream come true for childhood sweethearts who have fantasized about a space that is a marriage of their childhood influences, collectables from years of travel, and personal decorative styles, but also designed by an architectural practice that is aligned with their ideologies.

Having scoured the internet for designers, when the couple chanced upon the body of work and design aesthetic of Bricks & Beams, they knew they had found their match. The clients were avid collectors of antique furniture, vintage accessories, and little curios that have been passed on within the family across generations; the architects designed the space in tandem with traditional designs fused with Scandinavian influences. The antiques were not tampered with; new furniture was designed, echoing the style and decorative details of the existing antiques, continuing a common design language across the house.

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Inside the house, the downstairs area is divided into two main spaces, but without any partitions allowing the spaces to flow into one another. A bright yellow floralwallpaperwraps around the living and dining space. The furniture is kept to a minimum, with two sofas along the periphery of the living area and a custom swing (owner’s priced possession) positioned diagonally. The dining room sits in the centre connecting the kitchen, stairwell, and living to one another. A mosaic of furniture collected over time decorates the dining comprising a bench, chairs, and a banquette.

Bricks & Beams are specialists of “barn-style homes” and a quintessential “rustic vibe”; this home was no different. The defining characteristic of this bungalow is the use of reclaimed, natural materials, which have created a warm, gorgeously textured and relatively simple home.

This earthy home is characterized by off-white marbled floors, textured egg-shell white walls and accented by green tones.

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The fully customized barn-stylekitchenis the standout space and the heart of this house, with its Maltese floor tiles, Burma teak cabinetry, and hand-picked backsplash tiles in olive and vanilla bean. The rough wooden cabinets and the grand copper chimney hood offer a simple counterpoint to the glossiness of the tiles. Fairly spacious, a sleek island with teak cabinetry and a marble worktop sits in the centre of the kitchen. Flanking the copper hood on either side are open wooden shelves with neatly stacked ceramic and glass jars storing spices and coffee.

Sitting under a pitched roof is a light, airy room that comforts the soul. A dreamy, distressed four-poster bed takes centre stage. The use of barn roller doors complete with reclaimed wood and matt-black hardware, white walls, wooden almirahs, and black leather trunks gives the room a quintessential country appeal. Once inside the bed with the soft gauzy sheers are drawn out to create an escape and offer respite from their hectic lives.

Bricks & Beams have clearly distinguished between the modern barn intervention and the authentic charm of the existing structure.

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