Settled in for a Lifetime (Home Tour)

I’ve always loved showcasing homes that are not forced to look good but have come together very organically over the years. And by that I mean a home that is not caught up in trends or imitating another's style but a home that has interesting layers of its own. Each layer replicating the personality, interests, style, aesthetics of its home owner and decoding the meaning of ever evolving perception of relaxed living. We have toured Hemangini’s rental pad earlier and now a year and a half later we get to take a tour of their very "own" piece of haven in Gurgaon. 

Dr. Hemangini Hoskote is a Consultant Nutritionist with a Ph.D in Nutrition and Mr. Hoskote is a senior leader in Quality and Business Excellence. They share the home with their teenage son who is quite the decor enthusiast. He has had his fair share of influence when it comes to his home's design and style. 

The Hoskote family wanted to embrace a design scheme that’s contemporary in style yet exudes warmth, elegance and simplicity. Infact, this design plan was advocated by none other than their teenage son. It seemed right in the context of the relatively modern apartment with high ceilings and a glass wall running through the entire one side of the apartment letting in abundance of sunlight for a bright and airy space.

The Living Room is furnished with pieces that have clean lines and a contemporary feel. A supporting cast of well edited accessories add the shot of color, pattern, texture, identity and make a cultural point with its design. But most importantly, I think they have cracked the code when it comes to the process of a home being relaxing visually, physically and mentally! 

Brass tattoo markers (the two thin sticks displayed on the wall) were found at a local weekly market at Lake Inle, Myanmar. Another unique element added to the wall display is an antique carved wooden kavadi that the family found during their Chennai stay. It was recently refinished and proudly made part of the living room.The black throw is a Ladakhi shawl and the Ikat one is from Java, Indonesia. The turquoise silver and leather lamp is Moroccan.

As a family, the Hoskotes love traveling and photography. They seamlessly integrated their interests into the design of the home by displaying pictures from their travels in different corners of the home. Majority of photographs are grouped into simple frames that are propped on white ledges in the living room that blend into the wall creating an almost floating effect. Besides bringing back memories of fun times, these framed pictures are great conversation starters! Hemangini makes sure to update the pictures in the frame every now and then with the latest ones from their various vacations and globetrotting expeditions. 

Here's what Hemangini had to say when asked about her decor style, "We have deliberately not followed any particular theme/style but primarily used a few hand-me-downs with travel finds. The thumb rule we follow is, one has to absolutely love it and it has to be 'hatke' (unusual/unique), before we buy it and bring it home. The apartment had white walls which are a perfect back drop for the colorful finds."

More from Hemangini, "We did not hire a 'contractor/decorator’ as we do not like the 'decorated' look with gypsum board ceilings though we had to go with the existing gypsum board ceiling in some parts of the apartment."

This corner has been personalized with wooden musician ladies that were picked from an antique store in Jew Town, Kochi, Kerala. The terracotta pieces are all from Goa, acquired over several visits from Potter's studios to antique stores. The Indonesian mirror was bought when the Hoskotes lived in Dubai. Accentuating the bench style seating are throw pillows that pick up the rust and terracotta hues from the gallery wall above.

One of the bedrooms was converted to serve as a media room. It's where the family spends most of their down time. Hemangini decided to have a collection of posters of their favorite movies framed to reinforce the theme and also clearly gives away that the family members are movie buffs!

The media room also serves as their library. With abundant display and storage space on the adjoining wall, books and other collectibles are neatly organised and provide a clutter free look. A diverse collection of musical instruments from Africa, Mauritius and Indonesia allows for a visual change of scene.

Lovely little corners are created using the family's collectibles and rightly shows the power of grouping things in varied heights and textures.The tribal Ganesha is from the Craft Museum, Delhi.  On the console table along with the brass statue of Radha and Krishna are vases and porcelain fishes that were brought home  from a pottery exhibition in Gurgaon. The pencil sketches featuring the horses were done by none other than Hemangini herself.

The dining area has an informal vibe and suits the family's relaxed style of hosting. The ta-da element in this space is the wall of masks. The collection was amassed from family vacations to North East India, Far East, Mauritius, Africa and so on.

A practical dining set works in tandem with the rest of the clean line vibe evident in the home. Clearly "comfort is everything" is a norm that takes charge with the decor in this home. Overlooking a balcony area, the doors are thrown open when entertaining on weekends or to enjoy those relaxed and laid back evenings after work.

Absolutely love the open kitchen-dining-living concept! Over to Hemangini for more as to why she prefers this concept, "It was a plan that I had always wanted in my dream home and am loving it. It’s so much more fun to chat with family n friends as one is rustling up a meal. And it works perfectly with our lifestyle. The cleanliness freak that I am, have to be a little more efficient in having the kitchen even more cleaner at all times! I opted for the open shelves as I wanted the kitchen to look light and airy. Upper kitchen cabinets would have made the kitchen look smaller n boxed in."

What a charming breakfast bar! I'd make excuses of having frequent hunger pangs just to enjoy this lovely nook, wouldn't you?

The Hoskotes were very clear from the onset that the maid's quarters would be converted to a home office for Hemangini. Hemangini shares, "This makeover did take the longest time and even though we had a relatively tight budget we didn't compromise on the look n feel of the office. In a space little over 100 sq feet,we managed to create a small, cosy office."

The walls of the office have SH Raza's prints and pencil sketches made by all members of the family.

The gallery wall in the Master Bedroom suite has a host of paintings and travel memories. The pencil sketches here too, are those done by the talented family members. The Copper n Gold art work, is a temple etching on rice paper, bought in Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

More pretty corners from their Master bedroom. The easy chair is an heirloom piece that was handmade by Hemangini's grandfather-in-law! The console in the master bedroom has baskets from Bali, Thai wooden bust, Myanmar lacquer bowls and marble plate from Goa. Love how the old and the new have together so effortlessly in this space.

And finally we get a peek into their son's room. Done up in shades of deep blue, the textured wall was what the young man decided on all by himself. This room is everything a teenager would want - practical, comfortable, low-maintenance yet stylish, masculine and totally lit!

I hope you enjoyed the home tour as much as we loved sharing it with you. Things to take away from this home tour : 

~ Skillful space planning, 

~ Visualizing the function of the space before executing the design plan, 

~ Include artwork to make the space feel more soulful and individualistic,
~ Mixing and layering the old and the new to create a classic vibe and

~ Visually linking the color scheme or decorating style of rooms that open onto one another.

Thank you Hemangini for trusting me yet again with your beautiful home to be showcased on TECD. We wish you and your beautiful family the very best! 

(Image Credit: Hemangini Hoskote, do NOT use the image/images from the blog without prior written permission of the homeowner and TECD)