India Houzz Tour: A Central Courtyard Opens a City Unit to Nature
Connected, flowing spaces bring in light, greenery and plenty of charm within this apartment in Mumbai, India
Vinita Kunnath
13 January 2022
A Houzz India contributor, freelance writer, lover of the internet, travel, funny blogs and all things off-beat, with an eye for good taste and aesthetics. Home, not clothes, maketh a man.....or woman.
A Houzz India contributor, freelance writer, lover of the internet, travel, funny... More
In the busy suburb of Juhu in Mumbai, India, a couple owned this duplex apartment in a newly developed residential building. Their longing for green spaces reflected in their brief to Architecture BRIO, “to design a home that redefined the relationship between interior spaces and the outdoors”.
Shefali Balwani, founder and director of the design firm Architecture BRIO, worked alongside the building’s architects to include a two-story, covered courtyard in the centre of the apartment for their client. This stunning feature creates a strong indoor-outdoor connection, building on the foundation of the smooth, interflowing spaces and large windows that let in huge amounts of light and vistas of nature.
Shefali Balwani, founder and director of the design firm Architecture BRIO, worked alongside the building’s architects to include a two-story, covered courtyard in the centre of the apartment for their client. This stunning feature creates a strong indoor-outdoor connection, building on the foundation of the smooth, interflowing spaces and large windows that let in huge amounts of light and vistas of nature.
Photos by Ira Gosalia at PHX India
Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their son
Location: Mumbai, India
Year built: 2019
Size: 290 square metres with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a powder room
Design firm: Architecture BRIO
An enclosed vestibule with glass on one side leads past the open courtyard to the left and into the living room. The lower floor comprises multiple spaces that flow into one another while remaining separate.
The combination of the vestibule, the exposed brick wall, industrial metal-framed windows, and concrete floor gives the apartment a chic, loft-like feel. The palette in shades of browns and greens is perfectly in sync with the home’s natural aesthetic.
Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their son
Location: Mumbai, India
Year built: 2019
Size: 290 square metres with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a powder room
Design firm: Architecture BRIO
An enclosed vestibule with glass on one side leads past the open courtyard to the left and into the living room. The lower floor comprises multiple spaces that flow into one another while remaining separate.
The combination of the vestibule, the exposed brick wall, industrial metal-framed windows, and concrete floor gives the apartment a chic, loft-like feel. The palette in shades of browns and greens is perfectly in sync with the home’s natural aesthetic.
The brick wall and concrete flooring seamlessly connect the living room to the TV room – an informal space with a large built-in day bed (not pictured). The room can be closed off when the door is slid shut, or used as an extension to the living room when it stands open.
The double-height courtyard is literally a breath of fresh air in the duplex, perfecting the indoor-outdoor connection. “The variations in shades, textures and tones of the stone floor beautifully complement this green space,” says Balwani. Grass interspersed with tiles and a tall fiddle-leaf fig add to the lush verdure.
Ready to renovate? Find an architect near you to make your vision a reality
Ready to renovate? Find an architect near you to make your vision a reality
The glass partitions, which surround the courtyard and rise all the way to the floor above, make the apartment appear as one cohesive unit, both visually and spatially.
The dining room is defined by the earthy tones of the wooden dining table and the natural-fibre lamp over it. “The dull-green dining chairs not only complement the backdrop of tree canopies outside but also of the green lamps above the neighbouring kitchen island,” says Balwani.
Floor-to-ceiling windows and whitewashed walls flood the dining area and the informal eating space with light.
Just off the kitchen island and behind a pair of hinged metal-and-glass doors lies the main kitchen, which shines with a rich-blue paint and satin nickel hardware. A light-grey Caesarstone benchtop and fluted glass shutters overhead
complement the blue cabinetry.
complement the blue cabinetry.
The powder room on the lower floor sports a tropical-themed wallpaper, which has been artistically paired with real foliage.
“A minimal folded MS-plate [mild steel-plate] staircase with solid-oak timber treads, illuminated by a cascading light fitting, leads to the floor above,” says Balwani.
Browse more contemporary staircase designs to inspire your own
Browse more contemporary staircase designs to inspire your own
The large landing area doubles as the family room. Oak floors anchor the rooms upstairs, bringing a cosy warmth to the private quarters.
A fluted-glass partition – a recurring characteristic in this apartment – cordons off the family space from the bedrooms, ensuring privacy.
The passageway from the family area to the bedrooms wraps around the central courtyard. It is lined with storage cupboards that showcase family photos. Pale olive green is the colour of choice here and continues into the guest room.
A sliding glass-and-metal door leads to the guest room at the end of the passageway. A wall bed allows the owners to use the floor space for yoga when they don’t have guests.
The walls in the main bedroom are designed with a metal panelling detail. The crisp light grey of the walls balances the contrast between the oak flooring and the mauve-painted metal base, the combination imparting a stylised and serene vibe to the space. The custom-designed metal four-poster bed can be entirely dismantled.
The main bathroom is fully clad in white marble, accentuated with matt-brass fittings. It houses two vanities, a dual shower and a built-in bathtub.
The centrally located shower is flanked by the bathtub on one side and a marble-and-glass shower screen on the other, which separates the wet and dry areas of the bathroom.
A geometric mosaic made of white, cream and grey marble highlights the shower area. “The floor drain has been disguised in the border around the mosaic and can be lifted open with the help of brass rings,” says Balwani.
A geometric mosaic made of white, cream and grey marble highlights the shower area. “The floor drain has been disguised in the border around the mosaic and can be lifted open with the help of brass rings,” says Balwani.
The nursery is made entirely from birch plywood finished in a natural polish – a neutral palette that allows for a child’s changing tastes as they grow. The room, complete with monkey bars, is designed to be an evolving playscape. The furniture has been detailed with rounded corners and edges to make it safe for children.
The ensuite bathroom is clad in slate tiles.
Your turn
What do you love about this apartment and its indoor-outdoor connection? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Missed our previous Houzz Tour? Catch up here with this UK Houzz Tour: How Tactile Furnishing Brought a New Build to Life
Your turn
What do you love about this apartment and its indoor-outdoor connection? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Missed our previous Houzz Tour? Catch up here with this UK Houzz Tour: How Tactile Furnishing Brought a New Build to Life
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Hi Helen Thanks for flagging that – the pic has now been removed
Although the apartment looks very elegant and serene, it would have been nice to see the actual 2 storey courtyard from the outside. It's very hard to get a sense of its size. Is it a ground/first floor apartment with a courtyard or is the courtyard a balcony? The photos suggests a lush ground floor courtyard but the greenery could be tree tops? A floor plan would definitely have helped.
Still, a very lovely home anyway.
love the courtyard and Mumbai fab city however please no more blue in flats or houses!There are many more colours in the spectrum!