| Habitat
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The drawing cum dining room is an easy-flowing space
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Architect Kunal Barve
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A closer look at the wall cabinet seemingly embedded in glass
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The dining table. Notice the pine panelling that extends all the way down to become a three-seater
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The partly recessed seating that reflects the furnishing colours of the dining chairs
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The guest bathroom with epoxy flooring and fittings designed by the architect
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The cupboards became the separating wall between the drawing room and the guest bedroom
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The master bedroom with inscription in stone
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A multi-functional Interface
March 2007
Text: Seema Buckshee
Photographs: Ravi Kanade; courtesy the architect
Dual-purpose walls, levitating showcases, inventive material and space usage, and a few rope tricks set this home designed by architect Kunal Barve apart from others of its ilk.
THIS IS THE STORY OF how a sun-filled but somewhat average looking flat was given a hip and interesting personality…
Architect Kunal Barve and his firm Interface were handed this project with a one-word brief: Functionality.
Their first task was to free some space in the hall cum living area and enlarge one somewhat small-sized bedroom to cater to the sleeping requirements of three people. This was done by eliminating the wall joining the living room and the bedroom… and replacing it with cupboards. To ensure that no protrusions spoilt the flushed homogeneity of the “wall”, the cupboards’ backs were lined up with the door to form the drawing room wall. Even the door handle was created to lend credence to the “wall”.
A double bed with a roll-on bed under it solved the problem of sleeping arrangements for three. A triangular corner cabinet was created in the only available corner, to place the TV and music system. The tiny bathroom was smoothened out and coated in a layer of bright blue epoxy paint, which solidified to give the bathroom a unique smooth finish. The tap was specially designed and a washbasin (also customized) was placed on a rectangular block, which hid the ugly drain pipes. The effort was well worth the neat, tucked-in look that the room now presents.
All through the house, ideas grounded in functionality and cost-effectiveness have been used to create islands of interest and originality. For instance, the use of ropes to clad a flat, vertical, rectangular beam between the dining area and the living space makes it a conversation piece. Ropes appear elsewhere in the house too: in the wall clock handpicked by the family; as the embedded centrepiece of the dining table designed by Kunal; and in the foyer where — criss-crossed with sleeper wood and lamps costing just Rs 500 from Chor Bazaar — an interesting pattern welcomes the visitor.
The living room has a showcase seemingly suspended in mid-air. Curiouser and curiouser, I think, but discover at closer look that it is an ordinary showcase presented in an extraordinary manner. Kunal demolished the wall between the dining area and the passageway beyond, and embedded the showcase between two glass sheets suspended from the ceiling beam with the help of barely visible iron rods. Space has been created where there was none.
A sloping ceiling with concealed lighting was created to add a dash of the unusual in the somewhat small master bedroom. Again, the material used for the bed and cupboards is cost-effective: common MDF panel, treated uncommonly. Here, the panel has simply been sawed to create serrated edges, giving the cupboards a wavy edging and a new look and appeal.
Various other designer highlights uplift the house. The specially-crafted dining chairs, the pine wood roof-panelling, which flows down from the wall to comfortable seating, the main door with its jigsaw-like appearance and sliding panels create a smart and unusual entry point to the house. The free spaces in the living room all merge to present a picture of a well-designed, stylish home.
Now, would you believe that this elegant home is no more than the product of an attempt to stay true to function?
Concept- A multi-functional Interface To create a stylish functional space for a large family, keeping cost constraints in mind.
Materials- A multi-functional Interface Walls: Primarily POP and painted. The back of the cupboard which acts as a wall, is Duco-painted ply
Ceiling: Gypsum and POP
Flooring: Vitrified slabs of 6 ft x 4 ft
Hard furnishings: Sameer Ceramics, Art Deco, RAK tiles and Saral tiles Soft furnishings: Bharat Furnishings, Yamini, Zeba, Fabian and other local stores
Fact File- A multi-functional Interface
Size of the project: 1,600 sq ft
Location: Mumbai Central
Principal architect: Kunal Barve
Duration of project: 4 months
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The slatted coffee table and the shelf in the background find coherence in each other
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