Nostalgia can transform the act of dwelling into something deeply personal. When a home is shaped around cherished mementos, it creates a nurturing environment where memories can flourish, making everyday life more meaningful and less ordinary. As designers, it is essential to tune into the stories of our clients and ensure their memories find a special place within their home. This is where an architect’s role as a facilitator, rather than a dictator, becomes crucial in fostering a more empathetic and collaborative design process.
Project Name: A Tapestry of Nostalgia
Studio Name: Alkove-Design
Location: The Ark, voyage to the stars – Kondhwa , Pune
Square Footage: 2300 sq feet built-up area
Principal Architects: Ar. Ninada Kashyap and Ar. Komal Mittal
Photography Credit: Hemant Patil
In their initial discussions with Architects Ninada Kashyap and Komal Mittal of Alkove-Design, the clients—both doctors—expressed a desire to celebrate their treasured collectibles within their new apartment. Their 3-bedroom home in Pune, spanning 2300 sq ft, was to finally offer a space for their family heirlooms. The cardiologist client, who had spent his life moving due to an army career, had collected beautifully crafted Kashmiri walnut furniture and local crafts during a memorable posting in Kashmir. The family wanted to preserve these ornate pieces, and the designers embarked on the challenge of integrating this eclectic mix of artifacts with innovative design solutions.
Upon entering the home, the entrance lobby immediately draws attention to a Kashmiri console unit with detailed floral carvings set against an earthy, gold-textured wall. This unit showcases a collection of Ganesha idols accumulated by the family, creating a welcoming atmosphere of positivity for visitors.
The first room one encounters is the study and entertainment area, featuring a thoughtfully designed shelving unit that accommodates the client’s collection of books and curios. The unit, custom-built to precise dimensions, includes a workstation and displays native Australian art collected from various travels. The space is vibrant with indigo, oak, and cream tones, making it an ideal setting for relaxation and intellectual engagement. Vibrant African aboriginal paintings, gifted by the client’s father, add a dynamic touch as one moves through the passage.
A seafoam-green wall with delicate mouldings invites visitors into the living area, where a sophisticated grey marble floor subtly reflects light. The family’s existing sofa sets were reupholstered in a calming palette of whites and beiges, with floral patterns enhancing the serenity of the space. A custom-designed circular wooden table on an indigo-crimson rug creates a central gathering spot. The dining area features a cream and gold-embellished wall that serves as a gallery for family photographs, with room for future additions. The Kashmir-sourced dining set and a midnight-blue console with a built-in swivel bar add unique touches to the space.
The kitchen exudes effortless elegance with its slate grey, cream, and white color scheme. A chevron-patterned wooden-finish floor provides visual coherence. “The clients wanted a practical and aesthetically pleasing space to showcase their impressive crockery collection. Our goal was to ensure functionality while maintaining clarity and organization, achieved through the use of glazed sliding doors that can separate the kitchen from the more tranquil living areas,” explains Komal, Principal Architect at Alkove.
The private rooms offer varied palettes to match their intended moods and functions. The guest bedroom, with its pastel salmon-pink walls and gentle mouldings, creates a calming atmosphere. This theme extends into the attached powder room, which features playful textured subway tiles in a herringbone pattern. In contrast, the master bedroom exudes earthy charm with a burnt-orange accent wall behind a bed with an ikat-patterned headboard. A regal walnut settee engages with a Kashmiri embroidered tapestry on the adjacent wall. The balcony, accessible from the living area, presents a panoramic city view against the expansive sky.
Reflecting on the design process, Ninada, Principal Architect at Alkove-Design, shares, “We crafted the spaces around the clients’ cherished possessions, understanding that starting from scratch would erase their personal narratives. For this project, we embraced the challenge of integrating valuable objects into the design through sensitive and compelling gestures.”
A home thus becomes a repository of memories, where the sight of a detailed object or the touch of an aged surface can transport its inhabitants back in time. Design serves as the thread that binds these elements together, allowing the home to grow with the family’s evolving stories.
