In the evolving suburban fabric of Shela, Majestica by Workshop Inc is a craft exploration for contemporary Indian homes. Designed by Keta Shah, Varun Shah, and Nishi Bulsara, the 2,500 sq ft residence is not conceived as a stylistic statement, but as an inquiry in memory, material, and Indian Modernism. At its core, the project explores a tension between the richness of traditional Indian craftsmanship and the urbanic pull of a restrained, contemporary living.
Project Name: Majestica
Studio Name: Workshop Inc
Location: Ahmedabad,India
Area: 2,500 sq ft
Principal Designer/s: Varun Shah, Keta Shah and Nisha Bulsara
Photographer: Ishita Sitwala
The clients envisioned a home that felt warm, tactile, and deeply rooted, yet free from overt ornamentation. In response, the designers built a material-led narrative, where surfaces, textures, and crafted interventions define the experience. An entry vestibule wrapped in warm wood and fluted detailing creates a moment of pause before the larger volumes reveal themselves. The home unfolds gradually, moving from openness to intimacy.
The living–dining space is the heart of the home. Travertine-clad walls establish a calm, contemporary backdrop, against which a large hand-textured panel by Dhaaga Designs becomes the emotional anchor. Its fabric-like relief, rendered in earthen tones, beckons traditions of quilting, appliqué, and embroidery, yet remains abstract, evoking memory without relying on literal motifs.
Furniture and objects reinforce this dialogue. Curved, bouclé-upholstered sofas introduce softness and human scale, offsetting the solidity of stone and timber. Low wooden tables with metal inlays nod subtly to artisanal detailing. Sculptural lighting adds drama in the space with functionality. The dining space, integrated within this volume, reads as both intimate and shared, defined by continuity rather than separation. In contrast, the kitchen adopts a darker, more cocooned palette. Textured surfaces and brass accents create a functional core that feels contained and deliberate, balancing the openness of the living areas.
The pooja room forms the spiritual centre of the home. A hand-carved marble panel introduces a sense of stillness and reverence, allowing the design to move beyond material into meaning. The private quarters continue this layered narrative, with each bedroom unfolding as a distinct yet connected chapter in the home’s material story.
Two suites serve as the primary anchors of this expression: one features a striking red travertine headboard whose natural banding echoes the sedimentation of the Indian landscape, while another reinterprets the traditional jaali as a contemporary brass installation to balance heritage craft with modern abstraction. This dialogue is softened in the remaining rooms, which transition into a more tactile exploration of hand-embroidered fabric relief and lime-wash textures, eventually culminating in a final space that reads like a vernacular gallery centred around a large textile tapestry in terracotta and ochre tones.
The palette remains deliberately restrained, with teak wood, travertine, brushed brass, and tactile fabrics such as bouclé forming the base. Colour is introduced sparingly, through art, textiles, and handwoven rugs in deep rusts, indigos, and greens. These elements act as moments of chromatic intensity within an otherwise tonal environment, grounding the space both visually and culturally. For instance, a pair of rugs in traditional patterns and colours is layered with a beige rug underneath. The composition speaks for the kind of celebration Varun and Keta are looking for, deliberate yet quiet.
