Kamshet Houzz: A Dreamy Holiday Home by the River
A great escape from the city, designed in tasteful traditional aesthetics with outdoor spaces calling out to nature
Every once in a while, we all hope to get away from the busy, crowded, polluted city and visit a sheltered, quiet place far away, where we can reconnect with ourselves, live and laugh a little, be with just family and friends. With this need in mind, the clients approached Rishita Das and Rushda Hakim of Design Office, to change the ethos of their heritage holiday property into a quaint, nature-loving, comfortable one. “The house was to be a home away from home. A space where the whole family could gather on holidays, family functions and so on. The ‘ask’ was for a contemporary home, but the underlying theme was to engineer a nexus between the natural and the modern,” says Das.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two children
Location: Kamshet, Maharashtra
Year built: 2015
Size: 420 square metres (4520 square feet); 4 bedrooms; 5 bathrooms
Interior designers: Rishita Das and Rushda Hakim of Design Office
Photos by Kunal Bhatia
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two children
Location: Kamshet, Maharashtra
Year built: 2015
Size: 420 square metres (4520 square feet); 4 bedrooms; 5 bathrooms
Interior designers: Rishita Das and Rushda Hakim of Design Office
Photos by Kunal Bhatia
In the mountains of the Western Ghats, on the shores of a lake, amid lush greenery, sits a quaint holiday home built to serve as a retreat for its city-dweller residents. Its interiors are designed to integrate the nature surrounding it. “It was important to allow for an indoor-outdoor connection, while also bringing a rustic, natural feel into the space. The green credentials of the home are attributed to the sensitive use of local materials, cost-effective local craftsmanship and a design scheme that, quite literally, lets the interiors breathe,” Hakim says.
Traditional elements such as a red pitched roof and a wrap-around verandah lapped with greenery give the bungalow old-world charm. The arched porch descends in broad steps to the swimming pool, and frames a lovely view of the lake.
“The house is a 4000-square-foot heritage structure located at the edge of a lake. It has a beautiful rustic appeal with an open-plan scheme that ensures a constant communion with the hills that surround it. The strong character and location of the site were the starting point of our design development. The resultant structure is, therefore, a brilliant mix of an old courtyard style and new minimalist approach,” Das says.
See how this home gets a country villa-themed update
“The house is a 4000-square-foot heritage structure located at the edge of a lake. It has a beautiful rustic appeal with an open-plan scheme that ensures a constant communion with the hills that surround it. The strong character and location of the site were the starting point of our design development. The resultant structure is, therefore, a brilliant mix of an old courtyard style and new minimalist approach,” Das says.
See how this home gets a country villa-themed update
“As you pass through the large wooden doors, a beautiful mural , hand-painted by local artists, is immediately visible (on the wall of the corridor within). It gives a traditional, striking look to the space,” Hakim says. The living room entrance is right across the corridor from the front door.
In this image of the corridor, the living area is at the right, through an imposing archway. Doors on both sides of the corridor open to bedrooms. A row of nautical-style brass lamps hang from the high ceiling. The corridor is finished in polished kota flooring, as is the entire home.
The expansive living-cum-dining area is full of light and spacious serenity. Low comfortable seating, pendant lights, large windows and a plain white shell highlight the design of the space. “We retained a sense of grandeur by using traditional wall lights. A Tree of Life on a backlit fabric panel lines the dining room wall and the central zone has a cluster of blown-glass lights. The colour scheme is muted, to let the occupants enjoy the view outside and also because the central feature diwan is high on print and colour,“ Das says.
Lights: Red Blue & Yellow
Lights: Red Blue & Yellow
The open floor plan integrates two major seating areas and conjures up a relaxed, casual vibe. The clean-lined, sleek dining table accommodates the family comfortably, and the lack of distractions around the space helps the members enjoy intimate, cosy meals together. “We retained a lot of the old heritage furniture around the house. The challenge was designing the space to fit in all of the heirloom pieces,” Hakim says.
Dining table and chairs: Red Blue & Yellow
Learn how to ace open-plan living in India
Dining table and chairs: Red Blue & Yellow
Learn how to ace open-plan living in India
The children’s bedroom shows the thoughtful use of colour and graphics to imbue a fun, cheerful vibe. The palette is fairly muted, with pops of bright colours introduced through a wall mural. The scissor lights that flank the beds lend a whimsical touch. “The client was clear that they wanted their personal spaces to be vibrant and colourful – an escape from their routine in Mumbai. So we added punches of deep hues in bright, traditional colours,” Das says.
Beds: Le Mill; lights: Hesperus; furnishings: D’Decor
Beds: Le Mill; lights: Hesperus; furnishings: D’Decor
A clean, uncluttered prayer space occupies a corner of the master bedroom, with a wall dedicated to deities and gurus. The window next to the puja space floods it with natural light all day, making it a happy, inviting area.
Take a look at puja room ideas for tight spaces
Take a look at puja room ideas for tight spaces
“For the terrace we designed a striking graphic floor pattern in china mosaic to give some momentum to the space’s design,” Hakim says. The built-in seating, with its cheery sunflower-yellow cushions, and the small glass centre table help create a cosy space for the family to spend quality time together.
Read more:
Houzz Tour: A Mahabaleshwar Holiday Home Brims With Luxury
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in the Comments section below.
Read more:
Houzz Tour: A Mahabaleshwar Holiday Home Brims With Luxury
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in the Comments section below.