A frame-tale home

Set in a gated community of villas at Kolenchery, Kerala, the project was to revamp a 4 bedroom home flanked by lookalike villas on either side. Originally built with just the essential amount of space devoted to each room within a concrete framed structure, the new owners of this home sought a respite from its lackluster environment and claustrophobic existence looking onto neighbouring houses. In its tight organization of spaces interrupted by columns and walls, they desired to attain an open airiness that one would typically find in a modern-day open-plan home. The home interior had to be renovated with as little structural changes as possible, while also retaining its existing identity and architectural style as a villa. As a result, openness is attained not by eliminating columns and walls to free up the interior, but by taking a step back to allow a broader perspective. The house is reconceptualized to unfold gradually as a series of frames; a space within a space, a story within a story - a frame tale, with the foyer framing a view to the living, which further gives way to framed doorways to the dining and the kitchen beyond. The narrow, confined space of the living room is made to appear more open in its connection to the entrance foyer.

The dining space opens out to the vibrant greenery on a cozy patio, while retaining its privacy from the neighbouring villa through a screen or Jaali wall. On the opposite end of the home, a handwash veiled behind an intricate screen remains inconspicuous while at the same time becoming an elegant feature. Windows frame beautiful views to plants on the setback outside, also forming a buffer from the closely set neighbouring houses. The material and colour palette is kept minimal to avoid clutter in the villa’s small spaces, with a teak-wood floor and wooden furniture making spaces feel almost monolithic, bringing a sense of serenity into the home. Taking a flight of stairs, the view opens out onto a large terrace with a rustic stone flooring, bringing in an expanse of greenery into an otherwise mundane layout of 3 bedrooms. A double height volume top-lit by a skylight illumines the heart of this floor. This project exemplifies how minimal spaces with the right amount of light, set in a sanctuary that allows a connection to nature, can inspire a passion for life.