Jan 15, 2024
Beyond Four Walls: Part 1
The importance of spaces you design for yourself
The most impactful statement I now use in my passionate conversations on space design is by Ilse Crawford in the show Abstract, “How spaces are designed affects how we feel and behave.”
We spend 75-85% of our time in buildings; elements such as natural light, color schemes, layouts, objects, and furniture contribute to our overall satisfaction, comfort, functionality, and taste within a space.
When I moved to Bangalore:
I was looking to live alone and landed at a co-living space in Koramangala (in hindsight, was a blessing). I was spending 1/4 of my salary on the rent, but goshhh! it was worth it.
The hall of this house was so lit and spacious that I spent most of my time there, others too, like-minded people🌟. Also, I worked at a furniture renting start-up, and I used to edit my room setup for different moods every 3 to 6 months.
I learned 3 things from here:
Bangalore’s weather is actually amazing. Moreover, Koramangala is blissfully serene.
A space with good ventilation is what you need.
Find a space you like, you will find people you like❤️
Friends moved out for different reasons, and so did I.
I was looking to live alone again; I met Alka at a mutual friend's party, she was also looking to move places. We found each other decent, and later we found a gem💎
This place we found was bigger than what we were looking for, a crazy-lit living hall, sunkissed through the day, surrounded by coconut trees, we looked at each other and nodded. This was easily a house that made me explore how homes are built. This was also the home where we spent our lockdown, neither of us went home.
I learned a lot of things:
Koramangala has a lot of gems. Every house is different from the other.
Set up your home bit by bit. You will know what you need to put in there.
Don’t start with 1 or 2 plants. Get 8-10 plants together for the 1st time, even if 5 of them die, you still have some to keep up the motivation.
Artificial grass is okay for small balconies.
Create a space where others feel at home, that’s the best kind of hosting.
Hygge is a way of life.
If you are the shorter one, be around when the water purifier is getting installed👀
Moving to the current place, this was Amit and I moving together.
Amazingly, this is the 3rd house I moved to within Kormangala, all within a kilometer distance. This is a bungalow penthouse, with huge balconies and rooms with high ceilings. The taste and technique with which this house is built is a masterpiece.
Things I learned here:
A house needn’t be a rectangular block.
Solid wood + greens + blacks + whites is an amazing mix.
Lighting play is a game changer to imbibe different moods.
Having your friends/ family in close proximity is a blessing.
Study tables are over-rated, dining tables are a great hack!
Indian houses aren’t optimized for study rooms.
Natural light in washrooms is underrated.
If you have less furniture, filling the walls with paintings is a great hack to avoid an empty look.
You are paying your house help for the trust and reliability, and not only for the service.
Parties needn’t be a late evening set-up, afternoon gatherings are great if you are a morning person.
