Project IronMan

TR

Multitude of Sins (MOS) renovated and refurbished a 30-year-old residence into an Art Deco-inspired apartment in Mumbai, India. Lavanya Chopra describes the project as follows:

Situated in the upscale residential nucleus of Lokhandwala – Mumbai, this apartment poses as a design hybrid amidst contemporary, surrealist, and industrial design, which revels in strong geometric forms, slivers of colour, and an artisanal approach towards the materiality that dots the abode.

With Project IronMan, we’ve strived to unveil just what potential a home can bear if one remembers to dismiss the notions of familiarity. It was a medley of interventions that couldn’t be traced back to run-of-the-mill design inspiration with which the internet was murky!

The clients desired a home that was pragmatic, non-static, articulately pieced together, yet not precious to a fault as they inhabit it with two toddlers who are eager explorers! A design journey is truly only the mere tip of the iceberg; it is the processes, in-situ creations, and spontaneous iterations that mould a space into its entirety.

The home’s narrative found its bearings in an expression that was no hostage to colour. Instead, it comes alive in a few curated across the tapestry of the home in objects, crafted pieces of furniture, and bespoke materiality. Monochromes dabbling in black, white, greys, a vibrant sage green, aquamarine, and a sprightly vermillion are a few handsome culprits that we’re unabashedly guilty of loving! Material choices were thoroughly thought through, ensuring each element’s application was far from vain, and instead, driven by purpose.

The very first rendezvous with the home is in the form of the quaint yet impactful foyer. Minimalist and doused in the timelessness of monochromes, this preambulatory space layers the canvas of one’s mind sumptuously, preparing the palette for all that comes uncorked indoors.

The bipartite wall is enveloped in black subway tiles on the top and light grey marble texture tiles towards the bottom half, segregated by a dark wooden beading detail, underscoring their serendipitous communion. A curvilinear bench sits by the light-flushed window, emerging almost organically from the marble-clad floors. Brass and black metal dual-armed sconces embellish the walls, elevating the design ante.

The entrance door is a homage to the spirit of Art Deco design and architecture that dwells in Bombay's structures, streets, and unassuming crannies. The concentric patterns engraving the door's face pair idyllically with the sleek oversized brass hardware, leading into the passageway.

Punctured by a set of five arches, the wall standing as a median between the living area and passageway acts as a light-flushed membrane as one steals glimpses of the communal space that peek through the glass-infilled arches. The flooring seems to contort playfully, pivoting the sight almost like a sundial in motion buried in the flooring’s depth. Whiffs of green travel into the living space, bleeding through the arches and making its presence apparent subtly as one takes a gander.

The living area is the stimulated heart of the home, embodying the maxim of ‘less is more’ with sincerity. Accents of colour make their way into the grey-washed ‘naked’ space. The vintage-esque olive green sofa sits in the company of grey and powder blue Alankaram armchairs. The taupe and grey open-back sofa rests against the airy fenestrations, furnishing the space with its pared-down silhouette that makes the room feel uninterrupted. The perfect Bent Chair coffee table seems to amorphously sprout from the floor, carrying forth the monochrome and geometric sensibility of the space.

The galley kitchen is bathed in a melange of a pastel aquamarine hue, the umber warmth of wood, and a blanket of greys; this zone echoes the overarching design of the home. The otherwise neutral space is interjected with a collage of geometric forms like the flooring treatment in the communal areas. This is presented in the intentional segments introduced within the grey cement tile flooring and across the backsplashes of the counters while speckled grey quartz lines the countertops. A custom crockery vitrine bookends the counters, engaging black acrylic and grey PU sections in its interior to create the pièce de résistance.

Young, spirited, and experimental! The children’s bedroom is a space inhabited by two kids who have the coolest room on the block! Greys and black trickle into this space as well, but this time in the vivacious company of vermillion orange. The dual-toned wall anchors the metal bar from which the upholstered headboard is suspended, connected to metal members that harness onto the ceiling. The available thickness of the walls allowed us to create niches on either side of the resting area, which were panelled to be fashioned as a compact nightstand and a floating dresser on the two ends, respectively.

In Project IronMan, simplicity and humble geometry became our muse! We extrapolated it across the floors, walls, ceilings, and in objects, attempting to morph the lens from which we come to learn of its presence.