Started in the year mid-2016, Hipcouch is an Interior Design Company founded by Indian School of Business alumni Parikshat Hemrajani and Pankaj Poddar. Hipcouch has designed spaces globally to provide data-driven and personalized custom-design solution as per the needs of the customer. Parikshat Hemrajani and Pankaj Poddar have an exceptional
understanding of crafting spaces while leaving no stone unturned. Their recent project is a splendid beauty surrounded by modern architecture carefully executed by the duo into a Coastal Hapston style apartment.
Pankaj Poddar, the co-founder of Hipcouch, the Interior Design Company shares, “There were a lot of structural issues that needed to be addressed on account of the building being a few decades old. The design vocabulary throughout the apartment is a Coastal Hampton style which inspires the use of browns, whites, greys and blues. What makes this very interesting is
that this color palette could be carried into every room irrespective of the age group of the people using the said rooms.”
The site is located in the heart of Malabar Hill, surrounded by these buildings from the 60s and 70s which was just the beginning of modern architecture in India. The house was initially designed by a designer which dated back 20-25 years with this great carrara marble flooring.
So, keeping that as an inspiration and the architecture around the building, the house was designed to resonate with the nuances of that early era of the 60s and 70s while keeping it modern at the same time.
The layout of the apartment was changed from a two bedroom to a three bedroom and the rest rooms were moved from their original locations along with creating a brand-new bathroom for the third room. Walls were torn down and there were plenty of columns and beams in large space between living and dining which were incorporated into the design. The edges and corner details made for aesthetics. They were painted the same colour as walls and ceilings to provide a flow between the entire space rather than making them stand out and break symmetry. Also, there were areas of the apartment that were taken in such as the windows in the living area and a balcony across the master wardrobe in the master bedroom.
The entire balcony stretch in the master bedroom was used as a walk-in wardrobe which is completely hidden from the main master bedroom area which not only makes the rest of the bedroom completely clutter free but also gives you a completely private walk-in wardrobe for yourself. In the living room, the windows were pulled down to create a level 1 sort of a
garden which you could look through from your living room and an entire corner was converted into a nice bar along with seating. Air conditioning was installed in that balcony area which was brought in the living room. So, even though the height of that portion was lower due to the air conditioning unit, it still blended seamlessly into the rest of the space
with only the grills being visible while not compromising the height of the rest of the living area either.
The modern classical look with a neutral colour palette, shades of grey and brown along with white to provide a balance to the ambience. The furniture is made in veneer with a distressed look, which simultaneously gives it the luxury and vintage feel. There’s use of cement finish
on the walls and also on furniture, which gives it the raw look and all the furniture also has duco finish along with panel shutters on the wardrobes which gives it the timeless look across the house. The kitchen also has a fairly pastel colour palette with mint green look on the shutters with white countertop and white tiles. The decor was sourced from different parts of
Malaysia, Indonesia etc. which adds to the overall aesthetic and warmth of the space.
Talking about this project, principal designer Rishita Das shares, “We retained bits of those elements and also drew inspiration from that. Because it was a brownfield project where we had an old apartment which we razed down almost completely and rebuilt the entire place, there were challenges that we came upon which helped us approach the project
differently.”
Project Details
Type of Project:- Residential
Principal Architect:- Rishita Das, Pankaj Poddar, Parikshit Hemrajani
Firm Name:- Hipcouch
Location:-Mumbai