Modish Minimalism
When the clients, with whom Thomas has crossed paths almost ten years prior, came knocking, no one could have predicted what would happen next. “The lockdown meant that we had to conceptualise the entire project remotely. No site visits, nothing,” rues Thomas, who orchestrated everything from her Bangalore-based studio. But as far as concerns went, the lockdown was the farthest thing from the clients’ minds. “They were more worried about how, or whether, we could maintain a bare minimum palette. They wanted something that would stand the test of time–a priority given their two rambunctious toddlers,” shares the designer. Indeed, as she opens the front door, I catch a glimpse of the black-and-white foyer, which, with its shiny black subway tiles and space grey marble wainscoting, mildly riffs on Interstellar. A curvilinear bench lends to the galactic aesthetic, serving as an overture to the star-spangled passageway beyond. “The tessellated patterns were created by fusing natural stone with wooden segments,” says Thomas of the monochrome aesthetic, where colour peeps out surreptitiously, almost as if afraid of being caught.
In the passageway, hand-cut grey marble with brass inlay cloaks the floor, while the walls sport tessellated stone tiles. A perforated wooden shoe cupboard stands sentinel in one corner.
Reminiscent of ‘70s’ retro-chic, the Stygian bar latches into the ceiling and floor, holding a mirror to glamorous underground cabaret bars. It is alternately defined by acrylic and teakwood tambour shutters, and embellished with brass joinery.
