“A home should feel like a return to the self”

Blooms open and close, rise and droop, wind and drape inside the home, located in a beautiful old Chennai neighbourhood. Wrapped around the outside are panoramic views of the city tapering into the sea. At the entrance, 19 th - century maps and engravings of Madras, the Coromandel Coast and the southern peninsula anchor you in the history of the place. The living room at the end of the hall is lit up in the shades of a Chennai flower market, with notes of oleander pink, jacaranda purple, jasmine white, rose red and marigold yellow.

An expansive space that opens off to other areas, the living room also offers the first hint of a personal legacy. Aditi’s family has deep roots in Hyderabad and we honoured the heritage with a panoply of ikats. From the precise simplicity of Pochampally to the exquisite geometry of Turkey to the blurry abstraction of Uzbekistan, the incredible diversity of this ancient textile tradition is showcased in nearly every room.

Naturally, the expansive use of such vividly hued textiles created a kaleidoscopic palette for us to draw from. We leaned into the profusion and used colours to harmonise and delineate spaces-within-spaces. The sunlit alcove is folded into the living room with its apricots, corals, burnt rose and Marrakesh sand. On the other hand, the dining room flickers to life in contrasting shades, like the rich fuchsia of the custom wallpaper and the sunny pop of the mismatched chairs.

The more private spaces in the home offer glimpses from Aditi and Siddharth’s personal journeys as artists. In the den, we created a floor-to-ceiling showcase for awards and cherished gifts from industry mentors as well as childhood friends. The starting point for the design of the TV lounge was a fabric Aditi had set her heart on: the velvet upholstery from Sabyasachi for Nilaya Collection. Earthy, mulchy colours layer and build up to a stunning effect here, with a custom wallpaper from Pavitra’s personal archive

Naturally, the master bedroom is the most romantic spot in the home, calling to mind the dreamy Shalimar Bagh of Kashmir. The wallpaper evokes the radiance of flowers blooming along a white marble pavilion. The custom four-poster bed is an island of soft whites, from the hand-woven pashmina throw to the hand-embroidered bedcover. Every part of the bed—the silk, the lace, the roses, the French knots—has been hand-picked to craft a truly singular piece.

The two other bedrooms are equally distinct in character, both shaped by Aditi’s concept for these spaces. The green bedroom is a study in contemporary ikats, which we used in the lampshade, wallpaper, curtains and headboard -and no two are alike. The blue bedroom is more dramatic in spirit, with curtains in a larger format, bolder ikat, and the theme carrying on in the headboard. There’s a Chinoiserie-like charm to the room with shots of crimson setting off the cool blues of the wallpaper.