5335 SQFT | Bengaluru
2023
FAIZAL & SHABANA KOTTIKOLLON
5335 SQFT | Bengaluru
2023
FAIZAL & SHABANA KOTTIKOLLON
“Serai is a place for travellers to stop a while and leave revived.”
Perched over the leafy heart of the Garden City, Serai throws its windows wide open to all the natural and historical charms of Bangalore. This serene, sunlit apartment looks out over the grand old raintrees of Cubbon Park and the red stone splendour of the Attara Kacheri, which houses the Bangalore High Court. Home to the Dubai-based couple Shabana and Faizal Kottikollon, Serai, as its name suggests, is a place for the frequent travellers to stop a while and leave revived.
As profusely detailed as the nature-inspired wallpapers are, their elegant greyscale colour scheme allows the layering of warm, rich colours and textures via the lighting and fabrics.
For Pavitra Rajaram, the Serai project was a homecoming of sorts. She grew up making cherished memories with her family in this beautiful neighbourhood, which inspired a lifelong fascination with gardens. Pavitra visualised Serai as a garden pavilion with a cool continental air. To reflect the style sensibilities of the Kottikollons, PRD created a classically European backdrop for the apartment, with elegant wall panelling and wainscoting in shades of white. Against this tranquil canvas are layered warm wooden floors, small-yet-powerful works of contemporary art and breathtaking botanical panoramas. Light and shadow chase each other to create sculptural motifs on the walls that change with the time of day.
In the master bedroom, the ‘Dream of Palms’ wallpaper by Kenneth James sets a languid tropical tone that continues through an 18th-century watercolour of the Malabar coast and an elegantly carved bench from Nilaya, covered with custom hand-block printed fabric.
In the powder room, monkeys and birds leap out of the forest canopy hand-painted on the wallpaper from Ananbô’s Les Paysages Liontains collection.
The soothing lines of Serai are punctuated with pockets of verdant profusion. Team PRD created these immersive spaces in the foyer, powder bathroom, dining area and the master bedroom using exquisite hand-painted wallpapers by the French print-masters at Ananbô and the landscape artists at de Gournay. The wall-coverings used at Serai are inspired by romantic watercolours of 18th-century India made by celebrated British artists, Thomas and William Daniell. Soaring palm fronds, arching plantain leaves and rustling rainforest canopies are rendered in charcoal greys, indigo blacks and forest greens. Serai dips into the quieter colours of nature to offer a sanctuary of calm in the bustling centre of a metropolis. A thread of green runs through the ivories, creams and ebonies of the décor, broken up now and again by a line of gold, a smudge of old rose, a bloom of deep cerise.
In the entry passage, vintage finds add a touch of nostalgia, like the brass alam and the traditional milk pail from Gujarat repurposed as a vase. We bring in a world of textures through the striped batik runner sourced from Sri Lanka’s Paradise Road, velvet poufs, a jute dhurrie and a glazed ceramic table lamp from Iqrup+Ritz.
The dramatic headboard of the Alexandria bed steals the scene in this bedroom. We’ve layered subtle colours and clean lines to create a cocoon of calm here. A handwoven, tasselled Bhujodi throw by master craftsman Shamji Vankar of Kutch brings a splash of colour, which is then picked up in the vintage carpet from Jaipur Rugs.
The art at Serai is an eclectic, exciting curation put together thoughtfully. It includes provocative photographic works by Pushpamala N, powerful still-life drawings in pen and ink by Jogen Chowdhury, iridescent etchings by Tanujaa Rane, and haunting abstract watercolours by Aditi Singh and Tanmoy Samanta. The family lounge, which occupies a central place in the home, features the hypnotic calligraphic paintings of Saubiya Chasmawala. As an artist, Chasmawala explores her own relationship with faith in a language that’s charged with emotion.
In the family room/lounge, the kolam carpet designed by Tania and Sandeep Khosla x Jaipur Rugs provides a restrained counterpoint to the passionate watercolours by Saubiya Chasmawala on the walls. The pattern on the bone inlay tables is set off by the smokey grey of the L-shaped sofa custom-made by Pavitra Rajaram Design.
The avocado wall colour in the son's bedroom sets off the deep charcoal tones of the velvet headboard. The deep plum and mahogany of the Sipahi carpet from PRD x JR brings the space to life.
In the living room, a pair of vintage carved wings in rosewood occupies centre-stage, flanked by the art of KP Pradeepkumar and Tanmoy Samanta. Pops of earthy red from the Indonesian batik table-runner dark stand out against the ebony sheen of the tufted leather sofa from House of Things and the matte black of the glass-and-metal coffee table.
The dynamic calligraphy on the walls of the lounge is balanced with the precise geometry of the hand-knotted kolam carpet on the floor, designed for Jaipur Rugs by Tania and Sandeep Khosla. The syncretism of design choices like these resonate with and reflect the values of the Kottikollon family, and they are a signature of our practice at PRD. Serai is also home to carpets from the Jaipur Rugs x Pavitra Rajaram collaboration, Majnun, which was showcased at Salone Del Mobile, 2023 in Milan.
A lush panoramic vista from 18th-century Bengal wraps around the dining room with the Bengale Grissaile - Les Paysages Liontains wallpaper by Ananbô. Brass-trim pendant lights from The Hesperus, wood and rattan chairs from Magari and the striking Sipahi carpet from the Majnun series by Jaipur Rugs x Pavitra Rajaram complete the picture.
The Arjumand carpet from the Jaipur Rugs X Pavitra Rajaram Design collaboration brings a touch of dreamy romance to the living room, with its sinuous motifs of weeping willows and golden clouds.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
Aditya Sinha & Aneev Rao