A TALE OF TWO CULTURES

Nilanjana Roy's St. John's Wood home is her personal playground as a space crafted purely by instinct, not a brief

- TANVEE ABHYANKAR

They say a home reflects its owner more than its architect — but what happens when the architect is the owner? For Nilanjana Roy, partner at Balan and Nambisan Architects, her home in St. John’s Wood is the perfect example. With its classic Victorian facade, this 2,700 sq ft house spans three storeys and five bedrooms, just the right size for the Roy family of seven. “It was love at first sight, a true classic! It just needed some tweaks,” she says. So, naturally, Nilanjana took on the project, probably the most personal and intimate one of her career.