A Positive Influence

Mindful of the clients’ request to eschew glossiness, IDA Architects & Interior Designers’ Mitesh Champaneria and space visualization and product development agency Kuryaat’s Jaba Champaneria create a rustic, artistic and full-of-warmth home in Surat.

- Rupali Sebastian

Positivity is a constant in this home. It began with trying to capture that particular aspect of the clients’ personalities. It was also what the architect, Mitesh Champaneria, cofounder of IDA Architects & Interior Designers (who were entrusted the design of this house) felt when he first entered the 2,500-square-foot, 4BHK apartment. “(It) was a very positive and promising vibe at the very first step into the space. As the spaces were so open, even though it was an apartment; I felt there was a good scope to work on the flow and connection of spaces,” he recalls. His partner in the design exercise was spouse Jaba Champaneria, head of space visualization and art/product design agency Kuryaat, who was “totally inspired by the nature of the clients who always spread positivity.” The collaboration — Mitesh would propose the broader concepts, the bones as it were, which would be fleshed out with respect to theme, colour harmonies, etc, under Jaba’s expertise — was bolstered by the meaningful involvement of the clients, who, the designers tell us, are fond of art and possess a good aesthetic sense.

The brief by the clients revolved around peace and serenity. “They are a small family with a basic, grounded lifestyle,” reveals Mitesh, who runs IDA with his elder sibling, architect Bhadrakant Champaneria. “They run a textile business and spend the whole day in a very noisy environment of looms and vehicles. We understood what we had to serve.” The family was also emphatic in the requirement of a space that eschewed glossiness of any sort… and that “nothing should be done which is not practical on usage,” Mitesh tells us.