WHERE MAGIC DWELLS

With custom artwork, sculptural accents and scintillating finishes, this Kolkata abode by Spaces and Design has surprises around every corner

- VAISHNAVI NAYEL TALAWADEKAR

On a tree-lined avenue in one O Kolkata suburb, is an apartment that could well have tumbled out of an art gallery. Or a haveli. Or a postcard from an alternate realm. And yet, when Pooja Bihani dreamed up the design for the home, she was inspired by none of these places. "Instead, I was inspired by the number five, because it symbolises the number of members in the family," muses the founder and principal of Kolkata-based interior design firm Spaces and Design. Of course, the inspiration was also the response to a very specific brief: to design a space that would hold an enduring novelty for the homeowners and their three kids. For Pooja, then, the priority was conjuring that permanent sense of magic.

Spread across nearly 5,000 square feet, the dwelling features a lobby, a foyer, informal and formal living rooms, and a playroom, besides the customary bedrooms and service areas.