ASHIESH SHAH

HIS FLAIR FOR FORM AND SYMMETRY IS UNDENIABLY A SIGNATURE OF HIS, SEEN HERE AGAIN IN THIS HOME-GROWN APARTMENT IN MUMBAI. ASHIESH SHAH'S FLAIR FOR FORM AND SYMMETRY IS UNDENIABLY A SIGNATURE OF HIS, SEEN HERE IN THIS APARTMENT IN A GLASS TOWER IN MUMBAI, CRAFTED ALMOST ENTIRELY WITH HOME-GROWN ART AND DESIGN.

- GAURI KELKAR

This is a lockdown house. It started and ended in the lockdown, and has been crafted almost entirely with home-grown art and design," says Ashiesh Shah of this sky-grazing apartment in a tower in Mumbai's Worli neighbourhood. There is really no upside to being cut off from the rest of the world, a state of being during the pandemic. Everything that was once accessible is suddenly not. But that constraint didn't restrain Shah's ability to design the home from scratch. All it took was turning inwards.

He pulled the design for this house together by collaborating with local artisans and brands and leveraging the offerings from his atelier to custom-make this house of four bedrooms, an expansive living room, a professional-grade kitchen, and sea views. "It is 100 percent made in India except for a living room carpet, which is a Moroccan import."

That the homeowners trusted Shah's judgement is evident in their carte blanche brief. "It was very open-ended. The only thing they were firm on was a neutral palette and no wooden flooring. Apart from that, being art enthusiasts, they wanted me to make sure there was room enough to accommodate more art in the future." Into this framework, he poured interesting shapes, created a play of materials, used a mix of handmade flooring tiles and marble across the apartment, and added colour with the lightest of touches.