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The post-modern home
`Modern' and `elegant' are the words that best describe Lata and V. K. Mathews' home in Jawahar Nagar.
"This house is a practical blend of functional and aesthetic aspects. Our aim was to build a house that is service centred for the people living in it. Electricity, water supply, drainage and the security systems are completely reliable and their mechanisms fail-safe. The house is fully automated; if at some point of time, we feel the need to break away from these complications and wish to lead a simple life, I can simply terminate the controls and yet remain connected to the basic electric and water supply," says Mathews.
"I have given equal importance to the aesthetic aspect, because I believe that anything without a purpose will not stand the test of time in terms of beauty. At the same time, one overriding consideration was not to make anyone feel intimidated. Hence I chose to have a very simple entrance," he remarks.
Behind the concrete façade, the fabric of the house is rich in wood and marble. Laid on the floor is Roser Alecante, a heavily veined variety of Spanish marble; its burnt sienna (reddish brown) colour is paired with the off-white Crema Marfil, an Italian variety. "We have used two types of paintings - works of Indian and European artists which are just to add colour," says Mathews.
Each room has been furnished to suit its ambience -- cream leather sofas give the foyer a plush look, button shaped seats look trendy in the snack bar, bean bags for the kids' room and cane furniture for the poolside.
Hanging lampshades, cast like bugles, are in different combinations of copper and brass.
"It is easy to get the floor plan but the feasibility of the spatial plan is proven only when the desired 3-D effect is realised," observes Mathews. The house has been constructed on split-levels with the gymnasium, outhouses, the pool filter and the utility room tucked away at the lowest level. Four feet above the entrance is the foyer, the dining, the pantry, and two bedrooms.
"The split-levels are very convenient for me because from the pantry I just have to climb a few feet up or down to access the living area or the utility room," says Lata. The living area comprises a lounge, the master bedroom, an open-air pool, and the main garden. The tessellated swimming pool adds a splash of blue to the garden.
"What was initially designed to be an open but roofed terrace has been converted into a home theatre. But it so happened that the roof was in the shape of a pyramid - the worst choice for acoustics. So I decided to break the conical shape with screens of fabric," explains Mathews.
"Detailed effort has been taken to make the house functionally perfect and aesthetically elegant, as I believe that the house reflects on the personality of the occupants," says Mathews.
SHABINA KHAN
Photos: Jomon Thomas
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
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Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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