A Seaside Apartment Inspired by Wabi-Sabi

In the heart of Mumbai, nestled between lush green trees and overlooking the ocean, this apartment has a natural, tactile and pared-down aesthetic that seamlessly blends indoors and out. We spoke with designer Nikita Pai to find out about how she drew inspiration from nature and the concept of wabi-sabi

Design Anthology: How did you first meet the client?

Nikita Pai: As with most of our projects, this enquiry came through word of mouth and references from previous clients. These clients had visited a home we had designed and the aesthetic resonated with what they were looking for in their own home.

Can you tell us about them and their lifestyle?

The clients are a young couple, both part of the creative fraternity. She’s a fashion stylist and he works in media. Given their backgrounds, they possess a great sense of style and appreciate the finer things. This was the first house they were building together and they were really hands-on throughout the entire process.

What was the brief to you for the project?

In a bustling, fast-paced city like Mumbai, moments of calm are hard to come by. The couple work long hours and travel often, so they wanted a space that provided escapism and a sense of intimacy when friends and family came together; a home that’s comfortable and luxurious in an understated, timeless way.

Can you tell us about the layout of the home?

The 90-square-metre home comprises a bright open-plan living, kitchen and dining space, and two en suite bedrooms. The guest bedroom doubles up as a workspace on most days. The layout was reorganised to bring the living and dining spaces into the centre of the apartment, and the living space flows naturally outward onto a small terrace overlooking the sea. The outdoors and indoors blend seamlessly to create a sanctuary-like abode.

What’s unique about the building and the location?

The building is nestled between lush green trees in one of the quiet lanes of Juhu, a suburb in Mumbai, and the location helps to easily disconnect from the bustle of city life. The apartment occupies the top floor and enjoys a lot of natural light against the ocean backdrop.

How did you approach the project — what design references did you try to incorporate into the space?

When I first visited the apartment, it had been locked up for several years and was in a dilapidated condition. To fulfil the clients’ requirements, we reorganised the apartment to make it an open-plan layout that allows seamless transition between spaces. Large bespoke wooden windows were designed to bring in an abundance of natural light and to blur the boundaries between the indoor and outdoor.

The design draws inspiration from the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which focuses on appreciating the beauty in imperfection and the sense of authenticity that use and time leave behind. A muted, neutral palette with a pared-down visual aesthetic flows through the house.

Please tell us a little about the material choices for the space.

Evoking the natural and raw elegance of wabi-sabi, the home’s interiors and furnishings are designed with a tactile materiality, evident in the lime-plastered walls and unpolished concrete floors. Surfaces blend seamlessly into one another, providing an austere contrast to the timber joinery and giving depth and texture. Use of exposed brick as the backsplash for the kitchen accentuates the rawness of its form, while the use of natural local stone in the bathroom embraces the rustic aesthetic. The coffee table in the living room is from the early 20th century and is carved from a single log of wood — it has a really bold, rustic presence. Elements like handwoven cane details, linen-covered sofas, coarse wood, antique switches and rustic pottery come together in a beautiful palette that advocates restraint.

Which of the pieces or features are custom designed?

All the bespoke joinery is made by local craftspeople, and we designed the monolithic concrete dining table and the wood and handwoven cane bed in the master suite.

Do you have a favourite design detail?

The dramatic hand-painted wallpaper creates a beautiful contrast with the quiet, natural colour and material palette. This striking vignette immediately sets the tone for the rest of the house.

Images / Suleiman Merchant