Bengaluru Heritage home dazzles with the touch of resounding craftsmanship of noted designer-decorator duo
Transformed into a new boutique store by renowned designer-decorator duo- couturier Tarun Tahiliani and interior designer Vinita Chaitanya, an old dilapidated cantonment mansion in Bengaluru is now a chic luxury repertoire.
Despite having great bones, the bungalow with traditional, instantly recognisable gable roofs, was in ill state of repair having a gaushala (cow shed) behind it when it was once visited by Tahiliani and Vinita Chaitanya. They stripped it down completely and embellished it with traditional terrazzo tiles to bring about the beauty of the high ceiling and the most striking floors.
Displaying their unreserved commitment to craftsmanship which shines through the embroidered wallpapers, dotted with hand-cut abalone and a smattering of Swarovski crystals, originally made for a commission for Chaitanya, the mansion comes alive through signature techniques from couturier’s repertoire Blooming flowers, lizards, and butterflies with wings embroidered in filigree-like patterns.
A “tree of life” takes centre stage in a lofty hallway; a great banyan tree, a silent sentinel, becomes home to an explosion of life.
They retained the stunning floors, and added a tonal wainscoting, using the motifs from the floors as accents. The enchanting patterns and motifs run through the space—the four-petalled flower in the antique tiles is mirrored in the wainscoting, as well the custom-made carpets, designed by Tahiliani and crafted by Obeete.
The carpets – designed in patterns of jalis and trellises – both blend into and highlight the tiled floors
Tahinlliani’s collections grace each room housing one of its own—accessories on the left, ready-to-wear on the right, with the traditional aangan, or courtyard, with its high ceilings.There are private rooms upstairs for fittings—and as for the fitting rooms downstairs, they flow into the home just like everything else, housed as they are in the original alcoves of the property.
The showstopper of the project, the embroidered wallpapers were crafted by karigars in atelier across Lucknow and New Delhi
Some of their affluent clients in Bombay hail from Bengaluru as they Silicon city have their own unique sense of identity which is apparently reflected in their architecture and couture.
