Suneer and his family's new home is at Kuttipara near Manjeri. The family wanted a “house with minimal cost and enough facilities according to their financial capacity". In this way, this is a house prepared without much extravagance.
A new, contemporary house was built by demolishing the old house which was a 7-cent property a little below the road level. The house is designed in contemporary flat-box elevation. A show wall helps to make a house on a relatively small plot appear larger.
Sitting, living, dining, kitchen, two bedrooms, and attached bathroom are on the ground floor. Only a small study space area exists upstairs. The house can also be extended upwards in the future. The total area is 1182 square feet.
Simple living set up with a customized single sofa, two chairs, and a coffee table. The interiors are simple and beautiful. There are no dark-painted walls or panelling inside. Furnishing costs were kept down by using less new wood and recycling old wood. Iron ingots were used. Except for the main door, everything else was recycled from the old house's wood. False ceiling is avoided, and direct lighting is used here. This helped to reduce costs. The use of locally available construction materials helped reduce transport costs. The stairs are made of wooden planks made from a Palmyra tree on a metal frame. Square-piped handrails also stand out.
Medium vitrified tiles with an Italian marble finish are used for flooring. It is used to get more beauty at less cost.
To reduce the cost of furnishing, the cabinet was provided in multi wood-and-mica finish after the ferro cement slab was laid. The tile itself fell on the counter. Designer tiles are also used in the splashback.
Two beds from the old house have been put together and reused here with plywood paneling. That can be separated and used as a single bed if required.
In this day and age when building construction costs are skyrocketing, it is no small feat to complete a house-including the structure and furnishings - for Rs 25 lakh.
In short, a house that is ideal for a small family and can be expanded when they get funds.
