It rained heavily on the night of the housewarming day. The city was under siege by a torrential downpour that seemed to go on and on. Jayaram and Parvathy stayed up late till the rain got over. They partook of the rain to their hearts’ content.
It was like sitting inside a glass bubble atop a lake. Rain rain all around. One could feel the caress of the raindrops and the lightning. Never before have they appreciated the beauty of the rain this much.
Both of them wax eloquent about the tidings of the new flat. There is good news in the form of a latest update. This time the IID award for the Best Flat Interior has gone to this flat.
Jayaram and Parvathy’s new flat is in the topmost floor of Seacon Apartments in Thevara, Kochi. This is one of the most beautiful locations in Kochi with lake on three sides and enchanting scenes all around.
Kalidasan’s favourite place
Jayaram bought this flat at son Kalidasan’s insistence. Seacon Apartments’ MD Siraj’s son and Kalidasan are classmates. They reside in the flat just below the one that Jayaram bought. Occasionally Kalidasan used to visit here with his friend. The charm of the surrounding lake instantly flattened him.
“Appa how wonderful it is to watch the sunset sitting there….let us buy a flat there” Jayaram was giving in to that coercion.
But when Jayaram arrived all the flats had been sold out. All that remained was just an upstairs room and a balcony adjacent to it.
The location impressed Jayaram who had come to see the flat. A lakeside home was a secret ambition of his ever since seeing Mohanlal’s Thevara house. Anyway Jayaram decided to purchase the one room flat. Advance was given in the belief that a good interior designer can spruce up the place.
Jayaram’s Chennai and Tripunithura homes’ interiors were done by P.K.R. Menon. It was P.K.R. himself who suggested that a young interior designer be entrusted with the task. That was how P. Sreejith came into the picture.
A fully ultramodern style flat is what Jayaram had in mind. He told Sreejith his needs and likes. He also promised him complete freedom to bring about novelty and difference.
Jayaram and Parvathy liked the 3 D diagram that Sreejith designed and gave them. Kalidasan and Malavika were delighted the most. As Jayaram was busy shooting, the onus of overseeing the construction was on Parvathy. According to the progress of the work, pictures at every stage were regularly emailed to Parvathy. Parvathy promptly conveyed corrections and suggestions and visited the site whenever she came down from Chennai.
A blanketed building
Whenever he passed by Kundannoor bridge and Thevara in car, Jayaram used to point his finger upwards and tell the people travelling with him, ‘Look, that green blanketed building over there is my flat.’ The construction was carried out after covering with a green blanket to avoid the dust menace. It took six months to complete it.
Jayaram confesses to being truly amazed at seeing the flat after all the finishing work got over.
“Only those who had seen the flat in its previous state can realize the difference. The entire credit for it is Sreejith’s,” says Jayaram.
It is the solely available single room and its adjacent balcony that Sreejith transformed into a fully equipped grand studio flat. Balcony was redesigned into dining space and kitchen. The living room, bedroom and bathroom were included in the remainder area. The interior was majestically spruced up in a way that transcended the limitations of small space. At the end of it all, the flat looked super in appearance and style.
Many of the stars among Jayaram’s close friends came to see the flat. They all liked it a lot too. But the real surprise came for them when the old photograph of the flat was also shared with them.
Eyes open to the lake
The salient feature of the interior is that one can enjoy the sights of the lake from any corner of the flat. Toughened glass instead of walls where the living and dining areas open to the lake is the major change made here.
Providing just a tiny partition between kitchen and dining was with a view to enabling sightseeing even from the kitchen. There is a balcony adjoining the bedroom as well.
White is Jayaram’s most favourite colour. The flat’s interior has been designed by giving prominence to white. The paint on the wall is pure white. The living space sofa has white colour, too. This sofa has been specially designed and made in L shape in a way that saves space. Everywhere except the dining space, flooring is done using white coloured tiles. In the dining space grey coloured slate stone was used.
A combination of chocolate colour going with white has been experimented with for the interior. Partition, cabinet, ceiling, etc all have chocolate colour. Even the photo frame was chosen of this colour. These have been prepared from most modern materials like Polymer sheet, dynoc film and acrylic sheet. With this the interior became refreshingly new.
The dining space is Parvathy’ favourite place. Jayaram loves the balcony adjacent to the bedroom. Kalidasan and Malavika like the house in its entirety. They are both busy inviting friends to their home.
Interiors made by understanding tastes
The interior was done with utmost care by understanding Jayaram’s and Parvathy’s likes and aptitudes, says Sreejith. Sreejith is Chief Designer at Kakkanad’s Increations Designs. A location surrounded by lake on three sides was their highlight. The priority was in exploiting the possibilities of it to the maximum. Special care was taken to surmount the limitations of space. All these amenities have been made available in a mere 650 square feet, says Sreejith.
The award that this flat won was for the runner-up award for the Best Flat Interior of Indian Institute of Interior Design (IIID). The winner was chosen from among more than 400 entries.