The Apartment at Kaloor, Cochin was a huge surprise indeed. There is no way you would even imagine, that there could be such a beautiful and modern flat inside this ordinary looking building.
It was only recently that Lakshmi Nair bought this flat from her brother and renovated it. Every time she came to Cochin as part of her cookery shows, she needed a place to stay. Kochi based Architect P.S. Benoy did the makeover of the flat.
A Simple Living Area
The only two requirements that Lakshmi wanted in the flat was a contemporary style interior and large windows that brought in enough light, says Benoy, the Architect. Just as she wanted, the modern touch was added with the help of a white and grey interior theme. The 826 sq. ft. Flat, then got an open style living, dining and kitchen area. There are two bedrooms in the apartment.
To go with the theme, the living area has sofas in a white and grey combination. One portion of the wall has a highlight area done up in grey. The door in the picture leads to a common toilet. The wash area is just adjacent to this.
Kitchen is the Super star
The kitchen in the old flat was a closed one. A section of the kitchen wall was broken down to bring in a new and modern feel. Since the owner of the home specializes in cookery, the kitchen is no doubt the highlight in the apartment. Benoy also kept in mind the possibility of future shoots happening in this flat, when he designed the kitchen area.
Lakshmi wanted the hanging lights over the kitchen counter. The kitchen cabinets have been done using particle boards that have a lacquer finish and this adds to the beauty of the kitchen. The holed ceiling in the kitchen has LED lights for a dramatic effect.
Countertops are done white coloured artificial granite. The quality of the same may not be high, but the beauty quotient is there. Since this will be used only rarely, there won’t be many problems.
Enjoyable Dining
Both the dining and kitchen spaces of this cookery queen is simple and yet elegant. There is not even a single piece of decorative element that is out of place here. The old windows of the dining area have been replaced with glass. This makes the room appear large and brightens it up too. Just as she wanted, the windows offer a pretty view to the apartment. For security, grills have been given to the glass windows. The common toilet and wash area is close to the kitchen and dining space. The size of the earlier common toilet was reduced and the wash basin was brought out for more privacy.
A restful sleep
The flat has two bedrooms and one among this has an attached bath. The wardrobes in the room and the head board have been done with plywood and mica. A table and chair has been added to the wardrobe in the Master bedroom.
One portion of the wall in the Master bedroom has been highlighted and curios placed here. There are LED lights in the holed ceiling of the Master bedroom. Both the bedrooms have large glass windows. You can get into the balcony through the Master bedroom. The window of the other bedroom was replaced with sliding glass doors, and so this could lead to the balcony too.
Lakshmi has brought back many beautiful curio pieces from all her show related journeys abroad and across India. All these make the apartment a splendid treat.
Architect: P.S.Benoy Architect, Design Treasury, Kochi design.treasury@yahoo.co.in