When interior designer  Sonali Shah was given the brief to

design  a 2,200 square foot suburban

house in Mumbai, she was told that it had to be a home that comfortably housed

four generations of family members. And thus, while looking at the existing

layout, she decided to redesign it by making several changes to the internal

structure.

’ I incorporated the narrow corridors

into the living area, juxtaposed the grandmother's room between those of the

parents and children, and opened up the kitchen to include a gorgeous terrace-

this completely transformed the whole space, and gave me the perfect blueprint

to work with’, she explains. As the age of the seven family members ranges

from the very young to very old, Sonali opted for a rich, dark colour palette

of black, gray and burgundy to evoke luxurious elegance. ’To bring in a

play of textures, I used composite marble for all the flooring and brought in

acrylic, glass and crystal to add pizzazz to the space,’ she adds.

The entrance was dressed up with a striking

laser-cut acrylic motif in a deep shade of maroon, pasted on a glossy white

door, making for an arresting effect. ’The idea was to denote a sense of

peace and harmony throughout the house with our own interpretation of yin and

yang,’ explains the designer. This essence pervades through living and

dining area, which is resplendent with glittering crystal light fixtures that

reflect onthe walls and ceilings for a dazzling effect.