Project Name, Location – The Vintage Garden, Kala Ghoda

Typology and Square Footage – Retail, 1500 sq.ft

Photographer - Aditya Warlikar

 

Spread across 1400-square feet, this retail space perfectly mirrors the designer’s personality—a marriage of vintage charm and quirk with hints of heritage woven in seamlessly. A walk through the store offers a glimpse into the world of modern luxury with key elements that feel global while still staying rooted in Indian design.

 

Housed in an unpretentious, yet modern shell, created with local materials such as cement floor, lime plastered walls, the store is deliberately dressed in neutral tones, almost sandy palette to let the furniture and the designer’s clothes take center stage. The store has a warm and inviting backdrop and it’s predominantly the straight lines and smooth curves with rustic elements because of which the old and new blend and co-exist together. We retained the old art deco features of the main entrance structure and added a stepped molding details that would blend in with the old existing elements.The grand rot iron door at the entrance opens into a space that features a beautiful water fountain carved out in black stone placed on a carpet of black and white chevron floor tiles which are overlooked by a pair of vintage chandeliers on top. 

 

The place was in a really bad condition initially; it was a restaurant that had been shut down for over two years during the pandemic. Our brief was to transform the space into something beautiful and almost creating a garden that people would enter into in the middle of a historic neighborhood of Kala Ghoda.

 

Bold décor elements are carefully laid against a muted grey backdrop. One corner of the store has a large vintage carved mirror that is positioned in a way to see the reflection of the central water fountain and the staircase that forms its backdrop. The display window is framed with fluted wooden molding and has a mannequin surrounded by lots of greens to highlight the clothing it adorns.The vintage cash counter polished in black has some beautiful metal details and sits perfectly near the staircase that leads to the mezzanine floor.

 

The hues of the interiors are beige; graceful vintage wooden columns rise up to the mezzanine ceiling, defining the entrance to the step up area for the changing rooms.The mezzanine floor is kept simple with a similar concrete floor as the ground section and minimal seating with more display. It is purposely kept less cluttered with just one decorative mirror next to the changing room.

 

A Lot of thought was put into the materials used in the space and how the luxe elements would blend with the traditional motifs and furniture. Kala Ghoda and indeed South Mumbai, seeps into the image of the boutique in subtle and fundamental ways: the hues of the interiors are beige; graceful columns made of old wood finished in a natural polish, clear glass display windows with metal motifs  rise up to a high ceiling.

 

We procured vintage chandeliers and pots and custom designed most of the furniture to blend well with the overall space. The matte greige hand plastered walls follow the subdued aesthetic but the decadent black furniture and brass elements manage to stand out. The store interiors thus underlines the designer’s unique design vocabulary for the modern India with a hint of luxury and rustic blend of vintage furniture.

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