How a builder-finish apartment became a grounded, global sanctuary of color and culture.
Type: The Soul Affair (Modified Builder Finish) | Location: Hyderabad | Size: 2,300 sq. ft.
Scope of the Project
A ground-up redesign of a builder-finish apartment. We introduced structural arches, expanded the mandir with heritage artifacts, and layered a deep, mustard-led palette with custom flooring and maximalist prints for a global south indian amalgamation.
The Client Brief
The client sought a second home in Hyderabad that felt like an emotional bridge to her roots in Vijayawada. She wanted to move away from our signature pastels into a richer, deeper world of turmeric yellows, madder reds, and forest greens, marrying Attirail’s global soul with the warmth of South Indian tradition. The goal was a space for her family to gather, grounded in the brass heirlooms, traditional rituals, and the "more is more" philosophy that defines their heritage.
Description Notes
We began by stripping the "builder-finish" anonymity, introducing structural arches and traditional pillars to give the modern apartment an architectural weight. To anchor the home, we used textured Kota stone in the living areas and custom-colored Bharat flooring in the bedrooms, where each room’s story begins from the ground up. We even looked upward, painting the ceilings a vibrant mustard to tie the maximalist layers together, making the large spaces feel intimate and sun-kissed.
Rituals dictated every corner. The mandir was reimagined around a beautiful refurbished antique door, with cascading Mogra decals from the ceiling to create a sense of prayerful calm. In the TV room, we pivoted to casual, low-daybed seating to honor the tradition of gathering on the floor. Throughout the home, we played with print-on-print maximalism, balancing hand-painted Pichwai art and lime-green Santhanam paintings with teak wood, cane, and the client’s cherished collection of brass artifacts and nostalgic monkeys.
The transformation was finalized through custom-carved furniture and a new window seat in the master bedroom, turning a generic layout into a deeply personal sanctuary. Even though the design happened in Mumbai and the building in Hyderabad, the distance never showed. It is a home that feels like it has been in the family for generations, grounded, earthy, and echoing with the joy of a heritage rediscovered.
