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Teal Tile House

Residential, Interiors

Coimbatore

2021

Completed

3600 sq.ft

Tasneem Vohra

Yash Jain

Good Homes, VolZero

The confluence of contrasting energies – hot & cold – has been the center of the written word. And what is design but an anthology of colours, lines, and textures, woven like phrases punctuated by commas and periods. This 4BHK house in Coimbatore rests on a delicate balance of contrasting colours and neutral lines. Tones of teal and terracotta weave on and off white unruled walls. Precision and balance of form, along with colours and textures characterise the design scheme, while simplicity of thought strips any unnecessary opulence.

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The main teak-lined door opens to a staggered teal subway tile wall. The flooring is punctuated with black and white marble stripes. The foyer sets a tone for the words to come. The narrow entrance opens into a large living-dining-kitchen complex which has soft light streaming in from the courtyard. The living space aims to embody the starry night by Van Gogh in its use of colours and positioning of the fern. 

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The exposed brick courtyard and the blue sky above act as a necessary pause for the overflowing colours. The dining and kitchen are full stops. The use of reeded glass, lines to separate the two spaces and neutral colours help conclude the short story that the ground floor is. The dining table is a simple, custom-designed piece of furniture from reclaimed wood whose sturdy legs are made to look sleek by the use of grooves. 

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The lower verse connects to the upper verse by the way of a staircase. The marble grains of the treads and risers align with each other in a perfect rhyme scheme. The grooves along the staircase wall run like lines on paper: at equal spaces, bringing texture. The powder room is located to the right of the staircase. The space is an epitome of well-balanced warm and cool tones. The turquoise mosaic walls cradle a warm teak vanity with a navy-blue wash basin.

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The bedrooms are balanced verses with hot and cold phrases and the basic punctuations. These colours and lines worm their way into the bathrooms in nuanced concepts. The bedrooms and bathrooms tell their stories through texture: tile and fabric. The flooring creates a visual index of spaces. It helps guide people to various spaces without the need for partitions, rendering the rooms larger and more spacious. The lighting is a series of dots and dashes. Spelling out words by day and shadows by night.