A duplex in Greater Noida that gets ‘warm minimalism’ right

When a young couple approached designer Kirti Dodeja to craft the interiors of their home in Greater Noida, they conveyed their desire for a light-suffused home that was elegant yet unfussy. They had recently acquired the floor above theirs and Dodeja was tasked with combining the two 3-bedroom apartments with the terrace to create an expansive family home. “Their living space already had a neutral palette and that was the beginning point for us,” says Dodeja who has created a home that is minimalist in spirit and style, but brimming with warmth and personality.

The residence’s spatial layout separates the private spaces from the common areas. The lower level holds the formal living room, kitchen, dining area, a reading nook a powder bathroom and the bedroom of the aging matriarch of the family for whom climbing stairs is a painful exercise. The 3 other bedrooms have been laid out on the upper floor, along with an informal living room.

Dodeja’s first intervention was to open up the home to channel more natural light into the space, and this was done keeping in mind the structural constraints. “The front of the building has lush green trees and the view from the other side is of other buildings. We opened up the front, letting in natural light and designed the rear in a way that privacy was not compromised,” says Dodeja. This was achieved by incorporating clear glass on the front while the rear end features textured fluted glass. With abundance of natural light now streaming in and a neutral base palette, the interiors evince a crisp and pristine appeal.

The interiors were then furnished in a restrained manner, with earthy tones and organic textures introduced through materials like wood, jute and linen. Warm, neutral-hued surfaces, infusions of stark black and hints of greenery amalgamate to create a space that’s unostentatious yet captivating in its simplicity. “The neutral palette of the interiors would allow the space to dynamically adapt to changing occasions,” explains Dodeja. “The house was to be a clean canvas to paint in the colours, be it of a party, a humble abode to kick back and relax in after a long day, or a place to host guests."

The common areas feature grey tiled flooring with the walls awash in white while the powder room stands out with the use of black tiles covering the floor and the lower half of the wall. While certain furniture pieces are bespoke and were crafted by an in-house carpenter, most of the other pieces have been sourced from antique shops, and restored and reupholstered to fit into the design scheme. The lighting fixtures are from Decon Lighting. The kitchen features the countertop in white with shutters painted in black, complemented with brass handles.

A centrally located staircase connects the two floors and a series of family photographs – rendered in monochromatic tones – are curated and showcased along its walls, offering a trip down memory lane. 

On the upper level, white walls complement the grey micro-topped flooring and an eye-catching piece, placed in the informal living area, is the 150 kg handcrafted metal centre table. One of the guest bedrooms is articulated in an evocative palette of black and white and furnished with bespoke furniture made by a metal fabricator, paired with soft furnishings produced in-house. The main bedroom features locally sourced and restored antique furniture. Its ensuite bathroom has IPS walls and floor, and features a bespoke concrete basin placed atop a black metal custom-fabricated console.