This television actor's Mumbai apartment is a whimsical take on Parisian design

By Devyani Jayakar

“A year before I bought this apartment in the suburbs of Mumbai, I had already identified the design team which would handle the design of the interiors,” says actor Priyansh Jora. “The sense of fun which Jasem Pirani and Huzefa Rangwala of MuseLAB bring to their work resonated with me.” The result? A striking Mumbai apartment that serves as a true representation of Jora's creative spirit.

This is not a slickly contemporary space with the rigid discipline of straight lines. Soft touches and the curves of arches abound. The way curves are used in various places including the foyer and the bar cabinet, seem like an academic exploration of lines which do not adhere to the straight and narrow. Whether a headboard, the dining table, pendant lamps, mirrors, frames for artwork, backrests for dining chairs or a swing…there’s little that has escaped a gentle rounding.

“Whenever I researched the kind of look which appealed to me, the references turned out to be European,” says Jora. Taking their cue from this, Pirani and Rangwala decided to employ judiciously selected Haussmannian elements, juxtaposed with features suitable for contemporary living. “While the reference pictures were largely Parisian, Jora didn’t want a totally classical home…he liked some whimsy,” says Pirani.

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The colour palette is not sterile either. “While I didn’t want bling, I was certain that I wanted to use colour. Although it wasn’t part of the brief, there were coloured ceilings in the presentation made by MuseLAB. That’s when I knew that they understood where I was coming from. In Rajasthan, where I grew up, coloured ceilings are very common. To have them in this city apartment so far away from my childhood home, is comforting in an inexplicable way,” says Jora. The colour palette includes sage green, peach, wood tones, grey, blue and brick coloured upholstery and a stark black on the chequered floor. “Many of these colours are not saturated. Soft pastels on larger areas prevent the spaces from becoming overpowering. The home is punctuated with colour and layered with textures and prints,” says Rangwala.

Some design elements create a homogeneity through repetition in different spaces. “The wainscoting binds the design in the home. In the dry areas, it is defined by paint, while marble in the wet areas creates the required definition,” says Rangwala. Throughout the home, the flooring is a combination of chequered black and white tiles, laid adjacent to wood-finish tiles in selected areas. “The wood-finish is in continuous spaces, whereas the chequered look acts like a rug.” Ceilings have not only colour, but also pattern, adding a whimsical touch. And of course, there are the curves.

Above the dining table, delicate detailing on the ceiling is comprised of rectangular medallions in pop, painted a soft peach. The pendant lamps have fabric shades in the same shade, their graceful folds echoed in the labour-intensive edge of the grey stone-topped dining table. A cantilevered bench against one wall and four chairs provide seating. In the lounge, a wall of mirrors behind the drop-down screen of the television is used by Jora for rehearsing roles for his films. The kitchen is an open one, with the option of shutting off the living-dining area during heavy-duty cooking. A marble breakfast table perches seemingly precariously on the edge of the work counter, its triangular profile maximising the available space. Two pendant lamps echo the sage green of the cabinets.

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The bar cabinet makes a statement, with its legs made of a complex assemblage of Channapatna figures. As they beckon insistently with their unusual presence, the temptation is to go down on one’s haunches to meet them at eye level. The same lacquered wooden toys are used as handles for the cabinets above, completing the unexpectedly charming design. “We worked with the artisans from Channapatna during the lockdown and these modular toys were the outcome. We’ve dubbed them the Muse Tribe,” says Pirani.

Jora’s low bed sits on a boxy wooden platform on the floor. The abstract black and white wallpaper climbs up the ceiling too, offering a pattern for Jora to gaze at when he’s in bed. For the parents’ bedroom, Jora’s father didn’t want decor which spelt “old.” Succeeding in conveying a younger vibe, a less serious note is contributed by the asymmetrical headboard and moulding near the ceiling which is painted in two colours picked from the palette of the home.

“I was right when I figured that MuseLAB doesn’t design from a standard template…they experiment, which is what I wanted for my home,” says Jora. While thoughtfully put together, this whimsical Mumbai apartment is a relaxed, unpretentious one.

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