Avellana

Anish Pathrikar

• Architects

When a family of four in Andheri asked Studio Homzstead to stitch together two neighbouring flats they had lived in for more than twenty-five years, the brief was intimate and clear: make a single home that honoured memory while opening room for new rhythms. The two units were merged into a 1,000 sq. ft. residence and the design pivoted on one deliberate move - place the kitchen at the seam. The kitchen was conceived as the household nucleus: the place where circulation, cooking and conversation knit daily life back into a single choreography.

"They wanted continuity, not a renovation that erased memory," says Hormuzd Katrak, principal architect at Studio Homzstead. "From the first sketch the challenge was simple: keep echoes of the life they had lived and give the plan permission to breathe." That restraint- the refusal to overwrite history- becomes Avellana's strongest gesture.

photo_credit Anish Pathrikar — Anish Pathrikar

Stepping inside Avellana is like slowing down to a quiet rhythm. The living room welcomes you with a palette of layered browns and warm beiges that feel intentionally chosen, not just a default setting. Here, rounded joinery and a waffle-pattern ceiling establish a soft, deliberate cadence. A wavy bookshelf stands like a piece of sculpture, while a fluted-glass partition guides your gaze, allowing daylight to meander through the compact space and making each room feel connected. The built-in window seating creates cozy nooks for quiet moments and clever storage solutions for a clutter-free space. This is a home meant to be experienced with more than just your eyes-the tactile materials like cane, boucle, and linen invite you to reach out and touch.

The kitchen, positioned at the home's core, is its dynamic engine. A rounded terrazzo island, with its sculptural top and curved corners, visually anchors the space. Opposing this measured plane, a cobbled floor pattern extends as a pathway, offering an earthy, artisanal counterpoint that connects the living area to the private bedrooms. Cabinetry is deliberately understated; brass-framed perforated glass shutters introduce a warm translucency while integrated appliances disappear into clean joinery. Katrak explains, "The kitchen is where the day begins and ends. It needed to hold movement and light, connecting every part of the home without drawing all the attention to itself." Lighting is layered so the space works as a workspace at dawn, a spot for family lunches in the afternoon, and a hub for conversation over dinner at dusk.

From this central nucleus the apartment unfolds in short, purposeful chapters. Bathrooms are treated as deliberate detours where ritual and texture take center stage. The principal bathroom is a burgundy-and-noir sanctuary: a deep burgundy wall anchors black-and-white patterned tiles, and matte-black fittings with a ceiling-mounted rain shower make bathing feel like a composed, restorative act. The secondary bathroom embraces tactile earthiness: natural stone tiles wrap the walls, conversing with an abstract patterned tile mural and supporting a cylindrical stone-textured basin with a ceiling mounted tap, creating a serene, sculptural washing space.

A quiet elegance envelops you as you enter the master bedroom. Dark walnut wood joinery frames the bed, with a discreet study surface seamlessly integrated at the rear, allowing work and rest to coexist harmoniously. An asymmetrical metal shelf near the entrance offers a sculptural accent, providing a place for curated objects and books.
Beneath your feet, the bespoke wooden flooring captivates with its interconnected textures, lines, and prints, creating a surface that feels both intricate and expansive, much like a woven textile. A softly arched headboard and a grid of wooden ceiling moldings lend the room a calm, almost ceremonial poise. Ribbed paneling, a full-height mirror, and a curation of layered textiles complete this intimate, deliberate, and quietly luxurious space.

The children's rooms are exercises in personality and durability. The daughter's bedroom pairs a warm beige backdrop with a dark-pink, arched-shaped upholstered headboard and a custom dark-wood wardrobe embossed with raised half-circle motifs, turning storage into ornament. A curved built-in desk and a cane-backed chair carve a private study corner. The son's room balances a serene teal palette with beige: a teal wardrobe and a sculptural study table supported on stacked rounded legs become functional sculptures, while curved shelving and a softened ceiling edge echo the home's rounded language and invite creative play.

What binds Avellana is temperament rather than a single stylistic shorthand. Corners are softened in favour of gentle geometry; materials are chosen for how they age, how they feel under hand and how they catch light. "Materials must speak to touch before they speak to the eye," Katrak says. Terrazzo, earthy stone tile, warm timber, cane, fluted glass and muted metals recur across spaces with subtle variation so every room can assert its own identity while still belonging to the whole.

Avellana's success is cumulative restraint. Instead of one theatrical move, the apartment accrues generosity through many small, decisive choices: a sculptural island that organises movement, a serene bathroom sanctuary that gives bathing its own dignity, bespoke joinery that hides daily clutter and releases calm. After twenty-five years of separate routines, the reunited flats now function as a single organism - rooms that