From Alia Bhatt’s Mumbai apartment to an 80-year old renovated house in Chennai – Here are Houzz India’s most popular homes of 2020

• Whether it’s a seaside Mumbai apartment with or a quaint 30,000 square feet home perched under the Goan sun – it’s the little things that make a house stand out.
• From quirks of the homeowner to their artistically curated collection of artefacts, an interior designer takes upon him/her the job to bring out the wishes and dreams of people.
• If you too are building your dream house, here are little anecdotes from India’s most spectacular homes from Houzz.in.

A home is an investment for life – not just because of the sky rocketing real estate prices in India, but also because it becomes the place where you stitch together memories forever.

Whether it’s a seaside Mumbai apartment with or a quaint 30,000 square feet home perched under the Goan sun… it’s the little things, the details in decor that make a house stand out to its guests. From quirks of the homeowner to their artistically curated collection of artefacts, an interior designer takes upon him/her the job to bring out the wishes and dreams of people.

And if you too are building your dream house, here are little anecdotes from home design and renovation professionals on Houzz, designers to India’s most popular homes from Houzz.in, the leading platform for home renovation and design. These Indian homes are some of the most liked and most read home tours among the Houzz community in 2020.

Alia Bhat’s home of wonder

Actress Alia Bhatt’s home in Mumbai embodies all things the actress really is and not just her glamorous side. Quirky yet comfortable styles rule the aesthetics of her home that she shares with her sister Shaheen. With inspiration from the classic New York-style loft, the living room has hints of colour and cosiness.

Bhatt’s home doesn’t just have an opulent dining area but also a little nook beside it, with a divan – perfect to enjoy your evening cup of tea with a book.

“Given that Alia travels a lot, hotels are a mainstay of her lifestyle. Thus, I envisaged a cosy home that would bring her back to her roots, yet be high on style and luxury. The house is designed for entertaining and spending time with family and friends,” says Richa Bahl, founder and chief interior designer of her eponymous design firm Richa Bahl Design Studio on Houzz.

And what stands out in the star’s house is the quaint little tea bar, designed for Bhatt’s love for chai.

Interior designer’s words of wisdom – “Good clients always enable good output … and there is always the possibility for sophisticated spontaneity and the elegance of the unexpected!”

Minimal decor, maximum sustainability

Sustainability is the new cool and this 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom home in Surat, Gujarat is the epitome of it. Driven by the love for wood, teak wood, granite, concrete and brass accents are seen throughout this home.

“We had to abide by the builder’s guideline of standardised facade planning and exterior treatment. Thus, the internal spaces became our canvas for design experimentation,” said Kalpak Shah, founder and principal architect of Studio Course on Houzz.

Made for a couple and their 10-year old daughter, the home is built with a mid-century modern aesthetic, one that withstands trends of all ages. From a basalt flagstone pathway to an Earth-inspired living room, the home also boasts of an open kitchen with wooden and copper hues and shuttered French windows which play with sunlight all day.

Interior designer’s words of wisdom – “I believe to convey an expression, it's very important for the complete envelope to speak the same story.”

This home is ‘Lit AF’

Bathed in natural light, this 5-bedroom, 5 bath home in Gujarat was tastefully designed to suit the family of six’s love for open spaces. Distinctive features in the house include a sky-lit courtyard in the centre which channels a Varanasi ghat vibe, a semi-open patio and an opulent exterior.

“As a multigenerational home to a family of six, our main challenge lay in coalescing the interests of the family into a singular design language. We tailored each room to echo the personalities of its occupants, while keeping the common areas true to the family’s collective ethos,” said architects Ashish Patel, Nikhil Patel and Nilesh Dalsania, and interior designer Vasudev Sheta, of Ace Associates on Houzz.

Interior designer’s words of wisdom – The biggest learning was to learn from history and make it relevant to the present time with a new vision of art and technology... That is what indian contemporary architecture will be about.

Old but beautiful

Nestled in Chennai, an 80-year old 2 bedroom home boasts of all things vintage. From red oxide floors, to vintage furniture furnished with traditional silk saris, and black and white family photographs that adorn the walls, the home brings out the perfect balance between the old and new.

“We decided to retain most of the original elements while bringing out the honesty of the structure,” says Sharanya Srinivasan, co-founder and principal architect of Studio Context Architects on Houzz.

Interior designer’s words of wisdom – “An old house is like an elderly person, and while some aspects might be in great health, other parts often have unexpected problems. It is important to understand the techniques and practices that went into the original construction. Sometimes, later renovations have layered other elements using later techniques on top of the original. We need to decide what to keep, what to upgrade and what to restore to its original state, such that it makes sense from a clinical perspective of setting the structure right, but also from the point of view of the emotion and values that the clients have acquired through decades of association. Educating ourselves and transmitting it to the labour force on these techniques, materials and values is essential to getting it right.”

A compact apartment with showstopper elements

All of just 1150 square feet, this Mumbai apartment has multiple elements that make it stand out in the crowd. From metallic accents in the living room to a 14-foot-long dinner table and a mint-toned terrazzo bar, this apartment is the best example of how interior elements are brought in to give a greater sense of space.

“One of the biggest challenges of designing homes in Mumbai is the constraint one faces with the budget of the project. With the bulk of the budget reserved for the purchase of the property itself, homeowners are left with precious little for interior design. We are constantly trying to adapt to this challenge through impactful planning and spatial innovation,” said interior designer on Houzz, Nishita Kamdar.

The space is further utilized by metal and fluted glass sliding doors that connect the dining room to the kitchen.

Interior Designer’s words of wisdom: “Spaces should not just look good but also feel good and this home is a perfect example of how smart design decisions can completely change the way you perceive the space without having to splurge on the interiors to superficially “decorate “ the space.”

Mediterranean hues

This three bedroom in Bengaluru designed by Vinithra Amarnathan of Weespaces brings out the young owner couple’s nostalgic memories of the Western Ghats where they grew up and also their love for travel, especially Greece.

“Their shared love of Greece is what ultimately harmonised our brief and helped meld their styles into a richly layered look,” says Amarnathan, interior designer on Houzz.

The home has Mediterranean hues strewn around the house with white and blue hints, along with abstract artworks.

Interior Designer’s words of wisdom: My biggest learning was to look at every obvious problem as an opportunity! An opportunity to think differently and reimagine a problematic situation as the center point of our design for the home! The column in the center of this home went from eyesore to feature! Something that defines the character of the home and makes for a welcoming feature!

A luxurious Goan home

Located in Kolva, Goa is the sprawling white bungalow which boasts of two terraces with views to die for. “We were tasked with creating a simple, elegant aesthetic with a homely vibe. Functionality and maintenance-free design were the primary requisites,” says Prashant, founder and principal architect of ZERO9 on Houzz.

From double wooden doors at the entrance to Italian marble flooring, a double height living room with muted furniture with mint highlights and artworks, the home also has indoor plants aplenty along with a pocket garden.

Interior designer’s words of wisdom: “The biggest learning we had in this project was that it is as important to feel the site and have a dialogue with it to explore the most of its location, feel and vibe as much as listening to the clients requirements.”

In Delhi, a massive home with private suites for all members

Situated in Delhi, this home has 9 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, with each family member getting their own private suite replete with kitchen and bath. The house has two master suites (one for the couple and one for the parents), the inner courtyard, the main kitchen, the family lounge, and the two sons’ living suites.

“The owners wanted the home designed in a way such that each member would have their own private quarters. The bungalow was, thus, constructed like a C, and divided into suites, connected via a common corridor. A large landscaped lawn occupies the central cavity,” says Ekta Khanna, founder and chief interior designer of Ekta Khanna Design Studio on Houzz.

This Delhi home is all things luxury with solid wood double doors, black diamond shaped tiled flooring at the entrance and black Marquino and Swiss white marble at larger junctions, muted furniture and a corridor which boasts of the family’s personal collection of Pichvai paintings.

Interior designer’s words of wisdom: “My biggest learning from this house is that despite using several modern elements, forms and finishes in the house, it still comes across as inertly Indian. This is due to the careful integration of traditional art forms and earthy tones in its several layers.”

India’s best homes of 2020 was a list curated by Houzz India and has been rewritten for businessinsider audiences.

Disclaimer: Business Insider is a part of TimesBridge, which also counts Houzz India in its portfolio.