No upkeep, No worries

When Dr Ratan Jha and his wife Dr Sangeeta bought their new apartment in Banjara Hills, they were sure about one thing – after spending hours in the hospital, they wanted to come home to a maintenance-free place. And in that lies the essence of the decor of their house. The 3,200 sq. ft ground floor apartment where Dr Ratan, a nephrologist and Dr Sangeeta, an endocrine surgeon and writer, live with their son Aman, daughter Arushi and mother Malati, is simple but spacious.

“I was very clear I wanted a design concept that needed very little maintenance,” says Dr Sangeeta, adding with a laugh, “I told interior designers Pratiksha Prashant and Abhishek Raju that this is your house so go ahead and design it as you want to, but within my budget.”

Keeping in mind their hectic schedules, the interior designer duo designed the house. “As she won’t be in the house for long hours, we made the home clutter-free. We used vibrant colours wherever we could, like the mustard colour in the formal living room or the green in their son Aman’s room,” says Pratiksha adding, “We didn’t use veneer or any sort of polishing. Instead, we went for laminates as it’s easy to maintain. The top of the shelves in the kitchen are of granite, as it’s easy to clean.”

Completely Vastu compliant, both the kids’ rooms have east-facing study tables. The few artefacts that adorn their rooms are memoirs from their travels or the awards the couple has received. “We travel for international conferences so we  collect artefacts from different places,” says Dr Sangeeta.

All the balconies in their home opens up to the green lawns or the swimming pool. Their favourite part of the home? Aman says, “The back door. It opens up to the swimming pool so I can jump into the pool anytime!”