When Sherin decided to end her 14-year-old Bengaluru life and move to Kerala, she and her husband Dennis wanted to finally have their own home — a spacious and quiet one near to her office in Infopark, Kochi. They flew down to Kochi to find the apt one and after much hunting, they zeroed in on a 1,700 sq ft apartment on Infopark premises. The next task was even harder – to complete the construction by the time her notice period in her Bengaluru firm ends.
“We had no much time and each day was crucial. That’s when we got to know about designer Shinto Varghese through a friend. When we went through his works, we were impressed,” recalls Sherin, who met Shinto and briefed her requirements. He soon agreed and with a dedicated team which worked round-the-clock, completed the interiors and handed over the home to Sherin and Dennis in a record one-and-a-half months!
One look around the stunning apartment, Shinto’s talent shows. The light that seeps in through the balcony amplifies the ambience of the living area set with brown sofa, green seats, leaf-shaped coffee table set, paintings and posters. “The Scandinavian-themed posters are placed on specially-designed frames in multi-wood and veneer. We had a tough time choosing the apt ones all of us would agree upon. But finally, when people came to our home, everyone was impressed by the inspiring wordings in them,” she adds.
A brown-yellow wooden partition is another highlight of the space. But that’s a tricky work to separate living and dining areas, says Sherin. “I was very particular that the TV should not be in the living space. Instead, we converted the TV space to the prayer area. It’s on the other side of the partition that we placed the TV. And with a sofa adjacent to it, kids can watch TV there without disturbing the living room settings,” she adds.
The minimal style themed bedrooms have blinds and customised multi-wood cupboards, wardrobes and study tables. The children — Annlia and Aneya — have a wonderful all-white room with bicycle-themed wall, purple chair and seat, which has a storage space underneath. The hallway that connects the rooms sports a beautiful cement-plastered photo wall. Yellow and blue bean bags smarten the area. Sherin says, “The photo wall was another requirement of ours to offer a space for the milestones of our life — our children’s growth and best moments. This is the most precious space of the home.”
The grey-white kitchen style was completely designed based on Sherin’s suggestions. “It had to be European design, quite unfamiliar to Kerala homes. When the construction was finished, this came out to be what I exactly had in mind,” she says. Shinto had a surprise for her in store, literally. A sliding door at the other end of the kitchen opens to a narrow, but spacious store room, which she hadn’t thought of earlier. Smiling, she says, “There’s more than enough storage space here, but you won’t spot it at the first sight.”
Sherin, Dennis and their daughters
One can’t, however, fail to spot the charm of the home and fall for it at the first sight!
