Old is gold, but not when it’s full of mold. Dr Taufiq Munshi’s third floor apartment in Abids might be 12 years old — the building, itself, is estimated to be over 20 years old — but one look inside the apartment and you will feel you have time travelled to a different location.
“Neat, simple and easy to look at” were the guidelines that Dr Munshi and his wife, Dr Sanya Munshi, wanted architects Abishek Raju and Pratiksha Prashant to work on.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE: By breaking down the wall between two rooms and using a see-through partition, the house was made to look spacious
And what the owners eventually got to see, after just three-and-a-half months of non-stop work, was an apartment that they could hardly recognise.
“The previous look of our apartment was absolutely different,” says Dr Munshi, referring to the water seepage, faulty wiring and crumbling walls that made the place quite an inhospitable mess.
VAASTU APPROVED: Located in the Northeast wing of the house is the kid’s bedroom
A practising dentist for almost 20 years, Dr Munshi wanted to incorporate an approach in redesigning the house that he even used in his profession — hassle-free.
“We wanted the house to look elegant but not over-the-top. We were insistent that the colour palette be neutral and even the furniture be understated,” he says.
But revamping his existing place of abode was not the owner’s first choice. “I checked out apartments in other places and though I did finalise a few, the fact of the matter remained that they were way too far away my work place.”
TV TIME: In place of old and bulky almirahs, is a TV setting that not only looks edgy but is also “easy on the eyes”
And that’s when he decided to risk revamping his apartment. “Architects usually don’t work on very old apartment. It’s risky and time consuming; since all the other 21 flats in our building are occupied, we also had to make sure that we didn’t disturb them with our activities.”
A gamble that certainly paid off! Dr Munshi points out to the construction that is now taking place in other apartments: “We have set the trend! Now others want to revamp their place too.”
Make space for green
Plants in symmetry for decoration
Living in an apartment can be a buzz kill if you are into gardening. But don’t let the concrete frazzle you! Vertical planters are not only easy to maintain but add a unique look to the house and are very economical to incorporate. Place them at the entrance or even inside the house to amph up your surroundings.
Ladder for clothes
Ladder for clothes to hang
Now, make room for your clothes in a manner that’s not only radical but also cost-effective. Grab an old ladder and give it an edgy look by painting it in a vibrant colour. Fix it sideways on the wall and use it not just to hang clothes, but even as a storage unit.
