Mr. Sahib Narula's Apartment

Project Specifications

Project overview

Mr. Sahib Narula's 2,000 square foot apartment in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi, is a warm family home built around balance. Rich dark wood, ivory upholstery, natural stone and muted metallics create a calm, sophisticated palette, but the design is never intended to feel precious or staged. The brief called for a welcoming interior that could support family routines, guests and moments of prayer while retaining a clear sense of privacy. Studio GENESIS treated the apartment as a sequence of related zones: arrival and storage, social spaces, a spiritual pause, and private rooms. Each area has a distinct atmosphere, yet the repeated use of tone, grain, texture and light makes the home feel cohesive even where the plan needs separation.

The challenge

The apartment needed to preserve visual connection without allowing every activity to happen in one undifferentiated space. Entry, living and dining had to feel open and generous, while spiritual and private areas required a quieter threshold. Storage was another important constraint: the home needed to absorb everyday belongings without covering the walls in visually dominant cabinetry. The challenge was therefore one of editing and calibration. Rich materials could not become heavy, partitions could not reduce daylight, and the furniture plan had to keep circulation comfortable for a family that uses the home continuously rather than only for occasions.

Design approach

The design uses a restrained material hierarchy to give the compact apartment depth. White Sivakasi granite creates a durable, light-catching base in the social areas, while birch plywood and dark wood tones introduce warmth through storage, wall panels and selected furniture. The entry is composed as a transition rather than a display wall, with concealed storage and a controlled view into the living space. In the social zone, ivory upholstery and rounded furniture soften the darker joinery and allow conversation to remain central. Frosted glass is used to preserve borrowed light while filtering views towards more private areas, giving the apartment separation without a hard visual stop. A spiritual zone is treated with particular quietness: its threshold, light level and storage are designed around use rather than ornament. Satin chrome hardware and selected metallic details provide a cooler, precise counterpoint to the timber and fabric palette. During execution, the studio coordinated cabinetry, electrical points, curtain lines and furniture clearances so that storage could be installed cleanly without compromising doors, windows or circulation. Lighting is layered from general illumination to reading and accent sources, allowing the same rooms to feel active in the day and intimate in the evening. The finished home is luxurious through touch and proportion rather than spectacle. Dark wood gives it identity, pale surfaces keep it breathable, and the careful sequence of thresholds lets family life remain connected while privacy is preserved.