Manish Malhotra’s five-floor townhouse, located in a bylane of Bandra’s Pali Hill, that is his home. Also a natural reflection of that very sensibility! But, not in a hit you over the head way, that is to say, there are no embellished throws, cushions, upholstery, bright colours. “I spend the whole day with bling and shine and embroideries and colour, so when I come home, it’s not what I want at all but rather a common thread: impeccable eye for detail and my mix of vintage and modern.”
While the exterior is all white, the interiors dabble between beige, gold and dark and varying shades of wood. These are complemented brilliantly with beautiful rugs, velvet sofas in royal colours like cream, dark blue and green, leather upholstery and exquisite chandeliers. To make sure that all these elements shine their brightest, there’s plenty of natural light coming into the home thanks to the large french windows.
After all, his house offers surreal backdrops, quite unlike anything else. The fashion designer is also spotted collecting a lot of antique silverware that deck up the mahogany desks in his house. Just like the rest of the house, the flooring is done with a creamish-beige marble, coupled with dark wooden cupboards. And when you’re a fashion mogul of Manish Malhotra’s calibre, there is no other way to go besides a walk-in closet.
The regal decor of the balcony is straight out of a castle in Rajasthan. His terrace on the other hand is surrounded by green shrubbery and has hardwood floor. Not only does that make it the perfect place to have blowout parties and celebrations, but also the best spot in the city to watch the sun go down over Mumbai’s ever gleaming skyline. That’s exactly my brief to Gauri was about the additional 5,000 square feet that he is adding to the existing 11,000-square-foot home, designed in collaboration with the interior designer. “It’s an extension, and in a way a new look.
I want it more modern, more minimal, but still a home. It has to have my art, my personality. I also want a strong ‘Made in India’ focus, spotlighting young talent.” The idea of owning a home was very important to him. When he found this house, he was doing Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and they were shooting in London. He was so inspired by the design in the city, all the detailing, the use of wood, pillars, and mouldings, the light-grey palette, the constant bringing together of old and new. It furthered his approach, seen in the mix of Roche Bobois furniture and Great Eastern Home antiques in the use of traditional silver vases and urlis, filled to the brim with fresh flowers procured weekly from the Dadar flower market, and placed insouciantly on a black-and-white chequered cabinet or on a glass and chrome table. It’s in the inlay work and the jewel-tone Persian carpets that line the cool, white marble floors, and the Razas on the wall. “It’s about a twist in the tale. I have curated every single piece. I want it to be unpredictable, I don’t want it to look like it’s straight from a magazine.”
