Built with love, on an idyllic hill in Hyderabad is the home of the first woman in badminton to win a silver medal at the Olympics, P.V. Sindhu. The beautiful space adorned with the accolades of the Sindhu family, her home offers a stunning view of the city she grew up in. When she shifted to Gachibowli: she won world championship and now when she’s residing in Film Nagar — she won back to back medals. That’s just the way she cherishes her memories these days.
“My home is my refuge. It’s where you can feel relaxed when life gets over whelming. Certain decorating choices help foster that sense of peace, and how you decorate a space can have a huge impact on how you feel while you are in it. A well-designed space filled with items you love can be calming, while cluttered rooms have the opposite effect on my mood.” So, how did she transform her home into a personal sanctuary in Hyderabad? Well, “Whenever I come back home from tournaments — I just like to spend as much time I can with my nephew and parents. On the first floor, we binge-watch a lot! When you go upstairs, the fascinating point is that I can see my whole city on one glance. Whenever I am tired, I just want to surround myself with greenery that’s why I built my home on a hill in Hyderabad.”
Spanning across three storeys, the hilltop home combines minimalistic layouts with bold accents. There is an abundance of space and clean lines throughout the house. The best place in her house is undoubtedly her medal room, which celebrates all of her honors, trophies from a life well lived. In typical practical fashion, her home gym is right next to the trophy room, to remind her of the hard work and determination that has taken her places! She continued, “Usually, a sportsperson will go to sleep after a tournament but when I come back home — I feel all the more refreshing. My dog keeps me engaged. Soothing, stress-free environment is what I crave for! We just don’t have one but many gardens. Soothing on the eyes, you don’t need to be a gardening whiz to take care of them. We chit-chat in the evening in all our gardens and just play with Aryan.”
Her home has been designed considering both comfort and functionality, to ascertain the family has everything they need in one place. The first two floors are occupied by the family and the third floor houses a home theatre and a terrace garden. She recalls, “Both my parents were volleyball players — so we had to make sure my parents also have a space full of their accolades. As soon as you enter my home, you’ll see his Arjuna award and then I got mine in 2013! He inspired me to be a badminton player. He is always there for my training sessions, which motivate me to do better. As an ex-sportsperson — he observes a lot!”
Her home is a haven of peace, and the functional design of her home helps her to relax and spend time with those she loves. “I feel very fortunate to have a home gym. Working out has always been a priority for me, and I like the convenience of a home gym. From weight training, running to cycling: it all happens in my home gym. It’s the energy: holistic benefits that come after breaking a sweat. Working out feels great. My gym is at the basement! Whatever matches I have won — the strength and stamina comes from this very gym inside my home. For me fitness is not physical attractiveness or weight loss, I am a sports woman. Greater flexibility and freedom to explore is what I mean.”
Decorating with gold accents has a long history — “for me, gold represents power just like my wins! It’s not at all gaudy when you see it in my house. A little bit of bling never hurts. Instead, it adds more warmth to my home. Neither it’s an expensive method to beautify your home.” Then she has even used wood palette in her house a lot. “Wood is like wine. It just gets better with age and never seems to lose its beauty. Even with the increasing number of modern materials, I prefer wood for my house. As sustainability becomes more important, we tried to incorporate biophilic design principles my interior design. Adding plants and wooden accents brought nature into my space.”
