The 100-Year-Old bungalow remodelled into a modern holiday home by B&A Design Studio, strikes a right balance between traditional and contemporary style

Most designers would agree that clients who are open to new ideas help them push the envelope of creativity further. For B&A Design Studio, this proved to be a great incentive while remodelling The Endless Summer Dream, a 100-Year-Old, bungalow in Orissa. This 2 BHK historic bungalow was given a colonial makeover by turning it into a contemporary 4-bedroom holiday home. Designed by Rushikesh Baheti, Principal Architect, B&A Design Studio, this haven is a fusion of old-world charm and modernism with its antique décor elements, opulent furnishings and a warm colour palette.

Nestled in the holy town of Jagannath Puri in Orissa, on the Golden Beach, the space embraces the taste of Odisha in its interior elements like wicker columns and wooden wainscoting. With green, rejuvenating outdoors and a striking patio, the abode welcomes you into its breezy nirvana effortlessly. This sanctuary is designed to allow abundant natural light through well-planned openings. Full of planters, wooden & cane furnishing and endless antiques, it is a peaceful retreat that brings you close to heritage & nature. Rushikesh says, “The Endless Summer Dream is any designer’s muse with its refreshing indoors, urban comforts and vintage decor accents. The client’s brief was very clear, they needed a beach guest house, for all guests and pilgrims visiting Puri, which is modern yet holds the rich cultural heritage of the place.”

A coastal home, that stands the test of time and takes you back to a Oddisii heritage home is was the prime thought in the firm’s design process. A plethora of materials, colours, textures, local antics, pattachitra artworks, various floor patterns and tiles, custom-made furniture lending versatility to each space has been blended together while creating this oasis. “A striking porch with a colonial blue door paves the way for this four-bedroom home set on a lush 12,000-square-foot plot. Nestled at stone’s throw away from the Golden Beach in Puri, we have renovated this historic place into an abode full of light and warmth”, adds Rushikesh. Retaining some of the old bones, like the ancient mascots on the exteriors, the designers have tried to maintain the old-world charm of the space. 

The white walls and arched windows with black metal frames invite you to a neat and graceful way of relaxing among the abundant greens of a well-planned garden. The ‘gadda room’ brings in a hint of Kolkata in this Odissi home while the four bedrooms add a touch of modern sophistication & elegance with their playful colour palettes and furniture. Rushikesh explains, “another marvellous opportunity while remodelling the home was to do over, the ‘Gadda’ room or an informal living room – a popular feature in Kolkata homes. This space inspires the allure of ultimate relaxation and comfort into the spectator’s mind with a huge bed that attracts your immediate attention. It is a perfect place for entertaining guests, playing games, or just spending a lazy afternoon with family.” The wooden furniture, timber roof and the pink chairs playing wonderfully in contrast with the sheer curtains further add to the elegance of the ‘Gadda’ room. The space is quite unexpected, yet pleasing, introducing guests to the beautiful side of Kolkata in an Odissi home.

The home follows a varied colour palette. Throughout the space, the designers have used splashes and hues of all coastal colours stitched beautifully together. The material palette is a melange of a few new materials but mostly the classics of wood, cane, metal and fabric.
“We have played around with these materials to give the home the coastal vibe that it demands. The simplicity of these materials is truly what steals the show and helps keep the bones of the home intact”, adds Rushikesh. The cement tiled flooring creates a beautiful canvas, lending the space a chic design identity.

Sustainability being the need of the hour, we have adhered to the same throughout the design process. “Reducing the overall size, weight and number of materials incorporated into our design is a simple way of reducing the impact on the environment. More materials generally result in greater impacts, so we made it a point to use less materials and reduce the overall weight without compromising on quality.  Using light-weight products with lower travel costs and lesser emissions and those that can be reconfigured in different ways to adapt to different spaces and interiors increases the versatility of the space, making it more sustainable”, adds Rushikesh. 

Being given this beautiful bunglow for renovation was like working on a piece from history for B&A design studio. The only way to add a touch of relaxation, enhanced functionality and modernism was to do so without sacrificing its inherent old-world charm. With that balance in their mind and design, the designers have presented ‘The Endless Summer Dream’, a modern yet earthy oasis.

About the firm:

B&A design studio has been on the interior design and architecture map on the country for the past 30 years. They have an immense and dire passion for design and that has been reflected in every project created by the firm. Under the guidance of Mr. Suntosh Baheti and his adroit vision, B&A Design has carved a niche for itself and has been advancing forward to set up new benchmarks in design.