Architectural Digest
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A Kerala Home Built On What Once Was A Childhood Vegetable Garden

Meghna Mathew

The feeling of coming back home is universal but unique to each of us. To some, it represents a part of their life they can now only reminisce about, and to others, it could mark the realisation of the end of an era. More often than not, it gives you an appreciative perspective, but recently, couple Sherbeeni and Shameer took the emotion to a higher, more wonderful level.

Sherbeeni’s parents’ home in Thalassery in Kerala was home to a much-loved vegetable garden. Finding the potential in the patch to be their future home, she and her partner set out to convert it into a space they would soon call their own home. Architecture studio De Earth helped turn the couple’s vision into reality.

The home itself maintains the integrity of the land it is built on –– close to nature, and no jarring aspects that disturb the serenity or tone of the localised area. The browns and the greys do their job perfectly in terms of maintaining a down to earth and clean look, but the nuanced features of the bamboo and exposed stone elevate the home. Athangudi tiles, which are typically made from the local sand and other naturally-occurring materials, adorn the place with a regional touch, and the Kadappa flooring reinforces those values.

Image Courtesy: Architectural Digest

The home lies at the intersection of nature and modern complexity; touches of nature such as greenery, natural wood, and more give the house a distinct look. In certain places such as select bedrooms and passageways, there is a beautiful contrast between the bold colours and the more subdued notes of the rest of the interior.

Turning a childhood memory close to them into a place where they could spend the rest of their lives, this couple from Kerala now lives at one with nature; in a place that led them back there, with due credit to the De Earth team.

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