FULL HOUSE

Interior designer Sravanya Rao Pittie’s Mumbai apartment resembles an assiduously curated art gallery that places delicate and eclectic crafts-focused pieces at the centre of an otherwise practical family home, finds Aditi Shah Bhimjyani

- Aditi Shah Bhimjyani

You wouldn’t typically picture a white sofa and artist Shilpa Gupta’s dulcifying canvases as elements of a children’s room. And yet, there they are. The sofa is hand-painted by interior designer Sravanya Rao Pittie’s two children (aged four and five) and then digitised on fabric. Gupta’s works, titled Half A Sky, hang above their twin beds. A rocking bull by Sangaru Design Studio occupies the floor while a fallen branch from Alibaug forms the stark foundation of a mezzanine tree house that Rao Pittie’s children love because their nanny cannot navigate its tricky steps. “The play area is the central artery of our home, where we convene as a family every day,” says the Mumbai-based designer, walking through her sunlit balcony with the family’s newly adopted cocker spaniel, Ziggy, at her feet.

An open floor plan and large windows lend a mid-century modern character to this Worli home. Every morning at six, the house comes to life when they bring out the pet turtles, feed the fish, play chess and get in a few rounds of skating. After breakfast, the family of four goes about school, work, Kuchipudi lessons (Rao Pittie is also an accomplished dancer) and chess class from different parts of the house, where the clever use of space befits its residents.

LIVING WITH ART