As part of our on-going series on home tours and transformations, we look into a past project from Tejal Mathur, a Legend designer in Discern Living's community. "My style is always more traditional, more hand-crafted. I love using heavy, intricate pieces that have a sense of old world charm” says Tejal Mathur. She designed a two-bedroom, 1,800 sq . ft. home in Santacruz West for a couple who wanted her to infuse their home with a modern , contemporary feel while retaining her signature style. When asked about the client’s brief, Tejal said, “when someone comes to you, it’s clear that they like your work, which is why they have approached you in the first place. The fact that [this couple] wanted something outside of my core, in a way, was interesting because I was able to give them that contemporary feeling, but by using a language I really enjoy, which includes recycled hardwood, traditional techniques, raw wood, plywood ceilings and hand finished pieces.”





Plywood Ceilings and Hand-Finished Pieces

Picture Courtesy: Tejal Mathur



The brief was broad enough for Tejal to do the kind of work she enjoyed while applying a contemporary aesthetic to her design. The couple did not want anything too traditional or heavy and wanted a sense of lightness and space to come through. Tejal and her team managed to retain the height of the space by removing the doors from the doorways and creating the floor to ceiling doors. They also installed track lighting on the ceilings and used intricate wooden panels for the walls to add some personality. For the ceiling, they used white cement powder rather than a finished ceiling, which gave the room a look that was industrial but chic.



Intricate Wooden Panels

Picture Courtesy: Tejal Mathur



“I don’t enjoy using too many finishes in once space, but [prefer] using a couple [finishes] in different ways. I love the inconsistency of natural materials which is why I use them quite a lot. The grains of wood or the colours of stone; we managed to incorporate a lot of these irregularities which I think the clients were very happy with,” says Tejal. She used pieces from Natuzzi such as the living room sofa, glass coffee table and lamps while sourcing other products from Address Home and making several in the house. It’s the designer’s job to understand what customers wants and learn to speak their design language, while retaining one’s own sense of style, something Tejal has perfected!



Sofa, Coffee Table and Sofa Tables add to the Modern, Contemporary look

Picture Courtesy: Tejal Mathur

