A Chennai bungalow steeped in heritage becomes a designer’s restorative family retreat

Farah Agarwal appreciates opinions, but if she’s learned anything over her two-decade-long career as an interior designer, it’s that voicing hers goes a long way. “With clients, it’s often a two-way street. I give my opinion, they give theirs, and then we reach a middle ground,” says the founder and principal of the Chennai-based interior design studio Chestnut Storeys. But with family, Agarwal’s middle ground isn’t always in the middle.

Custom sofas rest atop a Jaipur Rugs carpet in the living room.

A baby piano occupies one corner of the living room.

When it came to redesigning a 50-year-old Chennai bungalow with terracotta ceilings that her family had recently leased, everyone had a take on how the space should look. “I had to handle it in a very smart and diplomatic way—agreeing with them initially, but then ultimately doing things my way,” smiles Agarwal, whose own take, evidently, wasn’t too different from the original architect’s half a century earlier.

Nods To Heritage

The living room channels a scintillating art gallery, featuring an Art Deco flower-dappled bust by Venkat Bothsa, a vibrant artwork by Paresh Maity, and curated artefacts by HeritageBlend The Studio.

An antique Yali sculpture stands sentinel in the left corner of the informal living room—a space where, Agarwal says, the family likes to gather for coffee in the evenings. The crowning glory of the dining room is the red table, which complements the arch overhead. “Bringing together rich reds and browns was a deliberate choice to add warmth and depth to the space,” says Agarwal.

Even before she attempted a formal design blueprint, Agarwal knew exactly what the home would look—and feel—like. “The bungalow had this beautiful openness, a layout that just made sense. It had history, but it also had room to grow into something personal,” she notes of the 7,000-square-foot layout. Given its vintage, Agarwal tread carefully, minimising interventions and exercising tactful restraint so as not to damage the structure. Besides highlighting the original terracotta ceilings and old arches, and later revitalising the lawns, she did little else.

The crowning glory of the dining room is the red table, which complements the arch overhead. “Bringing together rich reds and browns was a deliberate choice to add warmth and depth to the space,” says Agarwal.

The curvilinear ombré bar.

“Holding on to those features was important for me, and I knew I didn’t want to alter the home’s bones. That became the starting point: preserving its essence while creating something that felt like us.” The lesson in balance, which Agarwal describes as “not too much, not too little”, extended to the palette—a meditation on grey, beige and tan—that let the art and architecture take centre stage. For a bit of colour and character, she added a forest green accent wall in the den and a bold red table in the dining area—just enough to stir things up without shouting over the serenity.

Voice of Reason

Steeped in forest green, the family room offers a moody backdrop for artworks by Bibhu Nath and a custom orange sofa. Earthen jars from HeritageBlend The Studio lend the space a rustic edge.