See how this magnificent Nilambur house looked before
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Samuel, a Nilambur native, decided to renovate his old two storied house as there were space constraints to meet the requirements in course of time. Besides, natural light shied away from entering the interiors, making the spaces look narrower. The house didn’t have the charming look of a dream dwelling.
However, the owner couldn’t afford to dismantle the entire structure and build a new house in its place. Samuel, an expatriate, approached architect Hareesh of the Green Square Architects, with a demand that his old house should be renovated to suit the tastes and requirements of the contemporary times and turn it into an elegant abode where he could happily spent his holidays. The old house had an area of 1800 sq ft, while the renovated structure has an area of 2500 sqft.
Modern look
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The elevation demanded a significant change in its look. However, the owner was not interested in spending too much money on that. The architect says that it indeed was a challenge to transform the look of the elevation, that too, without exceeding the small budget that was allotted. He adopted the design strategy to cover up the front elevation and highlight the show wall by decorating it with beautiful stone cladding.
The stone cladding, which became the unique designer element for this house, was repeated at other areas as well. The worn out roof of the car porch was removed while retaining the pillars. A bedroom is newly built behind the car porch and a formal living space too is added on the front side. The small sit-out is designed as an elegant extension of the living space. An old toilet was transformed into a foyer space in the renovated house.
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One of the bedrooms in the ground floor became the dining area. Before renovation, the living and dining spaces were part of a huge hall. These spaces and an adjacent bedroom too were modified into a vast and spacious family living cum dining area. The structure of the old stairway is retained while replacing the hand rails and steps to perfectly suit the modern chic style of the house.
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Texture works are done on the walls as a highlighting feature. The house had a ceiling made with mud tiles. Before renovation, only one of the bedrooms was bath attached. However, now, extensions have been added to turn the two bedrooms into bath-attached ones. A library space is included in the upper storey. A balcony too is newly added here.
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The entire floor works are redone by replacing the old and faded tiles with stylish granite.
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More facilities
Earlier, the kitchen was smaller and lacked facilities. The kitchen is extended to the back side to avail more space. Lots of storage spaces are added to suit the preferences of the family. Now, it has all the facilities of a contemporary kitchen. The old store room is retained, with only a slight modification in the decor.
The architect has given prime importance to the tastes and preferences of the client while designing and re-arranging the spaces in this house. Hareesh says he has tried avoiding dismantling spaces, as much as he could, to ensure that the renovated structure looks more classy and elegant.
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Project facts
Client – Samuel Joseph
Location – Nilambur, Karadi
Plot – 25 cents
Area
Old structure – 1800 SFT
Renovated one – 2500 SFT
Year of completion – 2017
Budget
Structure – Rs 12 lakh
Interiors – Rs 10 lakh
Designer – Architect Hareesh PR
Project Coordinator - Architect Suhaib
Engineer – Gopu P Devan
Green Square Architects, Malappuram